20 hours ago, Thinking said:

what you wrote above is all true...logical.....I get what your saying  and why you say it....but I’m sorry but I still feel you are missing the big picture....but hey...I miss a lot of fine details.....actually I often wonder why he bothers with any of us...:)

A family in a house is to God, as a litter of puppies in a box is to us.

..... when a police officer pulls you over and asks for your driver's license ... ask his permission before opening the glove compartment, or reaching into a purse or pocket to get it to get it, and never EVER say "Here ... hold my beer!".

Many, many people ... totally innocent people ... have been shot to death, or spent years in prison, because they APPEARED to be guilty of some societal or cultural infraction.

I used to tell my children when they were small, and would go through a store, picking up things to look at them ... it is not only important to BE innocent ... it is important to APPEAR to be innocent.

STUFF HAPPENS.

A "Man Year" is considered to be 50 weeks per year, times 40 hours per week, with a theoretical 2 week vacation every year.

That means One "Man-Year" equals 2,000 hours a year, so for 25 years that is 50,000 hours.

It takes about 50,000 hours, on the average, to get ONE new Jehovah's Witness Convert, who will stay in the "fold", his entire lifetime.

I cheated.

I got married, and had three children, and raised them to adulthood to be strong, independent, thinking people.

All three ( to the best of my knowledge ...) are very strong and active in theocratic activity and are progressing wonderfully.

They know the difference between what is Truth, and what is drivel, and ignore the drivel.  My oldest Son was recently made an Elder.

The fact of the matter is ... it is quicker, and less work to create new children, and raise them in the Truth, than it is to go from door to door, to bring people to Jehovah

That is ....  if you are looking for permanent, long term results.

Of course, that has been my experience .... results will vary with each "Publishers" personality and perspective on life, which will be reflected in type and style, and content of his Ministry.

And pure, dumb luck.

Of course, I will never know how they all turned out at the end of their lives, as I will be dead.

7 minutes ago, Witness said:

Take heart, change is afoot.

I do try to do that ... when I play Poker with the guys from the Motorcycle Club, the object is to take the other guys heart out, and eat it.

Or, as Sherlock Holmes once said ... "The game is afoot!"

There are many "Moments of Truth", in every form of human endeavor.

wej poH yoDSutmey tuQ Sol ghajbogh neH … loS poH ghaH 'Iv ro' yong wa'DIch.

Trois fois armé, c'est celui qui se dispute juste ... et quatre fois

celui qui se fait poing en premier.

Three times armed is he who has his quarrel just

... and four times he who gets his fist in first.

46 minutes ago, JOHN BUTLER said:

8 hours ago, James Thomas Rook Jr. said:

I forget where I read it, and it was probably talking about the card game Poker, but...

"It is immoral to let a sucker keep his money!".

It does have a certain cynical, yet pragmatic,  ring to it.

 

How worldly   totally un-Christian attitude  

Yeah, I know .... I guess I am a "work in progress"

One night in Downtown Charlotte,  some brothers and I were doing midnight "Hotel to Hotel" Witnessing, talking to bored Night Clerks at the front desk, and when it was the other Brother's turn to do the talking, I would, to cover some expenses,  go outside and roll some drunks.

I am 6'-6" tall, and they are de-ruuunk, so no one gets hurt, and I get a lot of loose change.

.... never had any complaints.

I like to think of it as an impromptu Alcoholics Anonymous encounter.

.... after subtracting for expenses, and a small surcharge, I do contribute half to the Worldwide Work.

 

 

This is NOT EVIDENCE that indicates the Bible is correct.

It is a theory that MIGHT be evidence that the Bible is correct.

There is a difference.

a BIG difference!

Do not become self deluded because you WANT something to be true.

That is the difference between GOOD Detectives ... and bad detectives.

Bad detectives base their conclusions on what they WANT to be true.

Archaeologists very often base their conclusions  on what will generate the most grant money, so that they can pay their mortgages, and get lil' Debbie's teeth fixed, and how maxed out their credit cards are.

