Pudgy

I think the important points that you made in your post, Audrey what is that each person is an individual and there’s no homogenous this or that hiding under any societal label.
I was reading TTH‘s book last night about Putin and in the Forward it said there was a fellow that said “they call me crazy, but that was back when crazy meant something…… nowadays everybody is crazy“. (Paraphrased.).
I often visualize a flying saucer out off the solar ecliptic, bathing Earth in a “stupid ray”, affecting everyone.
Having this theoretical insight, it was a revelation that I was not immune.
We all take turns being a traumatic irritant or danger to someone else.
Yesterday at Golden Corral a large black man was about six tables away, laughing continually with friends so unbearably loud I could not think, and I was getting angry, but then I realized that was not his problem, it was my problem.
Others were trying to hide their anger also, but then I decided to share his joy of life, and was grinning ear to ear looking directly at him.
Others saw my grin and they started grinning and raising their eyebrows in recognition, and in six seconds it was all funny and enjoyable !
Much better than a knife and fist fight with those dinky Golden Corral serrated steak knives.

An interesting read. One has to ask oneself some questions. GB often repeats the mantra that Jesus did not promise "perfect spiritual food", so the interpretation of WTJWorg has sometimes been wrong, and will continue to be, it seems.
The main point of WTJWorg is that spiritual food comes from the Source aka Jesus and travels through the "Only Channel" to the believers.
What kind of "error" is it about? Random mistake in communication between Jesus and GB? Or is it about flaws of character in Jesus or in GB?

I usually tell that joke using ketchup, but today I changed it to barbecue sauce because nobody seemed to laugh whenever I told it before.

(Hey, @TrueTomHarley, just wanted to let you know we are adding your book to our homeschool curriculum for this year, since my kids tablets are connected to mine I shared the book with them and they are already enjoying it - my son liked the part "about the author" where you mentioned you have a brother who you play Scrabble with who cheats😆...Anyway, in addition to reading the Bible out loud together my kids and I read a life story together before bed at night, and during the school year we also read selected works by Jehovah's Witnesses out loud together, some of the books we've done that with are Facing the Lion by Simone Arnold Liebster, No Greater Love by Tharcisse Seminega, Faith on the March by A H Macmillan, and Beyond Courage by Robert Aros. Thanks for giving us another one to add to the list!☺️)

I think it was last year sometime that we read Tharcisse's book, but from what I recall (and please forgive me because I really don't remember all the details exactly so I might get it a little mixed up without checking it again) wasn't it a non-Witness that hid them most of the time? And wasn't it non-Witnesses that helped them a lot of the time? And didn't one of the guys that was a Witness later stop helping them? I have to look it up again, but to me it seemed Tharcisse was just reporting the facts of how it all played out.
 
It has been my experience with the trials my family has faced in the past few years (nothing like what he went through) but the people that were here for me and my kids, a lot of the time it was Witnesses who abandoned us and treated us the worst, and it was so-called "worldly people" who showed us the most love and practical help when we needed it most. 
 
It was just like in Jesus' illustration, where instead of the Levite and the priest walking by the beat up person on the road, it was the elder and the pioneer and the "Jehovah's Witnesses in good-standing" who walked right by. The "Samaritans" in my case were sometimes the figurative "tax collectors and prostitutes". 
 
I learned that lesson, and I can see that Tharcisse did too. Each person is an individual, and to assume that the label "Jehovah's Witnesses" is merely an exterior one that can be applied by men and relied upon is fallacious.
 
Who really is a witness of Jehovah? In Tharcisse's book, the non-Witness who helped them gave witness of Jehovah's holy spirit. In my case, the "worldly people" who helped me gave evidence of Jehovah's holy spirit. It was love that motivated them to help me and my kids. Love is a fruitage of Jehovah's holy spirit. Therefore they were being Jehovah's witnesses when they helped us, more than the ones with the official label "Jehovah's Witnesses".
 
(Just my opinion on the book.🙂But thank you for sharing yours!)

