James Thomas Rook Jr.

Concerning "Animals being given undo importance" ....
We are very fragile, big ugly bags of mostly water and require a LOT of things :of the world to stay alive, and healthy, and emotionally stable.
I have 16 pet chickens ( two died of heat exhaustion, from being run around the yard by my dogs, after flying out of their temporary enclosure, and I buried them this morning in the yard with little plastic pipe "tombstones" which I melted into the side with a soldering iron their names and date of death, which was yesterday).
And yet ... when I die, I do not care if I am just left where I fall, or someone puts my remains in a dumpster.
And yet ... today at Golden Corral, my wife and I ate fried chicken, and I pondered "Am I a hypocrite, for loving both live chickens ... and those crispy fried??"
I looked at myself in the mirror, and noticed my eyes are in front (predator), and the chickens' eyes are on the side of their heads (prey), and decided that  that is the natural order of things, and I should just get used to it, without recriminations.
Besides .... "Love Never Fails" .... and when I die, I will probably be too tough to eat, and with the fried  chicken .... it's no one we know.

My favorite scene was when, at the front door of the Piano teacher, Bill Murray offered her a thousand dollars (?) for a piano lesson, and the teacher threw the little girl student out the door.

I had a 5 year or so old Box Turtle ( tortoise, actually) that I rescued from a highway, and as I watched "him", ( and yes, you can tell...) it often occurred to me how ignorant we really are of what they think and feel ... and the colossal arrogance on people's part to assume they think less of their lives than we think of ours.
As I watched "Mr. Henry II", the thought occurred to me that beneath those plated decks might dwell the mind and heart of a great lover, and a consummate mathematician ... all day quietly working on equations for orbital mechanics, or parallel dimensions.
The things I have seen with my own eyes belies the arrogance and cluelessness of  Clergy who worship themselves.
When they pontificate about such things, they declare aloud their incompetence, and lack of credibility.
 
 

It was that week that I had to stay in bed, up in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. They had a VCR/DVD player that only had one movie on it. So I ended up watching Bill Murray in Groundhog Day about 30 times in one week.
Or maybe that was just a dream. . . . Or maybe I just made this up. . .😉

I will start with this WT Society quote from https://wol.jw.org/hr/wol/d/r19/lp-c/1102003023 : Tell him to stop and listen to the bird singing. Then ask him, "Who created the birds and taught them to sing?" God did this. God created heaven and earth and all living beings!He gives life.
Here we see how publication speaking about one special ability, among many others, ability to learn. So, by this quote we see how animals have ability to learn, and that, in a direct way, personally from God! :)) Yes, this WT Society book is for children, but as simplified edition it could be for adults too. :))
Let's go to article named: 
“His Invisible Qualities Are Clearly Seen”
 Paul said, "[God] invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and deity, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, because they are distinguished by what is created, so that these people have no excuses" ( Romans 1:20 ). If we look closely at these words, we will be convinced that the Creator is like an artist who signed his masterpiece. - source: https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/wp20130801/believe-in-god/
It is also interesting that in same Creative Day, God has made land animals and humans - together. For First Humans God was not given one Special Day and Separate Day for creating this The Crown of His Creation - humans. No, He made them in the same day. Are Humans the Only Bearers of God’s Image? Humans are not made with some special materials, but also from dust as animals. 
Also, Genesis not telling us about how in Paradise existed predators and prays. But how all living as Equal Creatures, with no Mastering from first Human above any of animal. They all had equal position in Paradise. To live and be happy. Only after the Flood we see how God speaking about huge change - Permission to kill animals for food: Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. Mastering over them in:  The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. 
But something is also very interesting:
And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being.
Lifeblood of animals and of humans are on same Level before God!
And next thing is interesting:
“I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth.
Why would God made covenant with Animals as the same with Human. Why if Animals have no Qualities that God gave, supposedly, only to Human? Why, if Animals have no brain, conscious, heart, ability as Humans?
Humans are Unique in Degree but Not Kind. The capability differences between humans and other creatures seem finally to amount to differences of degree and not kind. The differences among creatures pertain to complexity. There are good reasons to believe humans share basic attributes with other creatures. - source: http://thomasjayoord.com/index.php/blog/archives/animals-made-in-gods-image
Obviously, we have a lot to learn about Animals as creatures made by God Himself. :))

I would like to know the answer to THAT one!
By the way ... that "Millions Now Living Will Never Die '' ... how well did THAT turn out?

