Posts by seattleniceguy

22

Why quotes from old publications are meaningful

by seattleniceguy in

jw
friends

most witnesses know that if you dig too hard in their older publications, you're bound to find strange, even ridiculous, quotes.

but they are trained not to put too much thought into these older publications.

if reasonable people could legitimately disagree with the wts at that time, then what does that say about "god's channel"?

seattleniceguy

Swan, that is just frightening.

Oh, what people will do to try to support their belief system.

SNG

22

Why quotes from old publications are meaningful

by seattleniceguy in

jw
friends

most witnesses know that if you dig too hard in their older publications, you're bound to find strange, even ridiculous, quotes.

but they are trained not to put too much thought into these older publications.

if reasonable people could legitimately disagree with the wts at that time, then what does that say about "god's channel"?

OldSoul, very interesting observation. That certainly puts their articles in a more sinister light. What a funny choice to put to Witnesses: "Were they intentionally trying to scare off the intelligent and educated people, or were they just totally unaware of the facts?"

Swan, goodness gracious. Goodness f***ing gracious. Goodness Jesus on a bike gracious. Nice find.

SNG

22

Why quotes from old publications are meaningful

by seattleniceguy in

jw
friends

most witnesses know that if you dig too hard in their older publications, you're bound to find strange, even ridiculous, quotes.

but they are trained not to put too much thought into these older publications.

if reasonable people could legitimately disagree with the wts at that time, then what does that say about "god's channel"?

seattleniceguy

Most Witnesses know that if you dig too hard in their older publications, you're bound to find strange, even ridiculous, quotes.

But they are trained not to put too much thought into these older publications. After all, does not the light get brighter? So what

if the WTS said some wacky things back then? That was then, this is now. Right?

I realized today why quotations from older publications are meaningful. What got me thinking about it was that zany article from a

1932 Golden Age (http://quotes.watchtower.ca/gravitation_and_electric_energy.htm) about gravitation and electric energy. The

article was breathtaking in its total disregard for science, or even logic. And I don't say this based on what we know today, as

opposed to what we knew in the 1930s. Even someone remotely well educated in science would have had a hard time containing

laughter at some of the insanity in the article. And therein lies the crucial point.

If you were Joe or Jane Respectable living in 1932 and were given this magazine to read, what would you have thought? Any

reasonably educated and intelligent person would have dismissed the Witnesses (or Bible Students, at the time) as complete and

total crackpots. Witnesses alive today should imagine what their reaction would be reading such an article. I don't think many people

would give the Golden Age a second read. If that's the case, then that means that reasonable people would have had legitimate

grounds for dismissing the Witnesses then.

If reasonable people could legitimately disagree with the WTS at that time, then what does that say about "God's Channel"? Why did

"God's Channel" distribute such fabrications under the guise of "spiritual food" in the first place? It was either deliberate deception or

utter disregard for truth. Has this practice changed? When did it change? Beginning in what year can we assert that reasonable people

could not legitimately disagree with the WTS? If reasonable people still can legitimately disagree with the WTS, then why would God

destroy such people for conscientiously doing so?

I hadn't realized until today how utterly the house of cards falls down in the light of what the WTS has written in their older publications.

This cements in my mind the importantance of the Quotes site. I hope it continues to help many sincere Witnesses.

SNG

26

Quotes is still posting zany article from the past

by VM44 in

i received a message from quotes that he asked to pass on to the forum.i'll be posting to the board an update of my situation probably next week, but not before then.

so far, the news it good.

however, if you would like to post to let everyone know that despite this "watchtower backed persecution" (lol) i continue "faithfully in my sacred service" of publishing zany watchtower quotes.

seattleniceguy

OMG!!

This stuff is insane! If you haven't read the article yet, you have to check it out. These guys wrote the book on non-sequiters!

Okay, check out the very first paragraph:

"Attraction of Gravitation Not Universal" (Golden Age, No. 314) seems to be well and truthfully thought out. Therefore, Newton's "universal law of gravitation", that "every particle of matter in the universe attracts every other particle with a force proportional to the product of their masses and inversely as the squares of their distance apart", is not true.

Did you catch the logic? An article in a previous Golden Age seems to be well and truthfully thought out. Therefore, Newton was wrong! LOLOLOLOL! Too bad Newton didn't have the Golden Age to set 'im straight!

Whether the earth is a direct creation of Jehovah or whether the planets were thrown off from the sun and shot out into space to find their "balance" at the command of God is immaterial, yet for us to incline toward the former view is reasonable.

