James Thomas Rook Jr.

One thing I have said many times before .... with humans, there is truly ...
INFINITE VARIETY
 

I've had to scale it down a bit, eliminating the sliding boards, and helicopter pad for the chickens with choppers.
CHICKENS IN CHOPPERS .mp4

I am glad that JWI is here to do the heavy lifting .... I am building a chicken coop and run for 18 chickens, and I am pooped.

I never thought of the WTB&TS as having a hierarchy ... the thought never crossed my mind ... perhaps because they did not have the clown suits that the Catholic Church, Russian Orthodox Church, and many others have .... until:
1.) In several court transcripts where the Society was confiscating real estate from local congregations, and the congregations sued the Society, the Watchtower Lawyers declared and asserted under oath that no individual person owned the Kingdom Halls, and that they had the right to appoint and remove trustees in whose positions the Kingdom Halls were titled, BECAUSE, the Organization WAS a hierarchy, EXACTLY like the Catholic Church, and that the "Church" owned all Jehovah's Witnesses'  property, everywhere,  no matter whose name it was in, or how it was titled, and,
2.)  In child sexual abuse cases, the Society in many places, many times has asserted in secular courts, under oath, that the Elders are Clergy, and are entitled to "Clergy-Penitent Privilege" of confidentiality, and as such were not legally obligated to report the crimes.
I had never EVER heard these things asserted at the Kingdom Halls, and in paying attention since 1962, was frankly stunned by these sworn testimony (under oath)  assertions, declarations and/or admissions in the secular civil courts.
That is why I read full transcripts of the Society's court cases, when I find them ... as what is said at the Kingdom Halls, and what is said in court ( ... under oath ... ) is quite often  two (or more ...) dramatically different things.
I never remember any Kingdom Hall assertions, that we were "Clergy", entitled to any special legal privileges ... only that we were "Ministers", and could assert that our commission as ministers was equal to clergy's "ordinations" ...  although I remember from circa 1974-82  that the ex-Bethelite Pioneer Brother that ran off with my first wife  liked to witness in the jails and prisons, as he would pull the "Minister Card", and they would give him clergy privileges to go in and out any time it suited him.
Perhaps the next step is start baptizing young children, and have some kind of special JW clown suits like Christendom has ..... perhaps with a Nautical theme.
I often wonder about the Catholics' Heirchy ... where do they get those 15 pound hats?

... ever notice that the Popes all look all worn out and hunched over, threatening to fall and impale themselves on their bejeweled  gold sheep catcher sticks ?
... makes me tired just watching !
It's the 30 pounds of clothes, the 8 pound gold crosses, and 15 pound two-story hats glued on with denture cream..
...  a lot for ANY 82 year olds.
Seven more pounds  .. same as a bag of concrete!

I did not agree with all of your post, where I quoted from you the above comment ... but I "upvoted" it anyway, because I know your quoted cringeworthy statement is true.
... just any JW try it at the next Watchtower Study.
.... raise your hand and ask a tough question, using unapproved words.
.... after the meeting, you would have to get back to the parking lot through infamous "ROOM 101".
This was first "legally" established in the not-so Super Secret 2010 Elders' Handbook, with the  term "Brazen" conduct, which was a catch-all that could include ANYTHING ..... and when it hit the fan that there was no Biblical backup for this,  three years later the 2013 "Silver Sword" NWT came out with the word "Brazen" several times ... WITH THE WHOLE BIBLE PARAPHRASED, of all things ... THE WHOLE BIBLE "SIMPLIFIED" ... to back up  the direction given three years earlier.

The Society never apologizes for anything they totally screw up ....  and to the best of my knowledge, NEVER has apologized for anything in ruining peoples' lives, historically,  .... because they can just change the definitions of what words mean ("new light"), or where it is to their advantage to do so to push the agenda,  keep them so ambiguous, they can mean ANYTHING.
Here is the test (and perhaps I am wrong because I missed it somewhere along the line ... please correct me if I am wrong ....):
How EXACTLY does the Society define "Brazen Conduct"?
What is included?
What is excluded?
How about ten or so REAL WORLD, CONTEMPORARY unambiguous examples?
To the best of my knowledge ... currently it can include anything the Elders don't like.
If I am wrong, please point it out to me, and I will change my viewpoint, and embarrassed, beg your humble pardon.
I think we need an 18 paragraph unambiguous, non touchy-freely and non scripturally recursive,  direct and comprehensive Watchtower Article on this ONE topic only .... instead of the usual circular logic topics reiterated, over, and over, and over, and over ...
...and over and over and over and over.
I am sure I would stay Awake!, for THAT one.
 