BTK46:
Remember the theme of this whole thread ... and that which you, yourself quoted, above?
Where the rubber meets the road .. EVERY TIME you have been challenged ... YOU CHOKE!
Prove me wrong, Billy, or stand CONDEMNED by your own words.
Well, Billy here AGAIN is a real world  test to see whether or not you know what you are talking about, or just a pompous, agenda driven, scripture quoting wind bag ...
WHAT DID YOU LEARN THAT WAS NEW AT THE 2019 "LOVE NEVER FAILS" REGIONAL CONVENTION ?
Hmmmmmmm ?
That means, you personally, Billy.
 
 

With all you have said above, TTH, my post is still valid, and you have missed , again, all the important points.
I have already pleaded guilty of blasphemy, and hearsay, ( ... and even heresy ...) against Scott Adams.

They already know this deep into their souls, Srecko Sostar .... but their AGENDA of defending the indefensible will not allow them to admit to it.

... if you need to drink something to keep from choking  again ... that's O.K.

Tell you what Billy .... I realize you may possibly have been distracted by TTH's story of him traveling to an Odd Duck convention, and getting arrested for stealing Cartoonists Scott Adams car ...

Tell ya what I am going to do, Billy ..... how about a THIRD CHANCE  at this ?

BTK46 has stated many times that everybody but him is ignorant, uneducated, a fool and worthy of derision ... and that we have no understanding of human psychology in dealing with his criticisms.
I think he may be right about that one,  as I often sit here wondering "Where does he GET these ideas?"
After all, it's not what WE think, it is what Scholar Emeritus BillyTheKid46 thinks that matters!
I have never seen in my entire life a person with MORE TALENT to be a Watchtower Lawyer.
He makes evil seem so effortless!
 
 

I would like to know the answer to THAT one!
By the way ... that "Millions Now Living Will Never Die '' ... how well did THAT turn out?

That is a GREAT idea ... as I am sure that only a Box Turtle could make sense of it.
 

Typical again. As usual, more false claims about others without evidence. That's bluster. But you add so much arrogance to your bluster. Furthermore, when it's pointed out, you reflexively project the things you do wrong back onto others.

That is a GREAT idea ... as I am sure that only a Box Turtle could make sense of it.
 

You are getting close......awfully close. In fact, close enough. I will solve this baby for you.
Put your ear down to the turtle very very close and say just the right words, and he will explain the overlapping generations to you.

That's good advice. I really did take a risk in guessing that @Bubba Johnson Jr also had in mind how Brother Splane's "Chart of the Ages" could be related to 1 Thess 5. It turned out that I was right, and that this was not a distraction from the subject matter, but ended up getting right to the heart of the subject matter.
To me, the mistake that Russell made with the pyramids also gets exactly to the real heart of the matter. This is why, as a joke, I did something similar with Splane's chart to what Russell claimed he did with the charts of the crisscrossing drains and ducts that were built into the Pyramid. I won't discuss the pyramid topic in full here, but if anyone else is interested in a serious discussion I'm up for it under another topic heading.
Your own post was typical. A few things right, a few things wrong, a few WT quotes with unrelated information that you believe defended Russell. You add information that you pretend is not already simple and obvious so that you can call others ignorant and deceptive. Unfortunately, even if you already see where you were wrong, I still have come to expect only more attacks, arrogance, name calling and diversions.
If you want anyone to take you seriously, I recommend a method that gives more weight to facts and evidence, rather than just bluster and arrogance.