Well, yeah, given those two choices, you bet the former is more reasonable!

If light had sufficient propulsive power we should find our moon rotating on its axis. But such is not the case. The moon revolves once each lunar month; that is, it shows all sides to the sun each swing around the earth; but it does not rotate on its axis, for its face (the pointed end) is always toward the earth, and this shows that the affinity these two dead bodies have for each other is very much greater in their electro-magnetic force than any light influence can possibly have, as shown by the upper strata of air following the course of the moon-eastward, and north and south of the equator; and, in a general sense, this is true of all earth's volume of air.

Everybody got that? There will be a test on this material!

These guys ain't too good at visualizing. They say the moon goes round the earth once per month, which is correct, and that the moon always shows the same face to earth, which is correct. Anyone with half a brain can use these two pieces of data to determine that the moon does in fact rotate on its axis exactly one time per revolution. Geez, don't they even think about what they're writing? Christ!

Near the end of this article, we find this bit of self-praise:

As the relationship of the sun and earth is explained in this more satisfactory light, so the philosophy of the movements of other planets, which are similar, becomes more comprehensive.

I'll say! I wonder if the guys at NASA got ahold of this info. I mean, using their simple (and, if I may be so blunt, very un-comprehensive) Newtonian and Einsteinian physics, I don't think they'd really make it to the moon.

Wow, what a riot. I think this article proves it conclusively: Even back in the 1930s, nobody with education could ever have become a Witness.

SNG

57

JWD flyers on cars at KH's

by ko38 in

jw
friends

.

what if we all printed up some flyers advertising ..........seek the truth about the truth.go to jw.com for the answers to questions youv'e had or may have.read articles from the watchtower that the society hopes you will never find.. could we legaly put those on their windshields during a meeting?im sure we could do it at least once,and then if asked to leave comply with their wishes.its a well nown fact that out of 100 or 1000 or 100,000 that some will take the bait and check it out just due to human curiousity.. if we all started using the same informal preaching as them such as dropping flyers at laundry mats and phone booths and grociery stores etc you would think it would catch on.i havent counted all the members of this board and how many countries are represented but it sure looks like a lot to me.. what do you guys and gals think?..............ken

seattleniceguy

Hello ko,

I like your attitude. I've thought about the parking lot thing before too. Like Elsewhere says, if you put them on every car, some person who thinks he's doing everyone a favor will take them all down. I think the only way to have any kind of success on that avenue would be to put them only on a few cars, probably near the edges of the lot, and in different, unobtrusive places on each car. But even then, Witnesses are so paranoid that they'd probably run from car to car looking for more of them, and if they found even one more, they'd check the whole lot.

I think you're right on with the idea of billboards or something on neighbors' properties. But you'd have to find a pretty dedicated neighbor who would agree to that. To most people Witnesses are just a nuisance, not cause worth fighting over. If you lived near a Mormon church, would you really want to put up anti-Mormon signs on your house? Even if you disagree with them, you probably just don't care about them that much. I think the kernal of your idea is good, though: put a message near a place where Witnesses go, where they can't move it.

I think one fairly cost effective way to do this would be to buy a rolling billboard. You've probably seen these in metropolitan areas: a truck is outfitted with a 4' x 6' sign in the back or on a trailer that carries an advertising message. They pay people to drive around near their target audience or park for a couple hours at a time in conspicuous locations. Inasmuch as it's hard not to read them, they're pretty effective. Sometimes you see them parked just outside a Home Depot, with a local plumber's advertisement. That's good marketing!

We could do something similar pretty easily. All it takes is a vehicle with a large unbroken surface, like a van. Get it lettered both sides, and you have a dedicated anti-Witness mobile. Actually, the more I think about that, the more it seems like a really interesting concept, because here's the deal: After you park it in front of the local Kingdom Hall two or three times, the work is done. Everyone has seen it and told their friends about it. To be really effective, you need to take this puppy on a tour and park it in front of as many different KHs as possible.

Imagine this scenario:
20 or 30 people chip in $100 for a used truck, of the small mid-90's import variety, or a good van if we can afford it. We register the van and insure it so that it can be driven by multiple members of our charitable organization. If a truck, we rig it with a permanent sign in the back and get it lettered attractively (no red and black helvetica pushed to the edges without respect for margins!).

Now, all we have to do is pass the thing off from member to member. Each member keeps it for a couple weeks, parking it in front of various KHs near his location. We could have a blog that chronicles its progress through the nation, with pictures in front of all the different KHs. Hopefully we get some good reaction shots from the locals.

