Anna

Nor do you take it from anyone else. At the tiniest contradiction from anyone you bristle. So unlike our Lord, the one whom we are to follow in his footsteps closely, who, when he was reviled did not go reviling in return. You revile at the drop of a pin.
It is why I have thought “how can he be a Witness?” and have pretty much come to the conclusion you are not. On the other hand, you may be some sort of one, but are clearly an outlier. I make a mental scan of the hundreds, maybe thousands of Witnesses I know, and can think of none that would make such an abusive public spectacle of themselves, albeit that you do raise relevant points here and there. 
Treat people as Jesus did, even those “who have doubts,” even those “unsteady,” even those who may seem in danger of drifting, even those who genuinely are opposed—Lord knows some of them are here—treat them as Jesus did and you will better establish your claim to be one of his followers.
 

And we all know who you are 😂

4Jah2me already alluded to this in his previous comment, not sure if I should post this in this topic. It's merely informative: We will join the redress scheme in Australia after all.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2021/03/03/jehovahs-witnesses-redress-scheme/
Worth noting:
“Jehovah’s Witnesses did not voluntarily join because we object to the assertion that the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses assumes responsibility for children,” the group said.
“Our objection is based on the fact that the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses does not and has not sponsored any activities that have resulted in children being under its care, custody, supervision, control or authority.”
(Children have ALWAYS been the responsibility of the parents. Plain and simple).
 
 

At the hospital I run, patients were clamoring for Dr. House. “He is so kind, so tactful, so understanding of weakness, so withholding of judgment!” they said. I couldn’t believe my ears. That ill-mannered lout is the one they wanted? True, he knows his stuff, but what a bedside manner!
Then I checked the roster and saw that Dr Cesar was the other doctor on duty that night.

He keeps mentioning my name, and calling me apostate, maybe it's because I'm totally ignoring him 😂

Are you kidding me? She is the patient who begged the most.

27  So the slaves of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow fine seed in your field? How, then, does it have weeds?’ 28  He said to them, ‘An enemy, a man, did this.’y The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go out and collect them?’ 29  He said, ‘No, for fear that while collecting the weeds, you uproot the wheat with them. 30  Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest season, I will tell the reapers: First collect the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them up; then gather the wheat into my storehouse.’”z - Mt. 13:27-30
We're not angels, and we could imagine we're wheat when we could be a bit on the weedy side. So it strikes me that the garden one has a right and responsibility to "weed" is that of one's own heart.
Where groups and people go wrong is when these decide they need to engage in a bunch of weed whacking of someone or some group other than themselves.
As long as two or more are gathered in Jesus name he said "I'm in their midst". So we have to find a place where we can associate w/people whom we feel are supporting our own efforts at self-weeding. The problem may come (and it often does) when we decide we need to readjust other people on matters unclear at present, or engage in endless harping on past behaviors or expectations. Jesus said "sufficient for each day is its own badness".
 
18  “Now listen to the illustration of the man who sowed.q 19  Where anyone hears the word of the Kingdom but does not get the sense of it, the wicked one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart; this is the one sown alongside the road.
 

No, you love this, that's why you're always trolling on here 

The whole world screwed up. It was because the way things were done back then, that the ARC had to be set up. There are no loopholes in Jehovah's law, however, because of loopholes in secular law we were not able to do things properly.   Arauna is right when she says that years ago there was no effective secular system in place whereby children were protected from CSA. This had become such a massive problem, so much so that it could no longer be ignored, and finally (!) secular authorities are addressing this "what had been a hidden problem for centuries (probably). And yes, I agree completely that thanks to the ARC our policies have changed. Like you, I watched all of the sessions (live). I also have experience of how one case was handled in our congregation. I would say it was typical of how many other cases were handled too. It was all about not bringing reproach on Jehovah's name, and a misapplication of 1 Corinthians 6:7. But the WT never advocated that this scripture applied to serious matters such as CSA, it always applied it to business dealings.  But somehow the brothers applied it to everything, including CSA. This is WHY it had to be clarified in the May 2019 WT study article: "Should the Christian who reported it feel that he has brought reproach on God’s name? No. The abuser is the one who brings reproach on God’s name". 
 

