Posts by Nathan Natas

52

Are you pro-activist, anti-activist, or passive?

by cedars in

jw
friends

i ask this question because, having been on this forum for a year now, it's clear to me that there are many shades to so-called "apostasy", and this is particularly evident in the realm of anti-watchtower activism.. when i use the word "activism", likely picketing kingdom halls and conventions springs to mind.

however, activism can be far more subtle than that.

just having a website or a book that sheds light on the flaws of watchtower dogma is really a form of activism - arguably the most effective form at that.

Nathan Natas

To panhandlegirl: I personally am no longer distributiong the WATCHTOWER BOOK SHELF CD-ROM. I lost interest in the project when people to whom I had sent free copies started showing up on eBay SELLING copies of what they had received for free. There are others here who may be able to help you out, however. You may receive a PM from one of them; then again, you may not. I am no longer in control of that project. When I put the CD together O gave permission for it to be curculated FREELY in any form, so you might get a download link or something else.

Here is an archived page from quotes that discusses the CD-ROM in detail: http://dciscorp.com/qwotes/order-wtbscd.htm

Thanks to everyone who made kind statements regarding my projects. I share Farkel's motivation, word-for-word. ANGER has been and remains my prime motivator. When I first left the WT, I vowed that if it were in my power to destroy that organization, I would. Then I found I had the time and tools and skills to do what I have done. The WATCHTOWER is doing a pretty good job of destroying itself, but if I can hasten the their end, I consider it an honor to do so.

Here's a link to my LULU work:

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/oldlightreprints

WOW, it's been seven years since the WT BS CD was offerred. Maybe it is time for a ressurrection?

see: http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/85177/1/Watchtower-Book-Shelf-CD-ROM

and I really ought to provide a link for this important book:

http://www.lulu.com/us/en/shop/antony-wills/a-people-for-his-name-a-history-of-jehovah%E2%80%99s-witnesses-and-an-evaluation/paperback/product-712752.html

284

ABOUT TERRY

by Quentin in

jw
friends

terry was admitted to the hospital yesterday.

he has a severe case of cellulites which has affected his neck glands.

his face and neck are very swollen.

Nathan Natas

...adding my own to the great crowd of well-wishers. May your recovery be rapid and complete.

52

Are you pro-activist, anti-activist, or passive?

by cedars in

jw
friends

i ask this question because, having been on this forum for a year now, it's clear to me that there are many shades to so-called "apostasy", and this is particularly evident in the realm of anti-watchtower activism.. when i use the word "activism", likely picketing kingdom halls and conventions springs to mind.

however, activism can be far more subtle than that.

just having a website or a book that sheds light on the flaws of watchtower dogma is really a form of activism - arguably the most effective form at that.

Nathan Natas

I'll tell you some of what I've done and you can tell me if I'm an activist. I've been silent this in the past but I'm no longer as concerned as I once was about repercussions; besides, all of hwat I say *might* be lies. Let the reader use discernemnt.

When Bill Bowen had his famous march on Bethel, I supplied approximately half of the stuffed lambs that were left in the fence across the street from Bethel HQ. The bullhorn that Bill used to address the crowd was loaned to him by me.

I digitized the entire book "Aid To Bible Understanding" and circulated copies of it on CD at my own expense (no charge to the recipient) around the world.

I digitized all of the publications in the original "Watchtower Book Shelf" CD and likewise circulated it at my own expense worldwide before I agreed to let QUOTES sell it to help offset operating costs of the QUOTES website.

Many of the Watchtower related titles for sale on LULU are my work

"Millions Now Living Will Never Die" was my first and "the Desolations of The Sanctuary" is the most recent.

Other titles include:

"Our Lord's Return"

"Home and Happiness"

"The Way to Paradise"

"Demonism and the watchtower"

"A Bible for the Scientist"

"Face The Facts and learn the only way of escape"

"Color and Character"

I searched out Antony Wills and got his permission to republish "A People for His Name".

I conceived the XJW University and designed the XJWU shirts and mugs and stuff that are available on cafepress.

It's not much, I know, but it was what I could do, so I did it. I've slowed down some in the past couple years, but I still have ideas...

45

Feel the Goddamned Love

by AK - Jeff in

my mil of 38 years - who has not spoken to me for the 9 years since i left her cult - died on sunday.. today, as a favor to my sil who has spoken to me very rarely, for the same reasons, over the same period of time, i was moving some personal items to her home from the nursing home.

in this instance i guess it is ok to speak with me - if i have a strong back and a conveyance that aids her needs at the moment.. anyway, in the parking lot of the apartment complex where she lives, while we are moving in those items, guess who shows up?

five or six of my old 'best friends'.

Nathan Natas

I love your subject line.

You might call the assh*le out for brazenly flirting with your wife when he "thought" you weren't around. Just to bust his chops a bit, y'know.

I'll bet your MIL expected to "survive Armageddon into God's New World" as they used to say. I'll bet her non-existent soul is now in torment in Sheol while she awaites her non-existent resurrection any day now. It will be just like she took a brief dirt nap, with mold and bacteria and worms and bugs in her nose.

