James Thomas Rook Jr.

Did you know that flamethrowers are legal in Washington State?
 

To clarify my reasoning on this matter ... I know that the Bible says "abstain from blood".
I know that there are MANY examples in the Bible that show God considers blood his own personal property, and should be respected as such. 
I know that the only acceptable use for the Blood Jehovah is jealous about being his alone, is to be poured out on the ground, or offered in sacrifice to him, as David exemplified in pouring out water that REPRESENTED the blood of his soldiers, and the example of Jesus, who did both.
That being said, I have comprehensive blood tests all the time, having the reasonable assurance that after it is tested and studied, it will be discarded in some manner.  I also realize that it is the RESPECT that is important ... the deeply held respect for Jehovah's blood, not getting upset because a properly drained air-breathing animal leaks blood from tissues after having been properly drained to a reasonable degree.
That being said, I do not impose my conscience in that or MANY other matters on others, as there is a considerable difference between the viewpoints I hold on MANY matters, that differ from "Brother Watchtower's".  An example of this, should I have a home invasion, or assassins  enter the Kingdom Hall to harm the Brotherhood, I have no qualms at all about killing them, if I am able to do so.
Their blood is on THEIR hands by their criminal actions.  Every living thing that walks, crawls, swims or flies on this planet has the NATURAL right to defend itself, if it decides to do so, and if it can manage a defense.  Their blodguilt belongs to them alone.
.... but I digress.
It is my carefully considered belief that the WTB&TS had it right the FIRST time, and changed it because they were being sued by people who had lost relatives for HAVING THE TAKING OF BLOOD BEING A DISFELLOWSHIPPING OFFENSE.
I appreciate the Societies work in educating us in the past, and I believe it is an important life and death issue, spiritually, but not every soldier can be Sgt York, Audie Murphy, or the fictional John Rambo.
No one has asked me, and I certainly DO NOT want to "drive the train", but years of observing the operational habits of the Watchtower legal staff in "legal dirty tricks" to subvert Justice to save their client, the WTB&TS  from financial bankruptcy, has led me to believe that the Society STILL knows that they got it right the FIRST time, but they screwed up in not making it a personal matter of conscience IN THE BEGINNING ... and now they are trapped in a no win situation that FINANCIALLY, they cannot admit they were wrong about Congregational sanctions.
So, they make up stuff out of thin air, having NO Biblical support, about the acceptability of blood fractions.  To me this shows a COMPLETE lack of institutional integrity, and any personal integrity .... FOR MONEY!
I will not accept blood or blood fractions because of the things I learned in the Truth, from the 1960's, but after trying to engender respect for God's blood, Ieave the sanctioning and punishment up to God.
After all, it's POSSIBLE that this ONLY applies to ONLY food, and/or the issue of deep respect for the things that belong to God .... and that God does not care at all about medical technology uses of blood. 
I have made the statement MANY times that our current theologies are being formed by the accountants and lawyers in the employ of the WTB&TS.
------------------------------------------------------------
The Bible does condemn know-it-all busybodies, who try to control every aspect of other people's lives.
It's like eating fish .... each person has to decide for himself ... what is good, and what needs to be thrown away.
RONCO BASS-O-MATIC 76 .wmv

.... and all of this was before the invention of boxing gloves ...