If you're serious about understanding OT issues relative to inspiration/issues which today we consider to be wrong, you should read Paul Copan's "Is God a Moral Monster". There are multiple issues to be considered. Hyperbole, numbers of individuals involved (modern textual analysis of texts), allowance of activities vs promotion of the same. I've had a few email exchanges w/professor Copan and he's been quite helpful in all this.
But we're back again to cases of historical inspiration as recorded in text, vs possible inspiration today and how to scripturally determine whether it's warranted today (scriptures actually argue against this "need") and when it was warranted (and why, and how validated) in the past.
It's been my experience, however that there's a lazy man's approach to all this which John MacArthur touches on in the 1st five minutes of his discussion of his recent book "Strange Fire". It's worth your time to at least listen to the 1st five minutes.
 

I was in CC’s car group the other day. Alas, we broke for coffee at Starbucks. He had insisted on McDonalds. We were derided as apostates for the remainder of the morning.

I'd say this is a redefinition of what most biblical scholars refer to when they use the term "inspiration". It also is clear that more homework ought to be done before flippantly deciding one knows all one needs to know about the processes of and the reasons for inspiration proceeding from God vs inspiration proceeding from w/in.

The whole world screwed up. It was because the way things were done back then, that the ARC had to be set up. There are no loopholes in Jehovah's law, however, because of loopholes in secular law we were not able to do things properly.   Arauna is right when she says that years ago there was no effective secular system in place whereby children were protected from CSA. This had become such a massive problem, so much so that it could no longer be ignored, and finally (!) secular authorities are addressing this "what had been a hidden problem for centuries (probably). And yes, I agree completely that thanks to the ARC our policies have changed. Like you, I watched all of the sessions (live). I also have experience of how one case was handled in our congregation. I would say it was typical of how many other cases were handled too. It was all about not bringing reproach on Jehovah's name, and a misapplication of 1 Corinthians 6:7. But the WT never advocated that this scripture applied to serious matters such as CSA, it always applied it to business dealings.  But somehow the brothers applied it to everything, including CSA. This is WHY it had to be clarified in the May 2019 WT study article: "Should the Christian who reported it feel that he has brought reproach on God’s name? No. The abuser is the one who brings reproach on God’s name". 
 

Not just the GB. If you've read any of John Macarthur, or Gleason Archer (Old Testament Introduction), the issues behind inspiration are discussed and match up 100% w/that of the WT's handling of what is considered "inspired". Both of these would have called JW's a "cult", and yet when it comes to how one considers what is and what isn't scripture and how to tell if some novel statement made outside of scripture these are in agreement.
I don't think you've done your homework on this. You need to go back and do your homework.

The whole world screwed up. It was because the way things were done back then, that the ARC had to be set up. There are no loopholes in Jehovah's law, however, because of loopholes in secular law we were not able to do things properly.   Arauna is right when she says that years ago there was no effective secular system in place whereby children were protected from CSA. This had become such a massive problem, so much so that it could no longer be ignored, and finally (!) secular authorities are addressing this "what had been a hidden problem for centuries (probably). And yes, I agree completely that thanks to the ARC our policies have changed. Like you, I watched all of the sessions (live). I also have experience of how one case was handled in our congregation. I would say it was typical of how many other cases were handled too. It was all about not bringing reproach on Jehovah's name, and a misapplication of 1 Corinthians 6:7. But the WT never advocated that this scripture applied to serious matters such as CSA, it always applied it to business dealings.  But somehow the brothers applied it to everything, including CSA. This is WHY it had to be clarified in the May 2019 WT study article: "Should the Christian who reported it feel that he has brought reproach on God’s name? No. The abuser is the one who brings reproach on God’s name". 
 

If any kind of " inspired expression" is a miracle - which is what you infer - then I feel sorry for you.... because Satan can "inspire many things too.

Incorrect - I have spoken to people from these ' inspired churches' who make up a lot of things as they go along and say they are inspired by god's spirit.  Usually these inspired things are closer to spiritism than the Bible.  The Bible is our "inspired" source.

A lot of these nut jobs remind me of the character Adam Sandler played in "Water Boy". His character was always hallucinating things that other people weren't saying.
 
