Nathan Natas

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Posts by Nathan Natas

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  8

  Jehovah's Witnesses Sinner's Prayer

  by NotFormer in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i've noted before certain similarities between jws and independent fundamentalist baptists, such as door to door work.

  the ifbs call it "soul winning".

  the goal is usually to give a quick tour of a few bible verses, get the householder to "repeat after me" a formulaic prayer confessing faith in jesus.

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  Nathan Natas

  It seems to me that this "new light" doctrine of last-minute salvation kind of lets the air out of the only (if there's another, according to Watchtower mythology, enlighten me) "WORK" by which the individual *might* earn her personal salvation. A half-century ago (yeah, I was there) this required THOUSANDS of hours of door knocking, conducting free home Watchtower studies, with the goal og getting the sucker to sign on the bottom line and dedicate her life to The Watchtower.

  "Hot patootie, bless my soul, I really love that rock n' roll!"
  
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  28

  JWs And Superstitions

  by NotFormer in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  prompted by a mention in a different thread.. cracks in the sidewalk, a pinch of salt over the shoulder, black cats🐈‍⬛; do jws have such superstitious beliefs.

  are they allowed to?

  would they be counselled if the elders became aware?.

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  Nathan Natas

  My favorite among the collection of dumb superstitions common to Jehovah's Witnesses and JW(dot)ORG is the one about a gigantic invisible alien from the Alcyone sector who makes Thanos and Zenu look like underweight schoolboys. This alien, they will tell you, is the Universal Sovereign.

  
  
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  22

  Former Jehovah's Witness admits: We targeted grief-stricken as 'ripe fruit'

  by Londo111 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/80708572/former-jehovahs-witness-admits-we-targeted-grief-stricken-as-ripe-fruit.

  jehovah's witnesses target grief and see the recently bereaved as "ripe fruit" for conversion, a former elder of the faith says.. vince and michele tylor​ spoke out after reading the story of wellington woman jean sergent-shadbolt, who received a handwritten letter from a jehovah's witness three months to the day after her step-cousin, friend and flatmate died.. a current senior elder of the faith says it has no policy to target grieving, and those who do so are acting on their own initiative.

  however, he concedes such people may feel guided by jehovah's witness literature.. but vince tylor said he knew of members who would trawl though obituaries to find grieving people, or visit cemeteries.. "not only do we see watchtower printed material suggesting and supporting writing letters from obituaries such as what jean received, but we even have reports and articles of encouragement for jws to go to cemeteries to look for people as well.".

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  Nathan Natas

  I have to speak up: this is painting with a very broad brush. OK some asshole JWs did this, but not all; not even most. A minority of uber-"spiritual" half-wits who were probably sociopathic with little compassion or empathy.

  I was a pioneer and MS during the late 1960s/early 1970s. I never once thought of doing anything like this.
  
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  172

  Are You Raising An Introvert?

  by darth frosty in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  its not easy being an introvert in an extrovert worldespecially when youre a kid.

  it is even more difficult if none of the adults in the kids life recognize that the child is an introvert.

  this doesnt happen only when the childs parents are extroverts, but also with introverted parents who have never understood their own introverted nature.. .

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  Nathan Natas

  For 73 years I thought I was introverted. It was only this year that I was able to ask myself this question and once I did SO MUCH of my past became clear; I was able to see the "why" behind many events from my past.

  This revelation was not received with much joy; quite the opposite, but from the moment I first began seeing it, it had the ring of truth.
  
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  172

  Are You Raising An Introvert?

  by darth frosty in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  its not easy being an introvert in an extrovert worldespecially when youre a kid.

  it is even more difficult if none of the adults in the kids life recognize that the child is an introvert.

  this doesnt happen only when the childs parents are extroverts, but also with introverted parents who have never understood their own introverted nature.. .

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  Nathan Natas

  Consider this, if you will:

  https://youtu.be/Xfw8SteRnNQ
  
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  33

  JW Elder Sentenced for CSA

  by EasyPrompt in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  https://www.westernmassnews.com/2023/09/01/jehovah-witness-elder-sentenced-jail-child-sexual-abuse-case/?outputtype=amp.

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  Nathan Natas

  Brothers and Sisters are urged to send Jay Aaron Smith Vaseline. LOTS of Vaseline.
  
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  60

  Sign of the Last Days

  by Fisherman in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  in the sermon on the mount, jesus foretold that earthquakes “in one place after another” would be part of the sign of the last days clímaxing in the great tribulation.. what could jesus possibly have meant?

  using a phone app nowadays, there are earthquakes detected in one place after another but is this what jesus meant and did they have so many earthquakes throughout the centuries affter his prophecy or are these modern day detected earthquakes unique to this epoch?

  how can we be sure unequivocally that modern day earthquakes are part of the sign fulfilling bible prophecy?.

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  Nathan Natas

  Personally, I find the prophecy of renown scholar Peter Venkman much more convincing, "...dogs and cats living together...."
  
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  47

  Retirement savings

  by TxNVSue2023 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what's the current jw stance on retirement savings?

  i know it changed.

  pre1975 it was an attitude of "don't worry about retirement, this system is ending soon".

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  Nathan Natas

  
  TxNVSue2023, don't you see the irony in the fact that here you have a concrete, real-world example of a Watchtower teaching that has had a serious negative effect on the financial lives of faithful JWs, possibly even yourself, and your conviction that JW.org is the "true religion"?

  Jehovah God must have some sort of mental disease to be the source of suffering (through intentionally misleading unwise teachings) for the people he claims as his own. Would you inflict this kind of abuse on your own children or ANY child?

  NO! The intentionally misleading unwise teachings of The Watchtower come from men; ignorant, foolish men who live a life of cloistered ease while they bleed their impoverished "flock" for more and more money, much of which is used the pay the settlements of lawsuits brought by members who have suffered extreme abuse at the hands of some of these ignorant, foolish, deviant men. Where is the guidance of the Holy Spirit?
  
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  32

  Sagely advice of a CO

  by Vidqun in

  1. social
  2. humour

  “a circuit overseer started out by saying that on this last round of the circuit, the one thing he noticed the most...is that everyone is physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually drained...and that cuts across all barriers and demographics within the truth.

  he then said that the one common thread that ran among nearly everyone was this: we feel guilty for feeling bad.

  he said because we are told to endure with joy, our minds can cause us to feel enormous guilt over feeling this way...and then, my dear brothers and sisters...he proceeded to blow our collective minds.. he asked us to turn to daniel 8:27….

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  Nathan Natas

  Isn't it WONDERFUL that the C.O. was able to use the Book Of Fables to assuage the ennui of the exhausted and depressed Brothers and Sisters?

  Revitalizing "water" flowing from the culvert beneath the throne of JW.ORG!

  SALIVATION is by WORKS, not grace! Grace was the singer with Jefferson Airplane, and has no place in the lives of loyal Dubnauts!
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  9

  Faded then apostate?

  by Teddnzo in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  if someone has faded so they are not known as a jw for a few years there is no need to be disfellowshiped or announced that they are no longer a jw.. so they wouldn’t need to be shunned the same way as if they did a hard exit like writing a letter or something.. so if evidence arose that such a faded person was sinning there still would be no need to announce that they were no longer a jw the same as if they were known as a jw.

  family members and members of the congregation would not shun them?.

  what would happen if such a faded person became apostate?

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  Nathan Natas

  Teddnzo opined, "...so they wouldn’t need to be shunned the same way..."
  
  Except that you are overlooking the main purpose of Disfellowshipping: PUNISHMENT and HUMILIATION.

  "The first step to becoming an apostate is baptism."