5 hours ago, Anna said:

The land owner is neither wicked (or is he) nor is he your boss. He might be a robber though

I forget where I read it, and it was probably talking about the card game Poker, but...

"It is immoral to let a sucker keep his money!".

It does have a certain cynical, yet pragmatic,  ring to it.

 

4 hours ago, JOHN BUTLER said:

As for being taken advantage of, yes probably. But like i say it's all in line with the scripture I quoted. It helps to keep me humble in a way. 

Does everyone in the USA just do everything for money ? Yuk, what a horrible lifestyle.  

I agree..... and in order to further your altruistic viewpoint, and upbeat perspective on life,  and to help in any way to assist you in remaining humble, I would like to invite you and your wife to come to my home and do free yard work for a year.

I do not live in a dilapidated mansion, but there is also plenty of carpentry work and painting to do.

When you return home in 2020, you can bask in the glow of a job well done.

I know it's a lot to expect, but I will do my best to work you hard every day.

John Butler:

Very interesting take on life.

I would be interested in knowing how it all works out over time.

I believe you are being taken advantage of  ... but that is not mine to call.

Giving freely to Millionaires is a double edged sword.

My philosophy is like the Motto on U.S. Money.

"In God We Trust"

..all others pay cash.

42 minutes ago, Nicole said:

Maybe it is my erratic perception but as for what I read in the Spanish version of that article, you are already guilty from the moment you spend the night , at the same house with someone who is not your spouse, (no matter if you spend the night locked in your room watching the JW Broadcasting)  and now you have to prove your innocence ?

Unfortunately ... your observation, and Shiwiii's. are quite fair and accurate.

That is why, on average,  it takes 25 MAN-YEARS of witnessing to bring one  new person into the "Truth", who will stay a lifetime.

Shiwiii:

Think of it this way ... A Police Department, because of their power and authority, MUST be as pure and blameless as the driven snow .... yet, they still have to recruit from flawed humans, some more advanced, smart, and people of dedication and integrity ... and some .... not so much.

The same thing is true of ANY religion TRYING to serve God in "the right way".

At the foremost of this, is Jehovah's Witnesses.

Just as a Police Department has methods and means to weed out graft, corruption, and hidden evil .. usually relegated to an "Internal Affairs" department ... so to Jehovah's Witnesses need methods and means to have an organization that is honest, competent, properly focused, and free from evil, as defined by Jehovah God, and the Bible.

The Elders getting into everybody's "business" is an attempt to keep the "Department" responsible, and the "Officers" (Jws) on the right track(s) ... not only for their own best interests ... but for the best interests of the "Department", and to properly serve their "employer", Jehovah God.

The JW "Internal Affairs" Department.

Yes,  there is sometimes a problem in the execution of any plans... in any human endeavor ..re-engineering humans to be better by people themselves flawed is always problematic.

"Stuff Happens"

...... "Stuff" ALWAYS happens.

A human NOT one of Jehovah's Witnesses has the complete freedom to do what they want, or can manage.

The people that DO have integrity .... where did they get it?

It's not ALWAYS just a matter of you either having integrity ... or you don't.

As a Barbarian who had to LEARN integrity (hopefully ...) I can tell you .. if you WANT to be part of the solution to human foibles, rather than the CAUSE ... you HAVE to know what that higher standard is, and be determined, or even guided, or pushed into following that standard.

Hopefully the "pushers" really do know what they are doing, and do it correctly.

You would not want a police officer that ONLY stole 15%, or perverted Justice, knowing he would never be caught. ..... etc.

It is an experimental and hazardous process at best ... sometimes a Policeman shoots the wrong person.

Such is life on Earth, among the Sons and Daughters of DNA.

Get it?

If Robots have sex, and manufacture little Robots ... are batteries included?

14 hours ago, BillyTheKid46 said:

Who is Samantha the sex robot?

Samantha is only of the recent "hyper realistic" sex dolls to hit the hit headlines as advances in technology mean the sex toy market has upped its game.

The doll is interactive, responding to voices as well as to touch.