 

The way things are progressing, I wonder when they select a new member of the Governing Body, the "Helpers" will have white smoke come out of that Watchtower at the main entrance of Warwick Bethel ?.....

We seem to have world class problems understanding the simplest common sense things .... like what a "Generation" is. Everyone else on the planet uses ONE definition, and always has ... except us.
I cannot even imagine the Apostles understanding what Jesus said the way we are told to.
That's why I want the GB "OFFICIAL" explanation, which may or may not have anything at all with standard definitions, common sense, or reality. 
They really ought to tell us what definitions we are actually using to make determinations of what is, and what is not "brazen conduct", so that the excesses that all humans are subject to do not cause irreparable harm when being applied ... because we are being governed BY AND WITH those definitions.
This is NOT a new issue ... and REMAINS unresolved, since 2010, almost a decade ago.
Historically, the record of "straight shooting", and accountability has been terrible.

Just as the word "Gay" means something COMPLETELY different than when you and I were growing up ... perhaps the word back then meant something like urinating in public, or dressing in such a way that was immodest if one was incontinent.
With our track record of being right about such things, it may have originally meant anything at all EXCEPT what the Society officially tells us is the case.

There is more "projection" going on here than a Drive-In Theater for Brontosaurs !
... ever think about chasing garbage trucks as a hobby?
 

Along with vast quantities of jw.org merchandise. This just a cheap attempt to cash in on the human fascination with labels and logos. To compare a website logo with a cross or crucifix is apples and pears logic. A more appropriate comparison would be: 

 

More importantly, what actually does the word "brazen" mean?
It is a translation of the Greek word  "ἀσέλγεια  - aslegia" which literally appears to mean:  in-continent. (ἀ-σέλγεια)
Various English definitions are submitted "unbridled lust, excess, licentiousness, lasciviousness, wantonness, outrageousness, shamelessness, insolence"
The word "brazen" has been dictionary defined as:
"bold, shameless, as bold as brass, brazen-faced, forward, presumptuous, brash, immodest,  unashamed, unabashed, unembarrassed,   unblushing;  defiant, impudent, insolent, impertinent, cheeky, pert; barefaced,  blatant, flagrant, undisguised”
The Cambridge Dictionary describes the American usage of the word “brazen” as an adjective, used: “(of something bad) done without trying to hide it:”
So it is a word referring mainly to the attitude of someone engaging in serious wrong conduct , frequently, but not exclusively,  in the context of improper sexual behaviour.
In Watchtower publications “brazen” has been defined as being:
“From the Greek a·selʹgei·a, a phrase pertaining to acts that are serious violations of God’s laws and that reflect a brazen or boldly contemptuous attitude; a spirit that betrays disrespect or even contempt for authority, laws, and standards. The expression does not refer to wrong conduct of a minor nature.—Ga 5:19; 2Pe 2:7.”
Is there really a problem in understanding how the word "brazen" should be understood in the context of human behaviour?

An example is this Satan's statement recorded here:
"So he brought him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the inhabited earth in an instant of time.  Then the Devil said to him: “I will give you all this authority and their glory, because it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish."
Luke 4:4-6
 

It obviously means different things in different contexts.
'All scripture is inspired of God' should mean that all scripture was written under the direct inspiration from God. 
However the question has been raised as to whether the writer was inspired generally or just during the time of doing the writing. 
My point would be that if All Scripture was written under inspiration, then it would also take God's inspiration to understand it. And, if the first century Christian leaders were either inspired generally or inspired when they took specific action, then the 'modern day' Christian leaders would also need to be inspired generally or inspired when they took specific action.
The GB say they are not inspired.  