To clarify my reasoning on this matter ... I know that the Bible says "abstain from blood".
I know that there are MANY examples in the Bible that show God considers blood his own personal property, and should be respected as such. 
I know that the only acceptable use for the Blood Jehovah is jealous about being his alone, is to be poured out on the ground, or offered in sacrifice to him, as David exemplified in pouring out water that REPRESENTED the blood of his soldiers, and the example of Jesus, who did both.
That being said, I have comprehensive blood tests all the time, having the reasonable assurance that after it is tested and studied, it will be discarded in some manner.  I also realize that it is the RESPECT that is important ... the deeply held respect for Jehovah's blood, not getting upset because a properly drained air-breathing animal leaks blood from tissues after having been properly drained to a reasonable degree.
That being said, I do not impose my conscience in that or MANY other matters on others, as there is a considerable difference between the viewpoints I hold on MANY matters, that differ from "Brother Watchtower's".  An example of this, should I have a home invasion, or assassins  enter the Kingdom Hall to harm the Brotherhood, I have no qualms at all about killing them, if I am able to do so.
Their blood is on THEIR hands by their criminal actions.  Every living thing that walks, crawls, swims or flies on this planet has the NATURAL right to defend itself, if it decides to do so, and if it can manage a defense.  Their blodguilt belongs to them alone.
.... but I digress.
It is my carefully considered belief that the WTB&TS had it right the FIRST time, and changed it because they were being sued by people who had lost relatives for HAVING THE TAKING OF BLOOD BEING A DISFELLOWSHIPPING OFFENSE.
I appreciate the Societies work in educating us in the past, and I believe it is an important life and death issue, spiritually, but not every soldier can be Sgt York, Audie Murphy, or the fictional John Rambo.
No one has asked me, and I certainly DO NOT want to "drive the train", but years of observing the operational habits of the Watchtower legal staff in "legal dirty tricks" to subvert Justice to save their client, the WTB&TS  from financial bankruptcy, has led me to believe that the Society STILL knows that they got it right the FIRST time, but they screwed up in not making it a personal matter of conscience IN THE BEGINNING ... and now they are trapped in a no win situation that FINANCIALLY, they cannot admit they were wrong about Congregational sanctions.
So, they make up stuff out of thin air, having NO Biblical support, about the acceptability of blood fractions.  To me this shows a COMPLETE lack of institutional integrity, and any personal integrity .... FOR MONEY!
I will not accept blood or blood fractions because of the things I learned in the Truth, from the 1960's, but after trying to engender respect for God's blood, Ieave the sanctioning and punishment up to God.
After all, it's POSSIBLE that this ONLY applies to ONLY food, and/or the issue of deep respect for the things that belong to God .... and that God does not care at all about medical technology uses of blood. 
I have made the statement MANY times that our current theologies are being formed by the accountants and lawyers in the employ of the WTB&TS.
------------------------------------------------------------
The Bible does condemn know-it-all busybodies, who try to control every aspect of other people's lives.
It's like eating fish .... each person has to decide for himself ... what is good, and what needs to be thrown away.
RONCO BASS-O-MATIC 76 .wmv

Actually, Moses was the first one to download data from "The Cloud"

Actually, Moses was the first one to download data from "The Cloud"

I was slow to adopt digital technology, though once I did I made full use of it.
Back in the early days of smart phones, when I had yet to own a cell phone, I used to comment on WWJD (What Would Jesus Do).
”I’ll tell you what Jesus would do. Jesus would use a phone with a wire attached to the wall! He would never use a cell phone, and especially one with apps!”
I didn’t even know what apps were, but I did know that Jesus would never use them.

@JW Insider  I am seriously concerned about your above comment. It all seems to be based around a few MEN making decisions for the lives of 8.5 million other people.  BUT those few MEN are NOT INSPIRED BY GOD'S HOLY SPIRIT.  It is only THEIR personal viewpoint. And it can take the lives of millions of people. 
What then did Jesus mean at Matthew 12 v 9 through 12. ? 
After departing from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10  and look! there was a man with a withered* hand!k So they asked him, “Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath?” so that they might accuse him.l 11  He said to them: “If you have one sheep and that sheep falls into a pit on the Sabbath, is there a man among you who will not grab hold of it and lift it out?m 12  How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do a fine thing on the Sabbath.” 
Doing any work on that Sabbath could be punished by death. It was that serious in God's eyes. 
Yet here was Jesus telling them that it was 'lawful' to do a fine thing on the Sabbath. 
@Anna tells me that we should all read our Bible and have our own conscience. 
@Arauna tells me that all i do is misquote scripture.
BUT, I listen to neither men (GB / Elders) nor women. My conscience tells me that Jesus was saying that there is a time, when what appears to others to be God's way, is in fact not God's way at all. 
How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do a fine thing on the Sabbath.” 
 

What sounds to me like haughty bluster is often so far off, that it's hard to know whether to bother responding at all. But this one seems important to correct since you are merely adding to the confusion some people might already have.
Two things wrong here:
No, the distinction made in Psalms is NOT the same distinction made in Matthew.  (Psalm 110:1 and Matthew 22:44) No, it is NOT unfortunate that some lexicons use the same meaning for both "Kurios" here because they are in fact the same word in different cases. This is really the same as "2" above. There does not need to be a separation between κυρίῳ noun dative masculine singular from κύριος, because they are in fact the same word just with different "case" endings because of how they are used in the sentence. Here's why. It's explained pretty well in many commentaries. Also here: https://christswords.com/content/matthew-2244 -lord-said-unto-my-lord
Note the meaning of κύριος:
Κύριος (noun sg masc nom) "Lord" is kyrios (kurios), which means "having power", "being in authority" and "being in possession of." It also means "lord", "master of the house," and "head of the family." -- The word translated as "master" is the same word that is often translated as "Lord" or "the Lord" in the NT. It also means "lord", "master of the house," and "head of the family." It is the specific terms for the master of slaves or servants, but it was a common term of respect both for those in authority and who were honored. It was the term people used to address Christ, even though he had no formal authority. Today, we would say "boss" or "chief".
Note the meaning given for κυρίῳ
κυρίῳ (noun sg masc dat) "Lord" is kyrios (kurios), which means "having power", "being in authority" and "being in possession of." It also means "lord", "master of the house," and "head of the family." -- The word translated as "master" is the same word that is often translated as "Lord" or "the Lord" in the NT. It also means "lord", "master of the house," and "head of the family." It is the specific terms for the master of slaves or servants, but it was a common term of respect both for those in authority and who were honored. It was the term people used to address Christ, even though he had no formal authority. Today, we would say "boss" or "chief".
Either form can refer to God. Either form can refer to Christ. Either form can refer to a human master.
I mention this one because it is so typical of you to bluster some irrelevant (and sometimes irreverent) information that you apparently think you understood from book searches or Google searches. That part can be fine, but you seem to have a need to often insult the people you are trying to bluster with incorrect or poorly understood information.

