...janitor or lawyer... window cleaner or bank director - all have chance to be very happy or very unhappy. 

...religious or atheist... member of JWorg or member of some other group - they all have same/similar problems.

But when WT chiefs princes teaching the flock to be poor in "worldly Truths" aka education but to be reach (i mean rich - you see what looks like when you have lack of education  ) in "WT Truth" aka uninspired, err doctrines and instructions that have to be obeyed,  that have to guide your personal life ... then your primary goal, inside need to be happy, as a human, is under attack of Organized, Corporation's manipulation.   

1 hour ago, Jack Ryan said:

Who needs a good reminder?

New models of pillows in your shop are available now... order quickly, big sale program, 50% off, summer price :))

3 hours ago, Space Merchant said:

Jesus is the Word because he is the Prophet of whom God puts His Word

Bible is full of prophets ... and many of them spoke His Word.

3 hours ago, Space Merchant said:

The Word is God because it is God's Spoken Word

The Word is described as god, God. Michael never has been described as god or God. Prophetic Word or word in Isaiah described one person, child that is born as;   Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. So who is Jesus? Who is Michael the archangel? Who was in the beginning? God Jesus or God Word or not God Michael? Was Michael first and last? 

Michael was "just" one of the chief princes, according to Daniel book. Never titled as one of "gods", but one of chief princes. So who are, what are the names of other chiefs?? When, where and why Michael get new position, new title as Archangel?

3 hours ago, Space Merchant said:

God's Word was in the beginning because he spoke everything into existence, in combination with his great limitless power.

Do you talking about JHVH VOICE (spoken words without mediator)? Guess yes, because talking about someone with limitless power. So what was the role of the Word (prehuman Light, Jesus, Michael, or who ever) if not creating with his partner, father, God? "And God said; Let be the light... let be the earth...." Was His voice created the light, earth...and all other or was his Word (Son) working job to be done? Text said all was created to him, of him, trough him". 

For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

3 hours ago, Space Merchant said:

category of Bible readers

and categories of translations too. NWT or other translations have errors. Well, errors came not only because of our misunderstanding while reading, but because of what we reading too. 

3 hours ago, Space Merchant said:

Yes because prior to his resurrection, God has made Jesus Lord and exalted him above the angels

If Word is prehuman Jesus, as you agree he is, and as WT agree he is.... then He was already above all creations and above all angels. Do not understand "prior to his resurrection, God has made Jesus Lord and exalted him above the angels"? If he (Jesus) is Michael the archangel, then he was above angels too, because he is ARCHangel. Who was exalted above angels? Jesus human or Michael the prince?? 

Verses state: "Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place, and gave Him the name above all names, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,…

Text said that in the NAME JESUS all must knee. NOT In the NAME MICHAEL. So if Michael came to earth to be Jesus and then Jesus go back in heaven to be Michael again, as WT teach, then where is LORD (Jesus) who was exalted by God and all angels and all chief princes must knee to him, even archangel Michael also must bow down or worship his KING . Because Jesus is KING (was born as King) and Michael is just Archangel. I think all is about Hierarchy.  

But as JTR wisely said,  "It's intellectually interesting ... in small doses ..."     :))))

10 hours ago, Malum Intellectus said:

** w10 4/1 p. 19 Is Jesus the Archangel Michael? ***

10 hours ago, Malum Intellectus said:

So Michael the archangel is Jesus in his prehuman existence.

WT have interesting answer, statement on question. Interesting? YES, because John 1:1 gave INFORMATION that Jesus is/was WORD ( "Word" as name or as title or both?) in his prehuman existence --- NOT MICHAEL The archangel :)))).

WORD have Ultimate status that is much, much higher then just of angel, even archangel status is. Or does some of you think that archangel was somehow participated in creation of life and all that existing, as Word did? 

If WT said Jesus is Michael, why i have never hear or read that WT said Word is Michael???

Who was in the beginning?? Michael or Word? According to this Bible text of course. 

Surely John would named Him (Word , God or god with The or A, what ever you like) as Michael if he was been under inspiration of holy ghost, spirit while he was writing verses.