 

You haven’t seen anything yet. It may be averted however, if you can grow up and treat people civilly, even those who genuinely are opposed.
Below, I have cleverly modified a well-known verse. See if you can spot the change:
“But when Michael the archangel had a difference with the Devil and was disputing about Moses’ body, he did not dare to bring a judgment against him in abusive terms, but said: “May Cezar rebuke you.”
It won’t necessarily be a bad thing if the two of us get into a cat fight. Presently, 4Jah will start crying, even more than he does now, that his “questions” are not being addressed, even though they have been countless times and he just wants to repackage them and keep running them through in perpetuity.
Should that happen to thwart his dastardly scheme, you actually will have contributed to combatting “apostasy.”
Absolutely. Finally, finally, finally, 4Jah says something of value. CC certainly should know that. Any JW knows who is not a newbie that.

When a miracle is an unexplained event which is beneficial then....sure I do believe in miracles.

I read your story with unfeigned interest before your final question hit me. I rarely laugh out loud literally, but I just did. Thanks.

[Moved from another place to avoid an off-topic discussion]
Good question. I have wondered what the point was if we generally think that both of them have pretty much the same chance to repent and be resurrected to Paradise on earth. It has occurred to me that this person dying around the same time as Jesus, might be another indicator of the change in hope for Christians at the time, for which we partially depend upon Matthew 11:12 :
(Matthew 11:12) From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of the heavens is the goal toward which men press, and those pressing forward are seizing it.
The "truly I tell you today" verse could be another indication that our view of Matthew 11:12 is correct, if Jesus were referring to paradise as heaven, just as Paul spoke of heaven as paradise:
(2 Corinthians 12:2-4) . . .was caught away to the third heaven. 3 Yes, I know such a man—whether in the body or apart from the body, I do not know; God knows— 4 who was caught away into paradise . . .
And this might re-open up the discussion of why the Bible writer would have included a statement that seemed clear but actually needed to be seen as more ambiguous by adding a comma, nearly two thousand years after the statement. While Greek was still a living language, no early translations (into Coptic, Syrian, Latin, etc.) noticed the need to add a comma here:
(Luke 23:43) . . .“Truly I tell you today, you will be with me in Paradise.”
Compare Jesus' words about a rooster the day before:
(Mark 14:30) . . .“Truly I say to you that today, yes, on this very night. . .
At any rate, these are the kinds of questions that don't really change anything. ("First world problems" as xero said about something else.) Even if Jesus had meant "today" in the unambiguous sense, we would simply take it in the same way we understand Jesus' words about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob:
(Matthew 22:31-33) 31 Regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, who said: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob’? He is the God, not of the dead, but of the living.” 33 On hearing that, the crowds were astounded at his teaching.
Or perhaps, with new questions, we could look at the following:
(Matthew 8:11, 12) . . .But I tell you that many from east and west will come and recline at the table with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of the heavens; 12 whereas the sons of the Kingdom will be thrown into the darkness outside. . . .
(Luke 13:26-28) 26 Then you will start saying, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our main streets.’ 27 But he will say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from. Get away from me, all you workers of unrighteousness!’ 28 There is where your weeping and the gnashing of your teeth will be, when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown outside.
(Luke 16:21-31) . . .. 22 Now in the course of time, the beggar died and was carried off by the angels to Abraham’s side. “Also, the rich man died and was buried. 23 And in the Grave he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and he saw Abraham from afar and Lazʹa·rus by his side. 24 So he called and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazʹa·rus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this blazing fire.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you had your fill of good things in your lifetime, but Lazʹa·rus for his part received bad things. Now, however, he is being comforted here, but you are in anguish. 26 And besides all these things, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that those who want to go over from here to you cannot, neither may people cross over from there to us.’ 27 Then he said, ‘That being so, I ask you, father, to send him to the house of my father, 28 for I have five brothers, in order that he may give them a thorough witness so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to these.’ 30 Then he said, ‘No, indeed, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’”
(Hebrews 11:8-16) . . .By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, although not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he lived as a foreigner in the land of the promise as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the very same promise. 10 For he was awaiting the city having real foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 11 By faith also Sarah received power to conceive offspring, even when she was past the age, since she considered Him faithful who made the promise. 12 For this reason, from one man who was as good as dead, there were born children, as many as the stars of heaven in number and as innumerable as the sands by the seaside. 13 In faith all of these died, although they did not receive the fulfillment of the promises; but they saw them from a distance and welcomed them and publicly declared that they were strangers and temporary residents in the land. 14 For those who speak in such a way make it evident that they are earnestly seeking a place of their own. 15 And yet, if they had kept remembering the place from which they had departed, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they are reaching out for a better place, that is, one belonging to heaven. Therefore, God is not ashamed of them, to be called on as their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
These latter verses especially tell us that there were already exceptions seeking the kingdom of the heavens as their goal, which might reflect upon the meaning of "kingdom of the heavens" in Matthew 11:12.
I don't think that there is anything here that in any way contradicts our view that Abraham is still in the grave, as David still is --(Acts 2:34) ". . .For David did not ascend to the heavens. . . ." Hebrews 11: 13 says pretty much the same.
So I think that the "Truly I tell you today" verse is not a verse about the difference in whether Jesus meant that literal day, or whether we needed to add a comma. The important difference between the two evil-doers was that Jesus' presence on earth and our reaction to him, reveals our choice to seek the Kingdom of the Heavens. Just as with Abraham, it's not about whether we live in heaven or on earth, but that all of us should be seeking a place belonging to the heavens. In other words, like Abraham, we all have a heavenly hope, whether Jehovah allows us to live on paradise earth or in paradise heaven.