There are people that can wrestle an adult alligator in the water, but do not know the difference between an alligator and a crocodile.
These people are known as "Lunch"

..because it is a self aggrandizing lie, contrary to facts.
... be careful about expecting others to be perfect .... they may think they are, and have rifles.

Do you think it MIGHT have something to do with ... oh, say ..... MONEY?
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
As Marvin Webster sez: "Y'all think about it."
 
============================================================
 
That was before they invented "TUMS".

Or, as Obi-Wan Kanobe cried out in anguish, on the Millineum Falcon, and Luke Skywalker turned and asked "What's the matter Obi-Wan ... did you suddenly feel a disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices cried out in terror, and suddenly went silent?"
Obi-Wan Kanobe, one hand on his forehead, and one on his stomach replied, " Naw ... just a bit of indigestion."

..because it is a self aggrandizing lie, contrary to facts.
... be careful about expecting others to be perfect .... they may think they are, and have rifles.

Blaming the GB et al for not using our brains is just another example of not using our brains. Each person is responsible for their own spirituality. When we stand in front of the judgment seat of God, there isn’t going to be an elder holding our hand, or telling us how to think or what to say.
Yes, indeed. So we will let God be the judge of who stumbled who. There are also a scriptures which tell us what to do in order NOT to be stumbled.
When I say questioning, that doesn’t necessarily mean literally questioning them by putting pen to paper or calling them, or causing a ruckus in the congregation.  It means that we can be on the alert to make sure of all things, and make sure (question) that all things are in harmony with the scriptures. That is why G. Jackson said anyone who has the Bible would be able to do so, and would be able to see if certain direction (from the GB) measured up, and would see if it was right or wrong direction. If we discern it’s wrong direction then we act on our own behalf, and not tell others what to do, because everyone else has a Bible too.
Yes, the anointed are baptized with HS and there are various ways each unique to them as to how they “know”. However the Bible says the miracles would cease.
The WT on this topic merely points out some important facts, and it is good that it has been written. We had a sister in our hall who never looked up a scripture, never sang any songs, never answered, she just sat in the KH, would jiggle her car keys, walk around after the meeting telling people she is watching them. At one time she approached the platform during the meeting flicking a lighter in her hand. She was mentally ill. She also partook of the emblems each year. You judge for yourself whether she was of the anointed or not.
The WT was not demeaning any of the anointed. One of the GB’s own sons is of the anointed, and everything the WT said applies to him too. We already talked about why there is no need for the anointed to form some kind of special club, just for the anointed. The reason for that is because we are all one flock. Any building up and sharing of thoughts is done in each congregation. I very much appreciated the thoughts of the anointed couple I used to know before they died. 
The idea is that just as Jesus distributed the loaves to his disciples and his disciples fed the crowds, so the other sheep would be fed at the hands of a few. I imagine it is a practical reason too, because who knows who really is anointed or not if one does not know them personally. It would mean that TTH for example, could claim to be of the anointed, and then imagine the kind of stuff he would be sharing via the internet! (just kidding @TrueTomHarley 😄) 
Of course not! And neither does @b4ucuhear.
See, this is another instance where the obvious needs to be explained to you. I understood exactly what bc4ucuhear was saying, because I know, and he knows, and all Witnesses know, that Jesus does NOT make mistakes. Therefore in that context, b4 was merely saying that IF it appears that Jesus is making a mistake, (because he oversees the congregations) then we know it’s NOT Jesus,  in fact this brings me to what else b4 said regarding Jesus’ oversight: "Jesus and Jehovah have provided direction in his Word as guidelines for how the congregation should be run. sometimes men in authority go "beyond what is written" and we should use our "clear thinking faculties" to be able to discern the difference. The fact is, that if one is too lazy to study and read God's Word or are gullible, you can start acting like you are in a cult - even when you are not". Also " So, if Jesus controls all the elders like some sort of spiritual remote control by means of holy spirit, (as some may think), then everything that takes place within the organization should be perfect, because Jesus is perfect and would use holy spirit in a perfect way. Why is that of interest? Because too many things happen within thes  organization (even the early Christian congregation), that are clearly not "controlled" by Jesus - unless he is deliberately controlling them to do bad things..(logic alert for Mr. Butler!!!  b4 is not here implying that Jesus would do that, it's just to show the absurdity of that notion)  I won't get into detail, but things happen that shouldn't happen and even very unscriptural things happen. My description of the factors that come into play regarding that interplay, attempted to explain the discrepancies that clearly exist if you are not living in a "snow globe." I had mentioned 1 Tim. 5:24 because it plays an important role in helping to understand why bad things can go on within the congregation for decades. All one has to do is look at the way that scripture is true historically to get a better understanding of how it applies today. The fact that elders have a measure of autonomy is hinted at by the phrase: "By heeding his words to each of the seven congregations, present-day elders see how they can handle similar situations." So elders make their decision based on "heeding his words" which are contained where? In the Bible - and so are accountable to Jesus as to how they use the authority he gives them". 
Although b4ucuhear was giving the example of elders in the congregation, by extension the same principles apply to the GB, they are elders too.
(For some reason you thought it was funny as you gave it a laughing emoji).
But you still didn't answer my question. Bible in hand, what have you found that the GB are doing wrong?