Understood … 

Well, in my life I had 21 people who tried to damage me… I kept a list.
Then I realized over time they were dying of auto accidents, strokes, disease, war, and now there is only one left, who I ignore.
Works for me!

At least by making it public, it scared him a bit and he backed off.

Jehovah is the One who has protected us. 

He was after my kids. My husband was too distracted by the drink to notice. Even after my husband got arrested, the COBE and his wife tried to get custody of my kids. He wouldn't stop. Even now, he still sends them gifts.

I wasn't alive when Paul was in Corinth, but I have been alive the past few years and can share what I've experienced with "excommunication" and "disfellowshipping" in the local congregation.
 
Those "seven sins" listed on the first website posted there:
 
"(1) Immorality — adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, incest, rape, sexual impurity, etc.
(2) Greed — The desire to accumulate gain by base methods.
(3) Idolatry — Participation in occult practices.
(4) Drunkenness — Intoxication with alcohol.
(5) Extortion — Robbery, theft, stealing.
(6) Foul tongue — A railer, verbally abusive, reviling, slanderous, insulting, contentious, speech which causes injury or damage.
(7) Heretic — One who causes division by a party spirit, a self-willed opinion, or contentions over false or exotic doctrines."
 
I saw all of those things being practiced in my local congregation. Immorality, greed, idolatry, drunkenness, extortion, foul tongue, and heresy, being practiced by elders or elders wives or former elders. Not one of them was disfellowshipped, even though there was plenty of evidence, and at times the person admitted to the deed. The elders didn't care. The branch didn't care. The flock was hurt because these people were allowed to continue in their midst, but nobody did anything about it.
 
My kids and I are at the point where we are not welcome at the local Kingdom Hall because we told on some of those things that were going on. We were witnesses to the things and it was our obligation to report it and to warn others, since the deeds were still going on in some cases. My kids are baptized teenagers, and my son has been able to take the lead in our once-a-week family worship time for the past couple years. He also says the prayers before meals and before we read the Bible together every day. (We also watch prerecorded meetings twice a week too.)
 
For the year that my husband wasn't home per State order, our family worship was smooth. When my husband came home (which we are glad about) it was difficult for family worship and prayers, because part of the reason the domestic assault incident was precipitated in the first place was his anger that I had reported to the elder body what the COBE was doing, some of those bad things on that list. Anything that had to do with worship or prayer or reading the Bible was an issue for my husband, even though he was baptized and supposedly in good standing with the elders. At that point he hadn't repented about certain serious sins (some of the ones on that list there) and instead of Jehovah's spirit he had a spirit of rage and contention. It was impossible to do any kind of "worship" together with him. So my kids and would hide and do our worship in another part of the house where he wasn't around to get irritated. He would go to the Kingdom Hall and "worship" and we would worship Jehovah at home. We "disfellowshipped" him from our family worship because he kept disrupting it and turning it into an abuse session.
 
We have invited him back at other times since he's calmed down more, but he's not interested. My son says the prayer before dinner prior to when my husband comes in the room. We all eat together, but he doesn't join us for the prayer, or family worship. It's taken awhile to figure out how to get to this point, but it's peaceful for all of us now, as peaceful as possible, and gives evidence of Jehovah's approval. That's how we've done "disfellowshipping".

We didn't need a committee meeting of three elders in a secret back room. We just needed common sense and to pray to Jehovah and meditate on scriptural principles. It wasn't that hard once we figured out to not overcomplicate things.

That would be my advice to you, Audrey.
You cannot stop a locomotive full of passengers determined to ride that train.
That makes them happy.
You make them unhappy.
Those that know, already know.
Besides if you ignore the crazy stuff, it will take you where you, and they, want to go. ( ! )

If conscience is implanted in man directly by God, then it is the best guide for man. You mention that as an "addition" he gave his wise advice and instructions. I assume that this means written sacred things, mainly what can be found in the Bible, at least as far as the Christian world is concerned.
If the conscience can be corrupted and become dull, and as most people believe, it is placed in a man by God himself, then it is a terrible misfortune for mankind. If God's wise counsels and instructions, aka the Bible, can be corrupted through human intervention through theological explanations and interpretations, then it is nothing strange, because conscience as the first line of defense has already fallen much earlier. Because the conscience should be able to distinguish between human interpretations and recognize deceptions. But a misconception prevails. When JW members are able to recognize this, that deception is also in their house, then they will be on the road to restoration. Renewal is an ongoing process. And, in my opinion, it is not an institutional matter, but a personal one.