I like this idea because:

It does not cost very much money per participating member.
The time commitment is small. If it's my turn one Sunday, I drive it down to the KH in the morning, park it, and go to a local cafe for breakfast. A few hours later, I come back by, pick it up, and I'm on my way. No big deal.
It will really drive traffic to our web sites. Why? Aside from curiosity, consider this: Here's a truck parked right outside the KH with a big sign advertising what are probably "apostate" sites, for all the world to see. If you're a core member of the congregation, aren't you going to want to see what your Bible studies, visitors, and neighbors are going to be looking at? I know I would have to check it out, just so I could say that I had seen it if someone asked.

Obviously, the biggest time commitment would be the hand-offs among team members. Hopefully, we could arrange things so that the largest leap would be something like a couple hours. That is, there are many JWD members in the Seattle area. But eventually it will need to move to, say, Olympia, before moving down to Portland. In each case, those leaps are only an hour or two each.

The downside is that it does take a certain amount of zeal, and I think many (if not most) XJWs have had enough with the religion and don't feel like putting any more effort in. Myself, I would be willing to play a role because I still hold out hope for my friends and family that are in. Even if the effort does not effect them directly, it does contribute to an overall shift in the congregations, which does effect them in a secondary way.

Anyway, just thinking out loud.

SNG

76

Studies over....................sob............they dont want me...

by holly in

straight away told im not ready for baptism, not with the amount and depth of questions, that ive been warned about these sites and that apostates will do anything to knock jws.

proving its the true religion bec the bible says it will happen (shows me scriptures).

also told it doesnt happen with any other religious group - usually people just quietly leave and make no fuss - further proof that ths is the true religion.. i asked about all the dates where predictions were made, eg 1914, 1975. was told there were some articles loosly talking the 'possibility' of something happening, but the wt never said it definitely would - how could it, these are just ordinary men, not profits.

seattleniceguy

Holly, congrats. This is a good experience. It really is. Notice how frightened and defensive JWs get when you challenge their beliefs. They can't support them in the face of contrary evidence, so they run. If you had these doubts as a baptized Witness right now, you would be classified as the most vile sort of human imaginable, an apostate. Apostates are people who listen to their consciences. The JWs are an organization with their priorities intensely out of whack. What you got is a blessing in disguise.

I hope you stick around here. You'll find a lot of friendly people and a lot to learn.

SNG

26

Quotes is still posting zany article from the past

by VM44 in

i received a message from quotes that he asked to pass on to the forum.i'll be posting to the board an update of my situation probably next week, but not before then.

so far, the news it good.

however, if you would like to post to let everyone know that despite this "watchtower backed persecution" (lol) i continue "faithfully in my sacred service" of publishing zany watchtower quotes.

seattleniceguy

Geez, these guys put the Weekly World News to shame. I mean, the guy is literally pulling this stuff out of thin air!

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39

Watchtower Magazine to be Published Monthly

by slimboyfat in

.

i heard from my bethel contact that the magazines are to be published monthly from 2006 and 2007. only 12 mags a year, but 46 pages each with no colour illustrations.has anyone else heard about this cut back?

i also heard there is to be a new song book in the summer so that witnesses no longer sing about "sheep and goats" and other "old light".

seattleniceguy

Hey slim,

Just wanted to say I know how you feel. To say that it sucks to learn that your whole life has been lived on false premises would be an extraordinary understatement. But think about the incredible world that is waiting to be explored now! Growth always involves pain, because it involves dropping outmoded worldviews. Just be honest with yourself and strive to learn.

Just my two cents.

SNG

14

scientist vs god

by candidlynuts in

god is sitting in heaven when a scientist says to him,.

"god, we don't need you anymore.

science has finally.

seattleniceguy

LOL @ IronGland

26

I have finally decided to do it.

by jt stumbler in

i have finally decided that i've seen enough.

i have written my official dissassociation letter from the organization call "jehovah's witnesses".

would someone please give me the address and example of a letter head to the society.

seattleniceguy

Hey JT - Congrats on your decision.

You don't actually need to send a copy to HQ, but if you include a cc: line to them on the letter you send to the elders, it gives it real teeth.

Regarding what some have said about DA'ing just playing by their rules, I don't agree with that. They may assign special significance to a DA letter, but it is not something that was invented by the Witnesses. It has a specific meaning in the larger culture, namely, that you have publicly removed support for the organization and no longer wish to be viewed as a part of it in any way. Making a clean break has a lot of psychological advantages, too. So if that's what you feel is right for you, I say go for it!

Best wishes,

SNG