There is more "projection" going on here than a Drive-In Theater for Brontosaurs !
... ever think about chasing garbage trucks as a hobby?
 

There is more "projection" going on here than a Drive-In Theater for Brontosaurs !
... ever think about chasing garbage trucks as a hobby?
 

The Society never apologizes for anything they totally screw up ....  and to the best of my knowledge, NEVER has apologized for anything in ruining peoples' lives, historically,  .... because they can just change the definitions of what words mean ("new light"), or where it is to their advantage to do so to push the agenda,  keep them so ambiguous, they can mean ANYTHING.
Here is the test (and perhaps I am wrong because I missed it somewhere along the line ... please correct me if I am wrong ....):
How EXACTLY does the Society define "Brazen Conduct"?
What is included?
What is excluded?
How about ten or so REAL WORLD, CONTEMPORARY unambiguous examples?
To the best of my knowledge ... currently it can include anything the Elders don't like.
If I am wrong, please point it out to me, and I will change my viewpoint, and embarrassed, beg your humble pardon.
I think we need an 18 paragraph unambiguous, non touchy-freely and non scripturally recursive,  direct and comprehensive Watchtower Article on this ONE topic only .... instead of the usual circular logic topics reiterated, over, and over, and over, and over ...
...and over and over and over and over.
I am sure I would stay Awake!, for THAT one.
 
 

I did not agree with all of your post, where I quoted from you the above comment ... but I "upvoted" it anyway, because I know your quoted cringeworthy statement is true.
... just any JW try it at the next Watchtower Study.
.... raise your hand and ask a tough question, using unapproved words.
.... after the meeting, you would have to get back to the parking lot through infamous "ROOM 101".
This was first "legally" established in the not-so Super Secret 2010 Elders' Handbook, with the  term "Brazen" conduct, which was a catch-all that could include ANYTHING ..... and when it hit the fan that there was no Biblical backup for this,  three years later the 2013 "Silver Sword" NWT came out with the word "Brazen" several times ... WITH THE WHOLE BIBLE PARAPHRASED, of all things ... THE WHOLE BIBLE "SIMPLIFIED" ... to back up  the direction given three years earlier.

... ever notice that the Popes all look all worn out and hunched over, threatening to fall and impale themselves on their bejeweled  gold sheep catcher sticks ?
... makes me tired just watching !
It's the 30 pounds of clothes, the 8 pound gold crosses, and 15 pound two-story hats glued on with denture cream..
...  a lot for ANY 82 year olds.
Seven more pounds  .. same as a bag of concrete!

I never thought of the WTB&TS as having a hierarchy ... the thought never crossed my mind ... perhaps because they did not have the clown suits that the Catholic Church, Russian Orthodox Church, and many others have .... until:
1.) In several court transcripts where the Society was confiscating real estate from local congregations, and the congregations sued the Society, the Watchtower Lawyers declared and asserted under oath that no individual person owned the Kingdom Halls, and that they had the right to appoint and remove trustees in whose positions the Kingdom Halls were titled, BECAUSE, the Organization WAS a hierarchy, EXACTLY like the Catholic Church, and that the "Church" owned all Jehovah's Witnesses'  property, everywhere,  no matter whose name it was in, or how it was titled, and,
2.)  In child sexual abuse cases, the Society in many places, many times has asserted in secular courts, under oath, that the Elders are Clergy, and are entitled to "Clergy-Penitent Privilege" of confidentiality, and as such were not legally obligated to report the crimes.
I had never EVER heard these things asserted at the Kingdom Halls, and in paying attention since 1962, was frankly stunned by these sworn testimony (under oath)  assertions, declarations and/or admissions in the secular civil courts.
That is why I read full transcripts of the Society's court cases, when I find them ... as what is said at the Kingdom Halls, and what is said in court ( ... under oath ... ) is quite often  two (or more ...) dramatically different things.
I never remember any Kingdom Hall assertions, that we were "Clergy", entitled to any special legal privileges ... only that we were "Ministers", and could assert that our commission as ministers was equal to clergy's "ordinations" ...  although I remember from circa 1974-82  that the ex-Bethelite Pioneer Brother that ran off with my first wife  liked to witness in the jails and prisons, as he would pull the "Minister Card", and they would give him clergy privileges to go in and out any time it suited him.
Perhaps the next step is start baptizing young children, and have some kind of special JW clown suits like Christendom has ..... perhaps with a Nautical theme.
I often wonder about the Catholics' Heirchy ... where do they get those 15 pound hats?

