James Thomas Rook Jr.

... THAT's why in my last posting, I put "The End" in quotes .... I was not referring to each individual life .... but the end of this system at Armageddon.

Philosophically, when each of us individually dies ... the Universe ceases to exist.

5 hours ago, TrueTomHarley said:

10 hours ago, James Thomas Rook Jr. said:

so, in late 1974, I "caved in", and quit my job in Zaire, the Congo, and flew back home to Virginia to be with my parents when the "end came". 

You should have stayed where you were. The end did come in 1975 but only in Zaire.

No TTH... it didn't.

"The End" did NOT come anywhere .... in 1975.

If it had .....  we all would have noticed.

3 hours ago, TrueTomHarley said:

This makes no sense to me. If he was dismissed for his renegade writing, why was he retained as a writer?

From one viewpoint,  a renegade writer can STILL write ... and knows where "the bodies are buried".

From his viewpoint, he usually wants to eat three times a day, and not sleep in the snow.

Quid Pro Quo

.

If you are a Weatherman, and consistently wrong about predicting the weather ... I mean EVERY TIME consistent, you get fired and they toss your sorry butt out onto the asphalt.

Unfortunately there is no one on this Earth to toss the Governing Body ....

Their belated and forced admission that they were "not infallible, or inspired of God" was perhaps the understatement of the past 120 years.

I still prefer Jehovah's Witnesses for many reasons, and it might take a bit to get your mind wrapped around this idea, but here goes .....

You don't fight a war for righteousness with the Army you want .... you fight a war for righteousness with the Army YOU HAVE!

The Polish Army during WWII went against German Tanks  on horses, with horse drawn cannon, and fought like the Napoleonic Wars were fought ... and they were massacred.

BUT THEY DID FIGHT!

...same thing.

9 hours ago, Anna said:

On 12/3/2017 at 1:33 AM, James Thomas Rook Jr. said:

and I made many cartoons making fun of the ludicrousness of the 1975 frenzy. 

did you make your cartoons during the 1975 "frenzy" ?

Yes, as I thought the whole thing was ridiculous, and drew many satirical cartoons on the inside covers of theocratic books, reacting to what the speakers from the platforms were saying, as they expounded with MANY words  .... making fun of the whole idea ..... from about 1970 to 1974 ... ( I may still have them here somewhere in a box ... I am like a pack-rat ...) but after being bombasted  by  "1975-1975-1975 !" at every angle for three years, I concluded that it was VERY IMPROBABLE ....  that every  JW I knew, from Virginia to California would know something as a fact that I was not aware of .... so, in late 1974, I "caved in", and quit my job in Zaire, the Congo, and flew back home to Virginia to be with my parents when the "end came". 

It still made no sense to me ... I suppose I had faith in the Brotherhood from top to bottom to have more "faith" than I had, and SUPPOSED my mind was clouded ... as I am basically a Barbarian in nature.

If my parents were going to die, I wanted to be at home in Virginia to die with them ... because I STILL did not believe it.

It was a kind of "just-in-case" thing.

JWI:

  I checked your math, as I do not believe anybody on the face of it .. and you are right ... a fairly standard rifle bullet travels at approximately 1100 feet per second(fps), which if it were in space with no air resistance and gravitational centers far away that would be about 750 miles per hour.  I picked the 1100 fps as a generalization.

The theme  music from the 1951 "Superman" TV show is on this link.

Where this ties into the conversation is that (notice his yellow belt with the plain belt buckle...) some times when flying at supersonic speed in the atmosphere, the wind catches in his leotards, and he .... *koff* .... "MOONS" the Earth.

... and now you know the REST of the story ... of why Superman wears a long red cape.

 

 

20 minutes ago, Melinda Mills said:

If we throw out all the laws requiring honesty because the majority of people are no longer honest, how would that help? Same thing with throwing out the white dress.  And who said there are no virgins?

In 1969 I lived in Hollywood, California, and they were going to have a "Parade of Virgins" marching down Hollywood Blvd. for some reason or another ... but one got sick, and the other would not march by herself.

SNL did a skit on JWs and 1975?

That was way back when SNL was actually FUNNY!

Wow... now I gotta find it! (Youtube?)

AllenSmith:

I followed your link.

If I had not actually been there and seen what happened from Virginia to California, it would ALMOST be believable. The Frenzy was EVERYWHERE. It was consistent on both coasts, at Kingdom Halls and Assemblies, and I made many cartoons making fun of the ludicrousness of the 1975 frenzy. 

Unfortunately, year after year it wore me down and I began to reason "How could I be right, and everybody I know in the Truth be wrong?", and I quit a terrific job in the African Congo to be home in Virginia with my family when the end was to come.

This proves that youth is wasted on the young ... and the fact that I "caved" is an everlasting embarrassment that I have tried never to duplicate, even if it means telling some Brother much more theoretically inclined than I am to "go to hell".

That's where Liberty and Integrity begin.

However noble the goal, or how well intentioned ... It is evil to try and defend Truth ... with lies.

