Pudgy

Yeah … first class mail was 4 CENTS !

When I was about 13 years old I started collecting stamps, and having ADD I focused on this like the proverbial laser, and could even recognize stamps that had different numbers of perforations around the edges that were valuable, and those which were common because they had different numbers of perforations. This was about 1960, and it was the same time that I started getting an interest in Jehovah’s Witnesses. The United States government came out with a series of stamps called “The American Credo Series“, about 1962 which has influenced my entire life, hopefully for the good, sometimes demonstrably for the good. One stamp particularly resonated with me quoting Thomas Jefferson, and in 1964 when I was baptized it had become a part of my occasionally obnoxious and overbearing personality. I took the long version of this oath before my baptism oath, (… quite different from today’s baptism oath …), and in a massively imperfect way I consider both to still be in force. Thomas Jefferson was also a massively imperfect man, as is the JW Governing Body. Thomas Jefferson's second inaugural address, delivered on March 4, 1805 expressed his commitment to protecting individual liberties and declared, "I shall often go wrong through defect of judgment. When right, I shall often be thought wrong by those whose positions will not command a view of the whole ground. I ask your indulgence for my own errors, which will never be intentional, and your support against the errors of others, who may condemn what they would not if seen in all its parts. The approbation implied by your suffrage is a great consolation to me for the past, and my future solicitude will be to retain the good opinion of those who have bestowed it in advance, to conciliate that of others by doing them all the good in my power, and to be instrumental to the happiness and freedom of all."

I am challenging YOU George88, because in response to SPECIFICS, I give SPECIFIC answers, and you give vague, nebulous, general statements based on nested false premises. You demonstrate my observations.

…. you need to reread Luke 22:36-38. Jesus DID COMMAND his Apostles to buy swords, but agreed that two were enough! Your agenda is interfering with your reading comprehension. He was not talking about swords for bears!

HEY! - That’s not me! That’s my twin brother! (… this is what I sound like when I bark ….)

I’m looking for a discount code on a 2,000 watt ultraviolet deck mounted laser for my boat.

I just woke up from a nap. I dreamed my face and neck was a million times larger. …. but everything else in the Universe was also a million times larger. But it’s OK. I was wearing a dog collar size 3-1/2 million.

HANDBOOK FOR ELDERS Question: What is a RMR? Answer: RMR stands for "Ruggedized Miniature Reflex," and in the context of firearms, it usually refers to a type of red dot sight designed for rapid target acquisition. It's a compact optic that provides a small, illuminated aiming point, enhancing accuracy and speed when aiming.

When I wake up from a nap, I get dressed, and take myself for a walk ….

I don’t know how else to say this, so here goes…. Do we REALLY want Elders in the Congregation to carry guns?

To be fair, I have ADD, and a 77 year old with ADD really needs to write with crayons.

I have not a clue as to what Juan Rivera was trying to say, and individually, I understood every word. It was hard work trying to stay focused, perhaps because I was well aware that that style of writing, and length of writing, is often deliberately used to induce hypnosis. I did try. HEY! This calls for a CARTOON!

…

Thanks, but that was the book I used for many years, and I almost have it memorized. I just remembered I think I have a copy in my Service briefcase …. …. I was just overwhelmed for awhile with nostalgia for the clarity. ….. sigh ….

Surprise! The last “Make Sure ..” was published in 1965. The JW Library only goes back to 1970. (… it figures …)

….. perhaps the JW Library has one ….

YIKES! $45 + shipping!

I think I will try to get a copy off of Ebay …. I miss that simple clarity.

How simple everything would be if we only had the old “Make Sure Of All Things …” book, the NWT before it was paraphrased, and the whole “.. stay alive till ‘75 …” fiasco was apologized for, and the Congregations were governed per Matthew the 18th Chapter. …… sigh …..

…. neither are Superman comic books, or Popular Mechanics magazine ….

That’s what happens when you change the definitions of words…… It comes back to bite your buttocks off, one bite at a time.

However, that being said, realize that when a religion gets used to an unlimited supply of free money and real estate, very bad things become normal …. very fast. Historically, there had never, ever, been an exception.

Another thing to consider is that everything we do in life is experimental, and just like Jehovah was surprised when the people rolled their children into the fiery stomachs of Molech, we are often surprised and sucker punched. It’s not that we “love the Truth”, quite often what we love, we label as “ The Truth”. This is true for Saints and Monsters. If a person is WRONG … but believes himself that what he in good conscience tells you is true …. that is NOT A LIE. A lie has to be a DELIBERATE lie, and hearing something wrong from a self-deluded person, if you believe it, does NOT mean you have been lied to. So, I believe that 95% of what we think is correct, that turns out to be wrong, in History, Astronomy, (Astronomer Percival Lowell believed he saw “Canals” on Mars …and for decades everyone on Earth believed it.), Chemistry, Physics … AND THEOLOGY, is not an attempt at deception. Attempts at deception are lies. Being cluelessly ignorant and self-delusional may make someone a certified fool … but labeling them as liars may be unfair …. and wrong!

Two ways of looking at that. I can’t imagine the Apostles having busts of ANYONE in their homes and it not being a problem, but I can easily visualize the Roman Centurion Cornelias having a bust of Caesar in his home (or perhaps a Labarum) and it not being a problem, because he was SPECIFICALLY defined as a man having God’s approval. ( The labarum was a military standard used by the Roman Empire, featuring the Chi-Rho symbol, a monogram representing the first two letters of "Christ" in Greek. It was introduced by Emperor Constantine the Great in the early 4th century as a Christian symbol on the battlefield. The labarum typically consisted of a staff topped with a banner displaying the Chi-Rho and sometimes accompanied by other religious symbols. Before the adoption of the labarum, the Roman military standards included the eagle (aquila) as a prominent symbol. The aquila was a golden or bronze eagle mounted on a pole, serving as a revered emblem for Roman legions. These standards represented the honor and identity of the legion, and losing one in battle was considered a grave dishonor. Each legion had its own distinctive eagle, emphasizing the importance of these symbols in Roman military tradition. Another standard was the "signum," a type of Roman military standard that featured images of the emperor and his family. These were smaller standards carried by individual cohorts within a legion. The images on the signum emphasized loyalty to the reigning emperor and served as a visual representation of the legion's allegiance to the imperial family. The primary standard, the aquila, was more focused on the legion as a whole, while the signum highlighted the personal connection between the soldiers and the ruling authority. ) In the middle of a World War, I would imagine having a bust of Abraham Lincoln and two small flags would be a matter of personal conscience … only because the real life example of Cornelius, a man SPECIFICALLY defined as approved by God, trumps ANY contrary esoteric theory.

Do you have a link to those WT pages?