via .ORGWorld News

It would be the same thing as if a U.S. "General Mattis" had been assassinated by Iraq, except that Soleimani was tremendously more popular, not just in Iraq, but with people from several Mid-East countries believing he deserved some kind of Nobel Peace prize for recent strategic negotiations.

I once worked with a girl named Casey who positively loved science fiction. In the context of other things, I mentioned the film I, Robot.
Oh, that was terrible! she said.
But as we kept talking, it turned out she had never seen it. Um...Casey, how do know it's terrible if you've never seen it? I asked. The answer was that she was a purist. She knew the movie did not follow Isaac Asimov's storyline, and that was enough for her!
For an Asimov purist, the movie would indeed be blasphemy. Asimov, who wrote literally almost all the time, having 500 books (written or edited) and 90,000 letters to his credit, with works in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey Decimal system, penned the Foundation trilogy and the I, Robot series, both pillars among science fiction. His plotting was ingenious, and had he been able to empathetically sketch people as well as ideas, he might have gone down as one of literature's true greats. Alas, his characters are cardboard, like those TV characters who are freely interchangeable save for one or two superficial features: this one is mean, this one likes to eat, that one is a geek, etc. Too bad - for every other aspect of Asimov's writing is extraordinary.
Asimov was an atheist, but I always imagine that, if current atheists had been taught the Bible by Jehovah's Witnesses instead of the churches, they may not have turned atheist. It's probably not so but I dream it anyway. For example, in his last autobiographical book, Asimov observes that hell is "the drooling dream of a sadist" crudely affixed to an all-merciful God; if even human governments were willing to curtail cruel and unusual punishments, wondered Asimov, why would punishment in the afterlife not be restricted to a limited term.  [Wikipedia entry on Isaac Asimov] Yeah! Man, I wish he had heard first from Jehovah's Witnesses! Virtually alone among Christian faiths at the turn of the last century, Jehovah's Witnesses exposed hellfire for the vicious rubbish that it is. JW "founder" C. T. Russell was known in his lifetime as the man who "turned the hose on hell and put out the fire!"
At any rate, had he been a Witness, it would have benefited him personally. He died in 1992, of AIDS contracted from a blood transfusion nine years prior.
Still, I am grateful to Dr. Asimov, not only for the hours of intriguing science fiction he laid upon me, but also for his non-fiction works. Asimov's Guide to Science probably was my springboard to individual branches of science. If Asimov lacked in sketching fictional characters, he was gifted in sketching real ones. Not only the pillars, but also the buffoons, he succeeded in portraying the humanity of scientists. It is from him (Asimov's guide to Biology) that I first read of Ignaz Semmelweis, early advocate of antiseptic surgical practices and forerunner of germ theory. 
In the mid 1800's, Semmelweis got it in his head that fever and death following doctor-assisted childbirth could be curtailed by washing hands and equipment frequently. Doctors back then would deliver a baby, having just emerged from an autopsy, only wiping their hands on their smocks! There were some sort of tiny "particles" contaminating the women, Semmelweis proposed. Doctors howled with laughter at such nonsense. Asimov's book vividly portrays Semmelweis' presenting his ideas at seminars, with his esteemed audience mocking him, hurling catcalls! Doctors argued that, even if Semmeweis' findings were correct, washing one's hands each time before treating a pregnant woman would be too much work. Semmelweis enforced strict antiseptic practices at the hospital under his supervision, cutting deaths to under 1%, and it made no difference in their attitude! Colleagues ridiculed him his entire life, he suffered a nervous breakdown and, says Asimov, died in an insane asylum tormented by memories of women screaming in their death-agonies following hospital-acquired infections. With Semmelweis out of the way, his own hospital went back to familiar practices and the mortality rate climbed to 35%.
You can read the bare facts in many places, but Asimov's account is the most vivid I have come across, remarkable in a book that purports only to be an outline, a "guide."
Whenever those atheists start prattling on about how scientists graciously change their views at the first hint they may be off-base, whereas it's only the pig-headed religionists who "stay the course" come hell or high water, I play the 'Semmelweis' card.
Athiest or not, I miss Isaac Asimov. 
(Reprinted from www.tomsheepandgoats.com - July 16, 2007)
****************************
 