One answer is wrong. Or both are wrong? :))))  

9 hours ago, James Thomas Rook Jr. said:

It's intellectually interesting ... in small doses ...

9 hours ago, James Thomas Rook Jr. said:

Plus ... you have to give SOME consideration to the apparent mental competence of those who do still intensely care about such things.

Agree, absolutely !

While watching second video with Gary's illustrations, examples, explanations in plastic way expressed ... yeah, even small doses of mental competence were NOT been visible, for sure. 

After mental gymnastic to understand and mental visualization (making  picture on/of subjects) about given lesson  on what porneia is and what is  not ::::: you can cry or laugh ...out loud. Or both... out loud.  What ever you choose is better then listen him /them again. :)))

51 minutes ago, Space Merchant said:

Jesus being Michael did not start with the Jehovah's Witnesses.

please, who started with that thesis?

and why JW continue with this as doctrine?

:) thanks for answers

On 07/05/2017 at 05:03, The Librarian said:

PDF of Olin R. Moyle v. Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, New York Supreme Court, 1940

this link doesn't work, opens something else (Top 5 Fitness Gym Tips)

can you see why?

12 hours ago, Witness said:

Why is the guy in the lower right corner staring at the artist, or...staring at you!  

He asking: "Why all 10 friends of mine looks like they believe in explanations, when to me something seems wrong with this thesis?? Don't YOU think the same?"

 hehehe

https://www.dss.gov.au/national-redress-scheme-for-people-who-have-experienced-institutional-child-sexual-abuse

The National Redress Scheme will provide support to people who were sexually abused as children while in the care of an institution.

We are pleased to announce that six major non-government institutions have committed to join the Scheme. The Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, the Salvation Army, YMCA Scouts Australia and the Uniting Church have all announced that they will join the Scheme and provide redress to people sexually abused as children in their care. (my add: WTBTS-JWORG of Australia not interested to help own members)

When each state government or non-government institution joins up, it promises to pay for redress for people who were abused in its care.

The Redress Scheme can provide three things:

• access to psychological counselling
• a direct personal response – such as an apology from the responsible institution for people who want it
• a monetary payment.

13 hours ago, Gone Away said:

The Scriptures consistently warn us about this , but, thankfully, reassure us that Jehovah and His Son Jesus Christ know their sheep,...

Thanks again GA. 

But   , as you well aware too, we can again make same self-deception, with such quote that "Scriptures ... reassure us that Jehovah and His Son Jesus Christ know their sheep..." Yes, i can accept that "They know their sheep", but in the same time humans(religions, believers) are implement that statement how they (people) know what They (JHVH and Jesus) know... how particular group are their sheep. :)) 

"I know what God know about me" - can you accept my statement as true, correct?  

Regardless of the terminology and methodology we use to logically lay the foundations of what is true or false, with a mistake
or without a mistake, correctly understood or incorrectly understood, and so on ... there is one more thing to be taken into account. That is: self-persuasion and self-deception.

Most of people, of us,  will think/thinks about self with believing that they are among those who are healthy, beautiful, smart, good, ... belonging to the right, true group, religion, politics, family, nation... etc.

And with more self persuasion and self deception we are more sure in fictitious, wrong, err, distorted picture about yourself, who we are, what we are, and by that about other people, who are belong or not belong in "our group" or in "our idea" of how other people should  be look like, think like, act like and all other likes.

Good thing in such "self" can be self confidence and similar "selfie" that help us to survive in society.

Bad thing is this. If we are wrong, and many times we are :)))), we are, because of our self persuasion and self deception in position to deceive other people because they can see our sincerity and our faith in "story" we talking about. Some will be sceptious but some will accept "our faith in truth", but  that is in fact "faith in error, misrepresentation, misunderstanding, mistake, misapplication ...". :))

Illustrations and comparisons can be very chaotic. Some people who use them to explain a crazy idea in a plastic way, are silly too.
For example, at a time when JW had five meetings per week, one speaker at the congress gave an example of bananas.