Well I was loath to chime in on this subject I admit ...and it probably would have been wiser to not say a thing..and yes I broke  my own rule over this.
Because it declines into a emotional school yard cat fight... but you also do not fully understand either Billy....NONE..of us here do...not really.
But I know first hand of certain issues here in Australia..I watched all of the ARC..talked with victims and elders...know  of certain    cases...intimately ..so can speak from experience...
The way they were handled by elders and the Branch directions of the time..and how victims were handled...and the frustrations of elders and the victims.
I listen to witnesses who have got things a bit wrong...sometimes a lot wrong...and a lot right .
I listen to Ex JWs who have got some things right and some things wrong...
It is not as simple or straightforward forward as so many believe....it is not black and white
I have distorted nothing...I am just more balanced over this subject .than you
Agreeing with anEx Jw on certain matters  does not make one their Alia..it’s just acknowledging a fact that may be correct in a certain issue at a certain time.
as far as chiming in..we have discussed this before me with you actually...and that didn’t end very well either....you told me you were not my brother...so as I said...I am loath to enter such a discussion..it goes round and round in circles with insults thrown at each other....and everyone becomes like rabid dogs biting at each other and thinking it is okay because it is a forum...and thinking Jehovah is going to accept such behaviour and excuse us of it.....and I include myself in this as well.
I wish you well CC..I’m not to sure who you are...as I’m not to sure who anyone is here ...
As far as a culture thing...Jehovah’s laws are laws...I once had a elder say to me over a very serious matter.....” well it’s not how Australians are”....
no I thought...but it is how Jehovah is......
I won’t reply on this matter again....but I stand by my words and will not back off from them even tho I will remain silent...
 
Witnesses are allowed to disagree with each other..we are not robots....it does not make us apostates...or idiots...just people with differing views ...which may change at any given time..and also may not change.
I don’t always agree with Toms view..nor he with mine...but what a great conversation we would have in a car group..
You yourself have distorted facts..as have certain ex JWs....it’s a mess all around and it’s so hard to find ANY one Who can have a balanced view over it.
I do not speak out ignorance ..but deal with facts..everything else is a waste of time and effort..
 

Habakkuk 1:2-3
How long, O Jehovah, must I cry for help, but you do not hear? How long must I ask for help from violence, but you do not intervene? Why do you make me witness wrongdoing? And why do you tolerate oppression? Why are destruction and violence before me? And why do quarreling and conflict abound?
We're all familiar with Habakkuk's plight and we can add our own sentiments; "how much longer do we have to watch people suffering because of the things he mentioned, but also because of disease, starvation, old age etc.". My mother in law is 90, and is in severe pain from arthritis every day. Two of my friends died a horrible painful death from cancer. Small children dying of cancer and other diseases... everywhere you look there is SO much anguish and suffering. We ask the same questions as Habakkuk did 2600 years ago.... and Jehovah has had to watch mankind's suffering since the inception of sin. I have to keep reminding myself that Jehovah is the wisest being in the universe, also just and kind. Only he knows the perfect time to step in. Then also if we compare a lifetime of suffering of 80 years or so, and then eternity of mental peace and happiness and physical health, the suffering then is short lived and pales into insignificance.
It's a little easier to bare things if you know they are temporary....

Well done Anna- good scenarios. It exposes if a person is reasonable or unreasonable individual.