James Thomas Rook Jr.

The Christian Congregation was founded DURING Christ's lifetime ... the Apostles were assembled, not to play soccer on Wednesday afternoons. Disciples by the tens of thousands were not congregated for a concert.

By the time he was executed there were many thousands of believers, and practicers.

Perhaps I should rephrase my original paragraphs .....

Remember .... Among the Jewish Congregations of God,  before Roman  Military Occupation,  trials were held in the city gates, where EVERYONE could see, speak up, and judge the judges.... and judge the PROCESS of Justice.

Among the Jews, the "whole body" of Jews involved in adjudication of sin and crimes worked well for several thousand years ... and it worked well in the Early Christian Congregation for about 270 years along the same model ... until the rise of the Roman Catholic Church, whose evolution was guided by Roman political concerns, under the lead of that master politician, Emperor Constantine.

.... which is how the system evolved into what we have now.

Just remember ... in Jesus' time, during his life and for about 270 years afterward ...  such trials were held before the whole Christian Congregation.

THAT is the example we should be following ...

27 minutes ago, Outta Here said:

There seems to be either an anachronism or a confusion of tense here depending on your position. 

16 minutes ago, Outta Here said:

Come on James. What do you mean by "Jesus' time"? 

Was that your answer?

What does that mean in English?

2 hours ago, Srecko Sostar said:

JW members are less concerned about suffer of people who are not JW. 

Each of us, no matter who we are, only have a limited number of mental, emotional, physical, and financial resources.  And only so many hours of our lives, which as time goes on, becomes painfully shorter, and filled with concerns of the day.

2 hours ago, Srecko Sostar said:

JW members are less concerned about suffer of people who are not JW. 

OF COURSE THIS IS THE CASE !

Sreko Sostar,  I feel a certain affinity for you because we have seen and experienced many similar things, and have certain common awarenesses ... but will allocate what total resources I have to "Blood or Brotherhood" .... FIRST.

The quickest way to go totally insane is to grieve over things you cannot change ... and as Clint Eastwood, in the Harry Callahan series of movies once said, (paraphrased) ....

" .. A man has got to know his own limitations."

Just remember ... in Jesus' time, such trials were held before the whole Christian Congregation, while among the Jews, before Roman  Military Occupation,  such were held in the city gates, where EVERYONE could see, speak up, and judge the judges.... and judge the PROCESS of Justice.

Among the Jews, the "whole body" of Jews involved in adjudication of sin and crimes worked well for several thousand years ... and it worked well in the Early Christian Congregation for about 270 years ... until the rise of the Roman Catholic Church, whose evolution was guided by Roman political concerns, under the lead of that master politician, Emperor Constantine.

.... which is how the system evolved into what we have now.

And now for something completely different ...

A brief glimpse into a Russian Federation Prosecution Planning Session ....

Ray Kroc actually stole it from the McDonald Brothers, as shown in the movie "The Founder", which is how the McDonalds Restaurants went from one building to a global franchise chain. 

An opportunist, and a thief.

And modern day McDonalds has never made it right.

I have known MANY elders whose children have "left the Truth", because their fathers paid more attention to congregational matters than their own children.  There is such a thing as "theocratic" burnout.

And that fire has an insatiable hunger.

Tonight, in a few hours my wife and I will see the circa 1973 John Wayne Movie "Big Jake", which I have seen three times over the years.

A very fine "morality play" about an old man  making personal decisions about being a "busybody", and when it is and is not appropriate to interfere in other people's lives ... people you have never even met., and when what is going on is your business, and when it is NONE of your business.

I learn something new every time I watch it.

I wonder if this shirt would be OK with a bow tie?

It is certainly modest!

I have noticed talking to many people about "HELL" that they have a desperate need to believe in it, perhaps if only to get mad and condemn you to Hell if you don't agree with what they believe.

Wouldn't it be a hoot if there actually is a burning hell of torment where you will be tortured forever and ever ... BUT ... ONLY if you believe there is one?

Otherwise I believe all these "experiences" are all just lucid dreams partially due to oxygen starvation.

It's hard to be a violent dog without one.

I had to change my entire style of how to dress, after the Dry Cleaners lost ALL THREE of my Superman Suits.

John Butler's viewpoint may in part be tempered by fantasy, but yours is certainly tempered by evaluating how much punishment a person will incur before deciding to do what is right.

.... from your own words, Billy.

37 minutes ago, BillyTheKid46 said:

What, you think people like “Snowden” if he ever sets foot in the US or territories that have a treaty with the US, he won’t be charged with espionage and treason, for his supposed whistleblowing?

You think there haven’t been whistleblowers that actually received prison sentences for believing people like you, that everything is, free game? Learn to understand the laws of your location before you leap into so many assumptions. 😉

To me, that is like a soldier whose job it is to live or die ... but do his job, refusing to go into battle because he might be damaged.

I understand that Gerry Springer got the way he was by Bungie Jumping ... with his umbilical cord.

In the population at large, people today are generally either too ignorant, or too sensitive ... or both.

Neither one is a good survival trait.

A raging tempest in a teapot.

I would not want as a friend, anyone who obsessed about such things to the extent TPT does.

The Perp COULD have been charged with violation of the Witnesses 1964 Act protected civil rights of religious expression .... a felony.

It looks like a boat with a huge chrome screen babe catcher on front .... but it probably would be good for fishing for babes.

With practice, you could scoop them up with the front  grill, and flip them over the windshield into the roof !

 It's such a beautiful car, you could not shake them off!

What?  

They spread them out on the ground to collect rainwater?

SOMEBODY has to dig a well, and supply a pump, a distribution system, and a collection tank.

I grew up on a farm with a hand dug well, and you had to lower a bucket down about 45 feet to get five gallons in about a minute and a half.

If you have water underground, and a shovel, and a bucket and a rope, you can get clean water .... not dependent of sunny days, either, with very few exceptions.

This is what happens when you do not know fully the difference between pacifism, and political neutrality yourself ... and cannot explain it to others.

However, he reason deer get hit by cars at night is not because they do not know the difference between a Toyota, and a Hyundai.

Reminds me of when I was a younger man and had a full head of hair (sigh .... ) the time I stood next to a sheet rock wall in my home, and did an experiment with a balloon about that size ...

I vigerously rubbed the balloon in my hair, until the hair on my head, and the balloon accumulated a charge of static electricity, making my hair stand straight out.

The balloon popped, and my head got stuck to the wall.

Looking at that photo, it reminds me that the Kuril Islands are volcanic in origin (of course...) and in the past had many more religious extremists than they do now.

In fact, the Slavic natives would sacrifice virgins to the volcanoes to appease the "volcano gods"., but the volcanoes went extinct when they ran out of virgins.

I use CBD oil for my pets with hip injuries ... it seems to calm and sooth them, almost as if it was made from marijuana, or something.

I give it to them in the evening, mixed with their dog food, as in the morning I want them to run around the yard all day with plenty of energy, so in the morning I give them each a bran muffin made with enriched uranium !

15 minutes ago, TrueTomHarley said:

If memory serves, wasn’t Mr. O’Brien, on the surface, a pleasant and refined man, posing as Winston’s friend, before revealing his true character?

Does that remind you of any current Witness opposers here? 

I would not be a good judge of that, even if I wanted to, as I am neither pleasant, nor refined, by choice.

My only claim is to be a Barbarian, interested in Truth and Justice, and fairness.

And I have no love whatsoever for "Big Brother", wherever, and in whatever form,  he may be found.

....   since we are extrapolating with fictional characters, may I remind you of Ferengi Rule of Acquisition No. 48 ... "The bigger the smile, the sharper the knife."