"Banana has a bark consisting of five parts. In the same way the assembly has five meetings" he said.

What a fantastic discovery, what a super illustration :))))))).

In the light of the doctrine that JW teaches; "God permits that good and bad things are happening  on earth" - Can we comment on such judgment of this Court, as God's permission on/for secular authorities to decide about the life of Mr Wall, and also about the life of the assembly and the elders??

Does this "victory" is victory of JHVH ("vindication of JHVH righteous standards" as JWorg website has explaining) or the victory of WTJWorg lawyers or is this the victory of Satan who is the real god of this world, as Bible quotes?

Who really won?? What god won in Canada? And what god won in Russia? :))))

5 hours ago, James Thomas Rook Jr. said:

"Positive Criticism"

Hmmmmmmm .....

perhaps  Mr.  Allen by that think; not to say nothing opposite to GBWT and to say nothing that challenge GBWT course of governing

have to wait his respond

On 26/02/2018 at 01:04, AllenSmith said:

Therefore, no amount of NEGATIVE criticism can ever be viewed as wise!!!

Please give me description, rules, methods and  manifestation on this issue, HOW "POSITIVE" criticism look like? of course about WT included in story, not something else what is not theme in this panel discussion.  

In other words HOW LOOKS LIKE YOUR POSITIVE CRITICISM about your own religion (about self, about people and deeds and doctrines and instruction, rules, norms ...)?   

33 minutes ago, The Librarian said:

the high court says the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench has no jurisdiction to review the congregation's decision to shun Randy Wall over alleged drunkenness and verbal abuse.

Court has no jurisdiction to review cong. decision to shun sinful  members or ex members. But some secular authorities  have problem with some WT procedures, as 2-3 witness for child abuse, not call police in such case, male investigators on minor victims or female victims ...

Maybe secular government must not need to be involved in "group internal regulations on membership" but some issues need to be concerned and reviewed, investigated by "outsiders". 

4 hours ago, John Houston said:

If the entire nation was wicked, he punished the entire nation, correct

... at least He done that twice in big, huge scale ... and several times in local need for "punishment" or "giving lesson" or "giving example" and so on. 

... by that, perhaps entire nation (with every single person: male, female and child) was wicked through all the history of Old Jew nation??

13 hours ago, JW Insider said:

The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God's servant to proclaim it.

Paul, as he was, might have had a fixed, imaginary idea that he is the one who will complete the preaching ministry, "all over the world" - (translated by WT to "the known world in the 1st century") The pause for the question: "Did the Greeks and Romans then,  also the Jews of that time of course,  believed and thought that the" world "consist only of the few hundred miles that Paul was traveling around ????

JW's modern "Pauls" (plural of Paul) preachers also lives in the belief that the end of the universe will come after encompassing the whole world with its preaching campaign. Very similar to Paul's idea and zeal. Unlike today's interpretations on "generation issue"  , the ruin of the then-known "world" has been happening in less than 40 years. So, for those who like to count and multiply, share and subtract  numbers - "generation life" has lasted much, much less than (?? number of years -- without complicated, confused, puzzling overlapping thesis to put in::::))))).

"And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.h 31 And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.

- When and how did the Jews of the 1st century see all this signs? And by that, conclude that the "end of the world" is coming, is here ?

This short expose is not for argue with you dear JW Insider, just rising questions that came  

In process of reading many of your comments, especially about pregnancy and birth time, i learned a lot. But what is interesting to me in trying to connect all this information, i can put in this form of conclusion:

What Jesus meant and why while using such descriptions - and what his listeners concluded and understand is one thing. Something else is what (second or third opinion...) is what we today thinking about all that and what we derivate as conclusion/s about what He meant or even told in original form before so many centuries.

But human must try and try and try .... and never to stop

15 hours ago, TrueTomHarley said:

 

Hi.

Does this graphic show actual-this moments situation or is it intention of draw to motivate observer to put all this (facts, interpretations, conclusions, perceptions ...)  in time-space dimension? :)))

1 hour ago, James Thomas Rook Jr. said:

The cool thing about "bent light astronomy", or "lensing", is once you learn how, sometimes it is possible to see galaxies hidden behind foreground galaxies .... and get multiple snapshots in different epochs by calculating the difference in the timing of light ray paths.