Concerning "Animals being given undo importance" ....
We are very fragile, big ugly bags of mostly water and require a LOT of things :of the world to stay alive, and healthy, and emotionally stable.
I have 16 pet chickens ( two died of heat exhaustion, from being run around the yard by my dogs, after flying out of their temporary enclosure, and I buried them this morning in the yard with little plastic pipe "tombstones" which I melted into the side with a soldering iron their names and date of death, which was yesterday).
And yet ... when I die, I do not care if I am just left where I fall, or someone puts my remains in a dumpster.
And yet ... today at Golden Corral, my wife and I ate fried chicken, and I pondered "Am I a hypocrite, for loving both live chickens ... and those crispy fried??"
I looked at myself in the mirror, and noticed my eyes are in front (predator), and the chickens' eyes are on the side of their heads (prey), and decided that  that is the natural order of things, and I should just get used to it, without recriminations.
Besides .... "Love Never Fails" .... and when I die, I will probably be too tough to eat, and with the fried  chicken .... it's no one we know.

Concerning "Animals being given undo importance" ....
We are very fragile, big ugly bags of mostly water and require a LOT of things :of the world to stay alive, and healthy, and emotionally stable.
I have 16 pet chickens ( two died of heat exhaustion, from being run around the yard by my dogs, after flying out of their temporary enclosure, and I buried them this morning in the yard with little plastic pipe "tombstones" which I melted into the side with a soldering iron their names and date of death, which was yesterday).
And yet ... when I die, I do not care if I am just left where I fall, or someone puts my remains in a dumpster.
And yet ... today at Golden Corral, my wife and I ate fried chicken, and I pondered "Am I a hypocrite, for loving both live chickens ... and those crispy fried??"
I looked at myself in the mirror, and noticed my eyes are in front (predator), and the chickens' eyes are on the side of their heads (prey), and decided that  that is the natural order of things, and I should just get used to it, without recriminations.
Besides .... "Love Never Fails" .... and when I die, I will probably be too tough to eat, and with the fried  chicken .... it's no one we know.

Speaker missing to tell some things. Animals has not ability to do things as humans, but if God created them, He incorporated some qualities similar to humans. Or same as to humans but on different level. Searching for food, or even growing and collect food, creating family and offspring, care of them, fight for survive, showing affection to same and other species, etc. Cows give more milk after listening classical music :))) Speaker didn't done enough research on subject.
Don't elevate humans to status of gods :))))   
Message has same principle, but speaker, i guess, missed to highlight and used The Same Principle and to made Parallel Lesson about same trap in spiritual interaction inside congregations and WT Society. 
 
 

Thank you, @Melinda Mills for finding this out.  Now I know what the hullabaloo is all about.  
"Man was made in God's image and has the ability to love, appreciate wisdom, reasoning, music and poetry and worship. Animals can't do that."
If animals have the ability to be fearful, joyful, loyal, even hateful, they certainly have the ability to show love - deep affection for another animal or human.
I had a cat that would settled down in front of the stereo speaker to listen to classical music as soon as it began.  There must have been some sort of appreciation there, in the form of contentment or pleasure. 
 
 
 

@James Thomas Rook Jr. My Lord and my God.... Fox News? You trust them and the MSM? Not all that they say is credible, I advise looking into said other sources for 100% information. After the firebombing situation and the call for violence situation escalation, I cannot stand them as is with all of MSM.

I was almost choked from laugh on comment of yours :)))))))
Well @JW Insider now you have new task, to put INCH Measure, and perhaps we shall get new length result for years. Urim and Thummim - Millimeters and Inches... hahhahaha.

Exactly!
This is not like Groundhog Day, where men in tuxedos and top hats , with cameras rolling, wait for the baby Jesus to come out of his cave, pick him up and after pretending to listen, declare that there will be six more years of tribulation.