James Thomas Rook Jr.

52 minutes ago, Witness said:

Why on earth would the early Zion Watchtower have three crosses on the tower?   Who thought that one up?

Sigh ... this is getting tiresome, and I have to go put new headlights on my car this afternoon.

The stone Watchtower on the old magazine cover had WINDOWS in the side of the tower.

WINDOWS to let in light, and ventilation, but designed the way they were so that you could shoot ARROWS, spears, and pour flaming oil and push stones  on the ones seeking to scale the walls to break into your fortification.

The walls are several feet thick.

That means that, from the INSIDE,  by varying your angle from left to right, and top to bottom, you can shoot OUT of a VERY narrow slit, as the incoming projectiles have a good chance of being deflected by the wall and SIDES of the cross SHAPED window.

It's NOT a crucifex design .... its a weapons platform, that happens to be cross shaped.

There is a difference!

If your mind has an agenda driven motivation, EVERYTHING you see , hear and experience will be WRONG. 

This will appear normal, and wise to you.

It's not what we think we know ... or what we really do know ...... it's about not getting suckered into a mind set where everything we actually do know .... is WRONG.

There is a LOT out there.... and if you have WDS ( Watchtower Derangement Syndrome ), seeing things that are not really there,you will miss most of it, and die ignorant .... and wrong.

It's a sword that cuts BOTH ways.

.... however, as I told my CO one day when he asked what I thought about the organization "I can do without Caleb and Sophia".

From the upward slant of the angle that the photograph was taken, the edge of the ledge cuts off perhaps two feet of the bottom part of the piece of shiny vertical stainless steel.

I STRONGLY suspect there is another  horizontal piece obscured by perspective below the ones shown here, looking like a "cross", exactly like the one shown, below on each vertical member, to attach to the sheets of plate glass, through holes in the glass,  to keep it from flexing, in high wind.   (Eventually, one of those plates of glass will somehow get broken).

The plate glass would not normally rest on the stone surface for many reasons, including collecting water, debris, and accessibility to maintenance for cleaning.

That photo was taken somewhere about 35 degrees above horizontal, looking up.

That would make it TWO horizontal cross arms for each rail support ... not a crucifex at all ! 

Four support points or "tabs" for each sheet of glass, attached to the railing supports. That makes perfect sense to me.

Further, from the  specular highlight reflectance  of those tabs, it appears they are on the other side of the glass.  That would make sense so you can unbolt the damaged glass plates  without a 50 foot ladder, and can stand where the visitors are shown, to do it.

Look at how the CORNER posts horizontal tabs are attached  in the original picture !

I would bet money that I am right.

Any takers?

15 hours ago, Outta Here said:

What! Do they even steal the tyres off your bikes in that den of iniquity?????Pah! nothing is sacred these days!

It's actually part of of a strategics strategy to steal THREE bicycle tires (American spelling for tyres..), that way they do not get accused of being .... *coff* .. two tired,  to fix the "crosses".

2 hours ago, JOHN BUTLER said:

The Kid makes me think of an example.

A man is arrested for murder. The murder is proved beyond doubt. But, the man says,' IS have murdered many more people than I have'.

Then the man says ' Hitler was responsible for millions of murders'. 

'So on that account', the man says, 'I must be innocent, because no one is perfect, and I have done less harm than most' 'So I should be set free' the man says. 

I had that same idea ... but it is easier to explain when you use the "Hitler Card" as an illustration.

I agree with EVERY WORD you said ... but still .... because we are all ... you, me, and everyone, capable of great things and magnificent endeavors of integrity and courage and righteousness ... we are stuck in big ugly bags of mostly water, with brains made mostly of fat.

..and the people that try the most ... get tired and exhausted faster.

When you go to a buffet restaurant ... always check the plates, and knives , forks, and spoons for being having been washed.

... and every once and awhile,... in the kitchen.

"STUFF HAPPENS".

... and remember, wherever you go ... there you are!

Wah-d-do DAH!

(Translation of the above:  Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater  every time SOMETHING gets clean ... something ELSE gets dirty ...).

You cannot expect  a bar of aluminum to have the same strength of a bar of steel.

But steel corrodes ... and so do we.

"Collateral Damage" can be eliminated ONLY when you take all humans out of the equation.

Any other perception is childish, and not realistic.

I know ... I used to be like you.

I miss it.

Ignorance really is ... bliss.