My first downvote ever, since being a member here.  I am awestruck by the stupidity.  Notice, I am not calling you "stupid", but sir, your brain as well as your heart totally lacks spiritual sensitivity.  I feel so sorry for you.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

@JW Insider Having just read your comment I would say you are too close to the GB to make a balanced appraisal.
If you are 'friends' with them then your judgement could be clouded by such. 
You have said yourself they :  call themselves the "Governing Body"  they have taken upon themselves.  
 Granted that this does not excuse them from false teachings and doing nothing about traditional false teachings from the past. Nor does it excuse them for not doing enough to expose the potential gravity and extent of child sexual abuse and child physical abuse.
So here we have 8 men that chose to be the Governing Body, then call themselves the 'Faithful and discreet slave', placing themselves above all the Anointed (Luke 14 v 11).
They deliberately 'err' (do things wrong) and then use the excuse that they are not inspired. 
So these faults that you have mentioned (above) , the GB are spreading Earthwide. Yet you love them for it ? 
The increase in JW's is in uneducated / less well educated lands. The reasons are obvious. Those people do not dig deep enough into the GB and it's Org, before committing themselves to it.  I was also like that of course, I believed all i was told, then believed again when told of changes, I was as blind as those less educated ones are. 
The size of this group of elders focusing on the study of the Bible for teaching purposes is kept manageable for purposes of efficient discussion and decision making (8 or so persons).  So 12 Apostles was too many was it ? 
There is always a ready "crew" of persons who can help research issues, handle their incoming and outgoing communications, translation printing, etc.
They are in a position to hear questions and concerns about current doctrines and procedures that could potentially come from all over the world.
Which is it ? Do other people handle the communications or do the GB hear the questions ? Basically what I'm saying is that ordinary congregants questions and complaints NEVER reach the GB. I wrote to the London Bethel once and the reply was horrific. They basically told me to not bother them and to ask my local elders. However i wanted an opinion from those I thought would have more knowledge and understanding. How wrong I was. 
They have a mindset that makes them want to imitate the serious responsibility that the early Christian apostles had when they devote themselves to prayer and teaching.
This one made me laugh !   Is that why they talk so much about young men in tight 'pants' and also about masterbation.  Be real, they have no idea what to teach and what to leaver to people's personal conscience. 
They have the ability to respond to questions and issues very quickly and consistently in a way that the entire world of congregations can benefit from.
Dream on. They knew about the Child Sexual Abuse problem years ago. How 'quickly' have they dealt with it ? 
But it's been a known thing for the JW Org / W/t Soc / Bible students to deliberately drag it's heels when it might upset some folks. 
It took them 30 years to give up Christmas even though they knew it was wrong in the late 1800's.
It took them 70 years to give up Smoking even though they knew that was wrong too.  Not too bright, no, they didn't want to lose congregants.  
It they has sorted the CSA issues properly and quickly I think they would have lost too many elders.
 Things that are legal and expected in one country might get the congregations in trouble in another country, for example.
Now this is one in my favour I think. I have suggested that anointed brothers from different countries should form the Leaders of the JW Org. With world wide web communication, world wide telephone communication, and does anyone still use Fax  to send hard copy documents ?   There is no shortage of ways of communication around the globe.  So why have mainly 8 American men running the show ?  Would make much more sense to have people that know their countries laws and traditions. 
I'll finish on this one. 
 As long as all the persons who listen to them are willing to question and critique the doctrines and processes, as all Christians have a duty to do, then there is nothing wrong with having a "Governing Body."
If anyone questions or criticises the GB they are accused of 'causing a division in the congregation' and can be disfellowshipped.