Do you think it MIGHT have something to do with ... oh, say ..... MONEY?
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
As Marvin Webster sez: "Y'all think about it."
 
============================================================
 
That was before they invented "TUMS".

Or, as Obi-Wan Kanobe cried out in anguish, on the Millineum Falcon, and Luke Skywalker turned and asked "What's the matter Obi-Wan ... did you suddenly feel a disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices cried out in terror, and suddenly went silent?"
Obi-Wan Kanobe, one hand on his forehead, and one on his stomach replied, " Naw ... just a bit of indigestion."

That's nothing!
We have a House of Congress with several hundred humans ... and NO WORKERS!

What I used to do is go to an army surplus store, here in the United States often called an "Army Navy" stores, and have a set of military identification "dog tags" stamped for me, IN ENGLISH.
  If memory serves there is a max of 16 characters per line.
NAME
STREET ADDRESS
CITY AND ZIP CODE (NO STATE LISTED)
NO BLOOD OR
BLOOD FRACTIONS
Carry both dog tags on a stainless steel beaded ball chain around your neck. (Standard practice). After they warm up, you will forget they are there.
No doctor anywhere in the world, smart or stupid, will violate THAT.
They will NOT give you blood without first looking for a medical alert bracelet, or necklace. When they see YOURS, in this format, they will not give you blood.
If they do not speak the language, they will look it up.

What I used to do is go to an army surplus store, here in the United States often called an "Army Navy" stores, and have a set of military identification "dog tags" stamped for me, IN ENGLISH.
  If memory serves there is a max of 16 characters per line.
NAME
STREET ADDRESS
CITY AND ZIP CODE (NO STATE LISTED)
NO BLOOD OR
BLOOD FRACTIONS
Carry both dog tags on a stainless steel beaded ball chain around your neck. (Standard practice). After they warm up, you will forget they are there.
No doctor anywhere in the world, smart or stupid, will violate THAT.
They will NOT give you blood without first looking for a medical alert bracelet, or necklace. When they see YOURS, in this format, they will not give you blood.
If they do not speak the language, they will look it up.

.... and with that .... I rest my case.

TTH:

Your opinion that "If you do not  know and understand  history, you are doomed to repeat it.", is a "load of manure" really surprises me. Up until now I knew you did not pay much attention to detail, but I thought you were smarter than THAT.
You have to know and understand history .... and learn from it ... not to fall into the same trap that has ensnared so many others, and perhaps even one's self
That is what EXPERIENCE IS !!!
LEARNING FROM HISTORY.!!!
To learn from it, you have to know IN DETAIL what has gone on around you before you stumbled on the scene. and understand what it really means.  OFTEN it's not what we know that makes a difference ... but what we know that IS NOT WRONG.
Details make the difference !
And now, for a musical interlude to lighten things up, with your very own introduction, illustrating my point that you are NOT a detail oriented person.

... and for those in Rio Linda ... it's "Beachwood 4-5789".
 

The Marvelettes - Beechwood 4-5789.mp4 On an old rotary phone, circa 1960, you would dial BE4-5789, in the United States.

Matthew9969:
I will miss you, Matthew.
You have been a good comedy relief, a really good bad example, and I have enjoyed watching a big fish swim sideways in a cake pan full of water.
I will wonder what the other eye is looking at.