She comes complete with sensors in her face, hands, breasts and  "the female genitals down below" and it is claimed she requires a more subtle approach when it comes to bedroom activities.

1. This was tyhe subject that prompted me Shakespearean extrapolation.

On 10/29/2018 at 9:32 PM, admin said:

Because the truth is too harsh for the public to know. 

The public cares NOTHING about truth, and will re-arrange facts and select supporting opinions endlessly to fit their agenda.

Why has the U.S. government never apologized for Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

When Nations have irreconcilable differences .... like "I want your oil and copper for free ..."warfare is an acceptable way to resolve that, on the battlefield. 

No nation on Earth today , and not even in ancient Israel, was warfare considered murder....

IF you declare war.

Japan had already bombed Pearl Harbor,  December 7, 1941 .... BEFORE warfare was declared ... by somewhere around an hour.

They were treated according to how they treated others .... and at this time were at war with China, as well.  The Japanese were unrivaled Barbarians on the battlefield ... EXCEPTIONALLY cruel and vicious.

In the above list of "details", much of it is after the fact opinions.... not actual facts... and is about 70% bogus in the recounting of it.

The Japanese national personality was such that they would NEVER have capitulated, and stopped fighting, unless the apparent force that binds the Universe together was used against them.

Based on battle experience across the Pacific Theater of War, it was estimated that  1 million American  soldier's lives would be lost beating down Japan, and 4 million Japanese lives.  THE USA purchased 700,000 Purple Heart Medals, most of which were never used, and that purchase is still being used today.

Two Atomic Bombs saved about 5 million lives, at a cost of about 250,000 lives, but that is irrelevant. 

This was ALSO revenge for the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, a day that will forever be remembered as a day of infamy.  This overwhelming show of force was necessary to prevent the NEXT Atomic War .....

.... and so far ...... IT HAS.

27 minutes ago, Gone Away said:

Under the same roof with no one else present in the dwelling, or in the same room if someone was, and without any reasonable extenuating circumstances. The witnesses would be to the fact this had ocurred, not to necessarily whatever actions took place.

That is exactly what happened to me.

It was cleared up in less than 20 seconds.

Every once in awhile Elders DO have some common sense.

Circa 1982 I had invited a Sister up from Los Angeles to visit me in Concord, California near San Francisco. We were going to spend the weekend together, and I had made arrangements for her to stay at another Sisters house Saturday night, but we got back from our date about 3AM, and rather than disturb the host Sister, we went to my townhouse, and she slept in my bed, and I slept on the sofa, downstairs.

She flew back to LA Sunday morning, and Sunday afternoon at the meeting ( apparently the host Sister had talked to him) an Elder taps me on the shoulder and asks me, without any preamble at all "Where did Barbara sleep last night?"

I told him, and that was the end of that.

10 hours ago, Space Merchant said:

Agreed. But we have to be very careful of sexual immorality and all brazen conduct that stems from it - this includes sexual gratification by means of these inanimate objects, which includes robots and dolls, toasters, cars, what have you.

Toasters and cars !! ?

YIKES!

As Queen Gertrude said, in iambic pentameter in Shakespear's HAMLET, Act III, Scene II (paraphrased):

" ... Methinks BillyTheKid46 doth protest too much ...."

Reminds me of when my younger sister, about five years old, came in with one of her friends from playing in the yard, and asked our Mother:

"Can I get a bowl of milk? Not gonna give it to the  cat."

8 hours ago, TrueTomHarley said:

Listen, I am telling you that these robots are not good, no way, no how. they may sound good, but I programmed mine to be just like me, so that he could do all the work and I could just lounge around. Instead, the bucket of bolts turned the tables on me, and I'm slogging around while it lives the life of Reilly.

Could be worse! ..........

If you control all speech in every medium ...

you get NO WARNING when fuses are lit.

In all things where you are getting advice from someone else .... especially those who pay NO PRICE WHATSOEVER IF THEIR ADVICE SCREWS UP YOUR LIFE ... you have to consider their history of being right ... and being wrong. 

What is their overall credibility?

Is their thinking sound.. or delusional?