36

Unexpected conversation with a long time JW friend (in good standing)

by OneDayillBeFree in

so tonight after the meeting, this brother whome i've grown up with invited me to eat.

he had come almost an hour late to the meeting and looked kind of down and a bit depressed.

i agreed to go eat.. there was very little talking at first.

Nathan Natas

All of "the signs of the times" that JWs used to recite to remind themselves that they were in the time of the end have been thrown on the scrapheap by the Governing Body. NO JW an argue effectively from the Bible that there is any more chance that he will live to see armageddon as there was a chance of Abraham Lincoln seeing Armageddon. They are rudderless and adrift in the stream of time.

10

Fear of Dying

by snare&racket in

jw
friends

i was thinking about how to explain to a family member how i have no fear or issue with not living in a paradise earth etc.

they dont believe i left the jws for good reason, they think like every jw that i must be bitter about the religion or something.. .

i am an atheist and for many reasons i dont fear death, but i was trying to think of a way to explain it from a jw perspective when it hit me...... it doesnt matter.. option a: do t believe in god and believe that i will die and there will be eternal nothingness.

Nathan Natas

Comedian/Atheist Penn Gillette had a good comment on this. He pointed out that he did not exist 200 years ago, yet the thought of 1812 did not fill him with fear and dread; he knows that he also will not exist in 2212 and feels no fear or dread at that prospect.

Although The WATCHTOWER teaches otherwise, DEATH IS NATURAL. ALL living things in the universe die. It is EVERLASTING LIFE that is an unnatural and horrifying concept.

"Let me show you from the Bible how God's will is for you to eat lasagna for all of eternity..."

41

....and a new wrinkle

by outsmartthesystem in

jw
friends

so i was giving my daughter a hug at bed time last night.

she stands up at the foot of her bed and wraps her arms around my neck.

she then asks why i don't serve jehovah anymore.

Nathan Natas

You can defuse her argument easily by agreeing with her. She's only five years old, so her reasoning skills are not very sophisticated.

Tell her, "God knows everything, right? ...and God is all-powerful, right? so nobody can resist God, can they? So everybody is doing what God wants them to do. If god want you to go to the Kingdom Hall, you should go. but if God wants you to go to the zoo where you can admire his creation, then you should do that too. god likes it when we admire the things he's done for us. Why don't we go to the zoo on sunday and admire God's creation?"

Let her grandparents and her Mom tell her that Jehovah is not all powerful and that jehovah CAN be resisted. then you can ask why her Mom thinks Jehovah is so weak.

Confusion can be the first step toward truth. Confusion is cognitive dissonance: the conflict between two opposite ideas.

Later you can talk to her about being happy. Is Jehovah a happy God? Does he want us to be happy? How can you tell when people are happy? What if someone says they are happy but they really are not happy - can you tell they aren't really happy? Do the people in the Kingdom Hall look happy, or do they look sad? Is Mommy happy or is Mommy angry? If Mommy did what Jehovah wanted, wouldn't she be happy?

Truth is simple.

Keep your arguments simple. Let her Mom and her grandparents beat their brains out trying to explain how complicated "the truth" is.

43

Blondie is awesome!!!

by Sheep2slaughter in

jw
friends

i'm just sayin... blondie...are you a lawyer or investigator or what!?

her/your weekly watchtower comments we won't hear at the watchtower indoctrination are amazing.

so much work.

Nathan Natas

She's A MAN, baby!

and her old man is a CHICK!

18

Has anybody takin' Prilosect for gall bladder problems

by wasblind in

i went to the doc last week told of my symptoms and she.

suspect a gall bladder problem.

so i have to take this med for a week to see if it relieves the sypmtoms.

Nathan Natas

Do some research on prilosec - how is it supposed to help a gall bladder problem?

If you want to take choline, get yourself some soy lecithin capsules.

I am neither a doctor or a shaman.

24

Jehovah's Witnesses and magic ... is some magic okay? where do you draw the line?

by wannabefree in

this question came to my mind today as i was cleaning with my handy dandy mr. clean magic eraser.. .

with little to no effort put forth, this white little anomaly erases tea and coffee stains from your favorite mug and makes red kool-aid stains disappear from counter tops.. .

what kind of dark magic is contained in this soft, white, non-threating piece of foam rubber?.

Nathan Natas

Unfortunately, the Mr. Clean MAGIC Eraser doesn't employ REAL metaphysical Magic or the twisting of the laws of time and space, so it is OK for JWs, who are used to buying in to misrepresented products.

Examples of other misrepresentations that JWs are suckers for include "Faithful and disceet Slaves", "New Light", and a literal place where dead souls reside*.

In the case of the Magic Eraser, here's the secret of how it works: the white pad is a piece of melamine plastic foam. Melamine (melmac) is a pretty hard plastic, and in use the foam breaks down into little tiny hard abrasive particles. The abrasice particles remove a thin layer of the offensive mark. when you scrub with it.

*This one is a real killer, no pun intended. JWs will tell you that the bible teaches that we do not HAVE a soul, but that we ARE soulds. Then, when pressed, they will tell you that when you die, the soul that you do not have goes to a place called Sheol (I think that's in Korea) to await the resurrection. So remember, there is no hell but there is a heaven and when you die the soul that tou do not have goes to a literal place called Sheol (maybe it's not in Korea; it might be on the planet Alcyone).