Thank you for your truly great compassion. Please don't feel like that anymore, because, well, we survived and it's "as if nothing happened". I have three siblings and a mother. Two brothers and mother decided not to contact. The oldest brother makes a phone call from time to time. Wife is JW.
Stay well!

The reason people “twist scripture”, as Fausto pointed out is AWAYS to consolidate power over other people, almost always to get their money.
The easiest way to do this to make people afraid to talk to each other.
The easiest way to do that, is to threaten families as well as the “miscreant”.
 

I agree with the general idea of disfellowshipping …. beats being burned at the stake … but the whole of Matthew Chapter 18 tells how to do it.
It’s not Rocket Science.
It’s a cookbook operation with clear, simple, and specific instructions written down in the Bible. 

Very simple, unambiguous, easy to follow instructions. directly from the “Master Chef”.
Are we doing disfellowshipping as SPECIFIED IN DETAIL in Matthew 18?
NO
NOT EVEN CLOSE!
It’s as simple as that.
HOW to handle these things is so important that the founding fathers of the United States of America drew from Matthew 18 to put in the U.S. Constitution as an inalienable human right, protected by law the right someone had to face his accuser, face to face … drawn from Matthew 18:15.
You will know the True Religion of Almighty God, because it is Just, makes good common sense, and does not offend the natural conscience of righteously inclined people.
It’s not Rocket Science.
 

….. sometimes my jokes are just for me …..

For some strange reason, being a heavily armed nearsighted hunchback with a pronounced twitch and a propensity for drooling used to bother my ex-wife.

One day I was sitting at the dining room table, with rifles, pistols, revolvers and other weapons all taken apart and I was cleaning them.
A clean gun is a happy gun.
My ex-wife, who was always afraid of guns, looked over my shoulder and muttered, “What would you do if everybody else in the world didn’t have any guns?”
I turned and looked at her, and said “rule wisely”.
 

Jesus forgave those ACTIVELY torturing him to death … those who had Not repented … because they “do not know what they are doing”.
That is why we should not be too hard on the Governing Body.
Not every soldier is John Rambo, or can be expected to be.

The reason people “twist scripture”, as Fausto pointed out is AWAYS to consolidate power over other people, almost always to get their money.
The easiest way to do this to make people afraid to talk to each other.
The easiest way to do that, is to threaten families as well as the “miscreant”.
 

…… when the receipt calls for powdered sugar ….. don’t substitute olives.

I agree with the general idea of disfellowshipping …. beats being burned at the stake … but the whole of Matthew Chapter 18 tells how to do it.
It’s not Rocket Science.
It’s a cookbook operation with clear, simple, and specific instructions written down in the Bible. 

Very simple, unambiguous, easy to follow instructions. directly from the “Master Chef”.
Are we doing disfellowshipping as SPECIFIED IN DETAIL in Matthew 18?
NO
NOT EVEN CLOSE!
It’s as simple as that.
HOW to handle these things is so important that the founding fathers of the United States of America drew from Matthew 18 to put in the U.S. Constitution as an inalienable human right, protected by law the right someone had to face his accuser, face to face … drawn from Matthew 18:15.
You will know the True Religion of Almighty God, because it is Just, makes good common sense, and does not offend the natural conscience of righteously inclined people.
It’s not Rocket Science.
 

How do you show respect to a person who left the Church or was excluded from it?
Is it so that you don't greet her on the street?
Who is the God you worship?
Jesus spoke not only to tax collectors and adulterers but also to religious opponents.
Everyone who talks to me and others like me on this forum is violating religious rules and beliefs if they are JW members. They should also be excommunicated...immediately ..... hahaha