...but I try not go go orgasmic.

Awhile back, I think we had LOOOong discussions about this, and as a retired Engineer who worked with risk assessment in the real world, and had to quantify it with numbers ( How MUCH, and to how many decimal places... ?), I agreed with I think it was TTH's comment and analysis that, yes we DO have the same problems as everyone else ... but it is less than 10% of ANYBODY else.

ANYBODY else.

That is why, I truly believe ... and THEREFORE .... Jehovah's Witnesses are "The Only Game in Town".

Sure, it's rigged ... and faulty ... but all the others are so much worse.

If you are careful, you can eat three day old meat that has been out in the sun ... if you have experience.

The alternative is to starve, or get poisoned.

YIKES!

31 minutes ago, Shiwiii said:

On 3/10/2019 at 9:44 AM, Space Merchant said:

You come to their playground that they own, you are bounded to their rules. They can warn you, remind you, but should you go out of line, you will be exiled, excommunicato'd, banished, kick-out, of the playground.

sounds exactly like being a jw in a kh. 

If you misbehave in my house, you may be shot dead.

.... you do not "take a dump" in someone else's environment.

That's why gentlemen go out in the street to fight .... or in a public forum where the rules are somewhat more lax.

10 minutes ago, Melinda Mills said:

Lost his faith completely. Shame! 

... and common sense, too.

( Which is becoming less and less common ...)

Agenda driven thinking ALWAYS does that.

ALWAYS.

Anna makes a very good point:

If it IS an idol representing something ... what SPECIFICALLY is it?

Does it have a name?

Does it have a description?

Does it have a history of any religious significance?

Anybody now leaving bags of Potato Chips at the base?

I remember seeing your (?) original picture posting.

It is an impressive piece of abstract massive art as far as i can tell. (?)

Reminds me of the old story of a psychiatrist showing Rorschach  ink blot cards to a sexually criminally insane prisoner, and to every ink blot card he was shown, he gave a vile, sexual, and ugly description of what he supposedly saw.

Finally, the shrink lost his temper and called him several unprofessional names befitting the prisoner's warped mind.

The prisoner replied:

"Why are you angry with ME?

... YOUR the one with the dirty pictures!"

Or, as the Eagles once sang about standing on the corner, in Winslow Arizona ..

" Don't let the sound of your own wheels ... make you Craaaaaa-zeee !"

All you said is true .. BUT ... all men are fallible, and even hardened combat soldiers  whose determination is to be steadfast, loyal, courageous, faithful and discreet  reach the limits of what they are ABLE to do ... and crumble and fall.

... been there ... done that.

Seen it many times in many places.

Not every conscientious soldier can be like the fictional John Rambo, and it is unrealistic to assume anything close to that.

That is why, while acknowledging all that has been talked about here in the last ten years, and more, is mostly true ... Justice requires OUR mercy and understanding when our "Drill Sergeants", and "Officer's Corps" get us and our friends killed because they were not as good at what they claimed to want to be.

Nobody is.  

Not You, Not me, not anybody.

My Uncle Bill was shot from behind in North Korea in the 1950's by his own men, and three 50 caliber machine gun bullets almost tore his left arm off, which was one massive scar.

Making weak, wimpy decisions based on fear of an endless list of things ... IS WHAT WE DO!

That is why I stick with Jehovah's Witnesses ... not because of the phony crap and self serving self aggrandizement of the leadership, that looks like a clown car that has run off the road and into a tree ... It's because the core Theology is TRUE ... and Jehovah really does have a Congregational Arrangement, and Jehovah's Witnesses , globally, "ARE THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN!"

FROM THE BOTTOM UP,  we have to show THEM mercy and understanding, even when they royally screw up.. (John 9:41).

Remember, Jehovah "tolerated" a whole dedicated nation of Jews, his "special possession", to get completely over run with pagan practices and dishonesty, before it finally reached a certain point, that "enough was enough!."

Justice must be tempered with mercy for blind guides who do not fight well when the enemy is engaged.

Everyone does what we know ... and nobody is good at everything.

A clumsy dentist is often better than no dentist., but ....

STUFF HAPPENS

(paraphrased)

... and to GIVE THEM OUT ... if you perceive YOURSELF as a "celebrity" !

7 hours ago, Witness said:

14 hours ago, TrueTomHarley said:

Next thing you know, you will be asking some politician to sign your Bible.