  I personally see no need for an ostentatious expensive wedding unless you come down the aisle on a steam locomotive, with laborers building train tracks ahead of you, and an army of  robed choir blowing trumpets and throwing handfulls of rose petals along the way!

Sacrificing virgins is out, as nowadays virgins are as scarce as volcanoes to throw them into.

The same is true if the tensions with North Korea start a thermonuclear World War III.

There is NOTHING we can do about it.

If EITHER ONE happens, I am going to put a lawn chair in the middle of the street, with a cooler full of beer, and watch the show !

It helps a great deal if you do not eat the UGLY ones .....

Having worked for Mars Candy Company in Cleveland, Tennessee, I can tell you quit authoritatively that they supply their candies to different religious groups formulated differently.

Her religious order must have gotten the shipments intended for the hard-shell Baptists.

Yeah ... I shoulda put some ellipses in there .  Know whaddi mean, Vern?

Bro. Anthony Morris Jr. (TPT) and Bro. Geoffery Jackson (ARC) ... (left to right, front row) do not look very happy about what they are singing.

23 minutes ago, Israeli Bar Avaddhon said:

We must honestly ask ourselves whether we have gone from making absurd and ridiculous calculations (like those of the seventh millennium) to failing to see what is written in the Bible.

Since no matter WHAT the case is... it does not affect any person in any way whatsoever ..... in that .... whatever the case is, there is NOTHING you can do about it .... nothing whatsoever ... why worry about it at all ?

Like the Eagles said in their song about "Takin' it Easy" on a corner in Winslow Arizona ( What a fine sight to see...) " Don't let the sounds of your own wheels ... make you craaaaa-zeeee."

I thought it was very interesting that at about 10 minutes, someone just baptized took out about three liters of water in a plastic jug (souvenir?) as leisurely as it it had been summertime.

If it was me, I would be going as fast as I could to a warm room with a blazing wood stove, fueled by tons of letters Witnesses sent Russia as directed by the Governing Body, so that they could have "fuel at the proper time".

Really Good New York Style Pizza is in fact a secret recipe, especially if you are having a friend for dinner ....

It goes well with Fava Beans, and a nice Chianti wine.

That picture with Bro. Samuel Herd looks like a staged picture with a computer generated "green screen" background.

My heart also has a deep profound hunger to meet my loved ones at the Rainbow Bridge.

I had to send my beloved Tony Rook on the trip ahead of me yesterday .....

2003-2017

... he was 14 years old.

Having spent time working in the Congo ... to be fair .... the children ... and parents ...   would fascinated with ANYTHING shown on a color screen, with recorded sound.  Letting them wear a construction "hard hat" was a big thrill!

I hope their on line presence is not diminished ... I get ANALOG Science Fiction/Science Fact magazine from them every month in digital form.

The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.          Marcus Aurelius
 

.... this makes me SO TIRED ....

I have heard it said many times from the platform at the Kingdom Hall, and at least once at an Assembly, that getting Baptized is the most important decision a person could ever make .... and I agree with that whole heartedly.

It takes insight, dedication, a love for Jehovah, experience, maturity and since 1985, total alignment and obedience to the  .ORG  to make that decision that will govern one's whole life.

So the young Brothers, having exhibited maturity and responsibility and commitment FAR GREATER than what is required as a practical matter in marriage, have shown by actual recognized and approved example that they are ready for that really cute Sister whose head almost comes to the top of the seat, in front of him at the Kingdom Hall.

To the best of my knowledge, the only place in the world that it is legal to get married at that age  ( a much LESSER important decision ... ) is in Saudi Arabia.

The fact that he is eight years old and she is only six years old should not be a problem, what with the age difference and all ... as in 2009 the Saudi  courts ruled to NOT nullify the marriage of an eight year old girl to a man 50 years her senior.

They have several expressions there (translated from from the Arabic) ; "Sharing is caring", which refers to their practice of polygamy under Islamic Law, and; " You know what is so great about twenty eight year old girls?  (wait for it...)

"There are TWENTY of them!"

However, both  bride and grooms parents will need to escort them in the Saudi Kingdom, until they get married, presumably as they cannot see over the car's dashboard.

Besides ... now that the Governing Body has begun blessing the baptism of small children ... perhaps some GB helpers (assuming the parents have as much money as Prince...) could set up a temporary Saudi Kinder Hall, and have a GB member perform the wedding !!

OR ... now that each of the three small brothers are now legally Ordained Ministers ... one could register with the Saudi government and get a license, as it is done in every State in the United States, to perform Weddings !

THAT way, since the three of them would be about the same height ...  the photographer could get better photo compositions, than if the bride and groom were about 1/2 the height of the GB Member officiating.

( ...pause for reflection ....)

I wonder why Jesus waited until he was about 30  years old to get baptized as a dedication to Jehovah. (?)

I suppose he was just not blessed by the Governing Body in Jerusalem at that time, and didn't know what was a proper thing to do.

1 hour ago, tromboneck said:

blah blah blah, blahbeblah blabah

BlaH!