 

I was born in a small town of a small country. I have a bit of school education and ordinary city life. But I'm becoming a peasant when I see how little I know and how much knowledge there is in this life - before, now and after today (yesterday, today, tomorrow) the past, the present, the future - in the eons of time. :))))

On 19/05/2018 at 21:11, JW Insider said:

Jesus and the apostles, too, set an example of pointing out the hypocrisy and wickedness found in the leaders of other religions.

How to tell to some Catholic priest or GB leader or to some secular politician or city major that he/she is wrong in something or that he/she made bad deed, or pointing on their hypocrisy and similar?? ..... and in the same time not to be, not to sound offensive or rude and in the same time expressing own feeling and thoughts? 

Does it "pointing out" or "criticism" on something and someone, only privilege of "higher class" of people aka that same leaders or is that same "privilege" actual  "human rights" of all people, not just few chosen?   

On 19/05/2018 at 21:11, JW Insider said:

So it was decided that it would be OK for Witnesses in Mexico to act like a non-religious

On 19/05/2018 at 21:11, JW Insider said:

In other places, most recently in Russia, Jehovah's Witnesses are being suppressed from Russia's own legal system,......The Watchtower had suppressed these proper forms of worship among Witnesses for decades, until the property rule changed.

In first example "suppression" came from WT leaders, own Church and   such GB decision was "justified, righteous, wisdom from Above" :)))) ..... but in Russia case it is "devil attack, suppression caused of enemy worldly people". :))))))  Past and present events in different perception (differences in perception) on, about good and bad, about "proper or less proper or worldly forms of sacred service to god and all other forms.  Interesting!  

On 19/05/2018 at 21:11, JW Insider said:

The brothers tried to convince the Russian court that they were not directly dependent on rules emanating from the United States, but this was actually seen to be a false claim and the court didn't accept it.

Of course, it is WT lawyers false claim :)))))

On 19/05/2018 at 21:11, JW Insider said:

Of course, this is not how the hierarchy of Jehovah's Witnesses works.

WT is Corporation. From that, this point, post, standpoint, view, every JW member must start processing all what came from Main Church Body aka GB. 

On 19/05/2018 at 21:11, JW Insider said:

if we were not able to demean and diminish other religious choices publicly?

.... or whatever else. Does some group or individual can express disagreement on all and every issue??  Not only to different, other groups, but to his own group too?  Or  to be "politically correct", whatever such frase means? :)

On 19/05/2018 at 21:11, JW Insider said:

I wonder if it's possible to transform a ministry

 "Transformers" :) 

On 19/05/2018 at 21:11, JW Insider said:

work that is motivated correctly

please , this is grey field ... motivations, humans hearts, minds :))) interpretations are many. They will judge you and praise you for the same thing :) I have enjoy in reading your posts. Have a good and peaceful day, greetings!

10 hours ago, Melinda Mills said:

unnatural sex

angels sex and humans sex - two different stuff ... i think

9 hours ago, Melinda Mills said:

An example is procuring of tattoos. I think I should apply to myself what the law says about Jehovah not liking tattoos. 

(Leviticus 19:28) 28 “‘You must not make cuts in your flesh for a dead person, and you must not make tattoo markings on yourselves. I am Jehovah.

Leviticus 19:27 New International Version (NIV)

²⁷ “‘Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.

Leviticus 21:5 New International Version (NIV)

⁵ “‘Priests must not shave their heads or shave off the edges of their beards or cut their bodies.

WHY GB JWorg forbid beards to male members???? when Bible said opposite. DO NOT SHAVE BEARD :))))

Dear Melinda, context of your Leviticus talks about customs connected about/to dead. Today, tattoos and piercing  have other symbolism, we need to ask particular person about reason why he/she doing marks on body. But no matter of what reason somebody may have, it is not on us to judge him.

   Romans 14 “Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.”

Romans 14 

"As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. ...