Or telling another one that he represents the political manifestation of God’s kingdom on earth.

Oh yes, I saw the news clip yesterday.  I mentioned this to my husband and relayed the past bible signing event by the GB.

 

That cracked me up ...  with snarky criticism of alluding to recent (past few days) national news that Trump signed Bibles for various clergymen (which was heavily criticized in the "fake media" by those with severe TDS )  ... and then seeing the posting of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses signing Bibles for politicians.

I had seen that before, but I had completely forgotten about it.

Thanks TTH .... always good for  some  "reducto ad absurdum" humor at the oddest times.

Sometimes ... MANY times ... Justice requires going above and BEYOND the law, without breaking it.

Taking the MORAL high ground often requires losing everything you own, and all your money and assets, and sometimes even your life, in a miserable and degraded manner, in abject and total poverty, as Jesus was the exemplar, and many of his Apostles and disciples  learned.

Remember the Assembly theme "Follow Jesus"?

How'se dat workin' out fer us?

If you play on someone else's playground, try not to get sucked into playing war games.

As the WOPR computer once commented about Global Thermonucler War Games ... " The only way to win ... is NOT PLAY!"

6 hours ago, Srecko Sostar said:

 Things that are Covered by Secular laws (in this topic that is sex abuse inside WT or any other institution) should be given to Secular authority to handle. 

EXACTLY:

Anything ... anything at all ....  that the Elders become aware of that is an actual crime ... as defined by the Secular Authorities ... should be reported to the appropriate  Secular Authorities.

That is the Law of GOD !

In a similar manner, we ALSO should not do our own dental work, and heart surgery.

Deciding for ourselves whether or not it is REQUIRED ... puts Caesar holding the moral high ground, and makes cowards out of us.

FOR MONEY.

We have a greater responsibility to God, the Brotherhood,  and the community we live in, than trying to preserve accumulated piles of money, and magnificent and valuable Real Estate.

We have World Centers in NY, and Embassies all over the world (Branch Offices).

In Cairo, Egypt, the Egyptians tried that with the Pyramids ...

... as they and their civilization turned to ruin and dust.

King Tut .... gave his life for Tourism!

Jesus did not even have a rented single room to sleep in, or even one suitcase with a change of clothes. 

Remember the Assembly theme "Follow Jesus"?

How'se dat workin' out fer us?

Persecution of one man is a travesty ... persecution of 50 or more is a statistic.

The deaths of six million are a footnote.

could be worse .....

12 hours ago, admin said:

I bet you that your bullets (if you could get your gun out in time) would feel like insect bites to him as he squeezes the life out of you and swallows you like I eat a tasty morsel of cheeseburger... one bite. Gulp....

We probably wouldn't even know what hit us before we could go firing off in every direction.

As I sit here typing, in my house, with only my wife and 6 dogs, I have my hand gun in my right front pants pocket, and if standing up, can draw and fire in 3/8 of a second.  The reason I have a red dot laser on it is I don't miss.

 A FMJ (Full Metal Jacket) 9mm bullet will go through a standard car door with ease ... perhaps all the way through a car, and out the other side.

The rest is up to divine providence, and pure, dumb luck.

... and not being where snakes that size are.

American Lawyers think out of law books ..... Russian Lawyers think out of a long box with rifles and bayonets.

Not understanding the difference is why we were completely and totally devastated.

It would be hard to "chew", or whatever a snake does, with 17, 9mm full metal jacket bullets in it's head.

Snakes have a hard life ... sometimes they just bite you to say "hello".

The Society also funneled about 56 MILLION DOLLARS of the Brotherhood's money to the Russkies, through the Universal Postal Union Terminal duty charges of 70% of the value of affixed postage costs to pay the Russkies to deliver the mail at their end of the pipeline ....  which gives complete plausible deniability that it was NOT a bribe.

No one would EVER read 64 million letters, so I guess they got a lot of "fuel at the proper time" for their furnaces that winter, as well.

And the Society was STILL cut down as wheat before a scythe.

...... makes me glad that the red dot laser on my handguns are calibrated for 15 meters .......

Coincidence?

8 minutes ago, Indiana said:

Question:  Why did Jehovah’s Witnesses  recently organize a worldwide letter writing campaign due to the persecution in Russia and not for other countries where there is also persecution?

Because their Real Estate holdings were not in jeopardy in those other countries.