TrueTomHarley

A BS? (beard sighting) 

I hope we get over this in time, as everyone else did long ago. Hippies and beatniks have long gone the way of the dinosaur.

8 hours ago, Anna said:

I still can't believe I missed several chances to go to the Museum. I went and toured the Mill Hill Bethel when our congregation organised a trip to London, and then instead of the museum I went to Kew gardens! I guess my excuse was I was 14 at the time...Then the last time I stayed in London was when I was invited to a Witness ball..and again no museum...This seems to be a kind of pattern with me. I stayed at a friends villa just 30 minutes from Pompeii,  (5 times!) and never once went to that ancient city....instead I went to the beach......

This reminds me of brothers ribbing each other years ago. One, a new parent, went on a child-development conference, something called (ready for this? The Better Baby Institute). On returning, he was quizzed by another.

Did you go in service while you were there? .... No

Did you go to meetings.... No

Well, did you pray?

4 hours ago, JW Insider said:

but the vast majority of staff are there to help manage the huge gift shop (and restock things like Milk Duds in the vending machines).

THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!!

4 hours ago, JW Insider said:

If any of these topics seem worthwhile on this forum, I will be happy to include them in discussions that come up, or topics that I start myself.

Yes....

4 hours ago, JW Insider said:

and restock things like Milk Duds in the vending machines

Actually, despite some flippancy, I used to be obnoxious at museums - slowing everyone down so I could read each exhibit. Someday I'd like to get to London and the Louvre

Keep @JW Insider away from museums. #NoMuseums

3 hours ago, Srecko Sostar said:

If somebody today made a "sin" and after that come to the state of repentance and god forgive him,  he is free from that sin.

If tomorrow he made new"sin" of same kind or another kind and after that come to the state of repentance and god forgive him,  he is free from that sin

There's a 'whole lotta sinnn' that can go on in that way - if even "tomorrow" he will do the same thing again. Is it possible for God to have a clean 'people for his name' - as Acts 15:14 says he should?

It sounds as though you would have his people become as but one team on the football league - not much different than any other. God becomes the loser that way. His name suffers. People look upon Christianity and say 'what good is it? It's just a matter of squabbling over doctrine.'

20 minutes ago, Srecko Sostar said:

3 hours ago, Arauna said:

 

 

3 hours ago, Arauna said:

I want a yes or no answer please.  

you are very polite person when you tell, "please". I am giving you  + for that 

But you also said, "I want a yes or no answer". I am giving you - for that  

But there is no answer! Will one be forthcoming?

7 hours ago, Jay Witness said:

Mark Sanderson tells us that when the appeal at the Supreme Court was negative that they had to leave Russia immediately... but they had no tickets. He tells the committee members to just drive to the airport and on the way he's in contact with the travel desk at Watchtower.

The one thing that comes through loud and clear is that he was there, at some personal risk. I wonder how many eager to condemn him and his would risk putting their own rear ends in the line of fire.

3 hours ago, JW Insider said:

I'm sorry to hear about your particular situation, whether you are referring to health or a related issue. It's good to hear that you are confident in the outworking of Jehovah's purpose. 

Hmm. Yes. Maybe I was a little too glib at @J.R. Ewing's comment. If so, I apologize. He is the strangest of all birds to me. But that's okay. These days I increasingly find I don't like people unless they are strange. And @Anna, I didn't mean to involve you with that sarcasm remark. I thought it was for someone else.

5 hours ago, Gone Fishing said:

Oops! Just noticed @Librarian commenting!

RUN!!!!

I haven't forgotten her 'new' rules which I will try to observe, save for caveats I mentioned already on her page. It's just that turning over a new leaf may have to wait till a new tree (thread) is planted.

5 hours ago, JW Insider said:

Dark, anti-religious poetry does not make one a Satanist.

I don't buy this, either. Was he under the influence of Satan? Sure. But who isn't in the realm of 'man ruling man to his injury?'

It's even true with Putin. I wouldn't want to live in Russia. However those who already do seem not in a hurry to get out, short of some well-publicized ones and now those for religious reasons. It is but another form of human rulership. Not everything is atrocious about it. Some things are better.

If you try to peer in his pants and tell of his soiled underwear, he gets mad. Keep out of his way, and usually you do fine. In all lands it is: 'ask the king his ground rules for maintaining public order, and then do them.' Our life is not about human rule. Do what he says and get on with life. Of course, when he turns against you, siding with the house Church, you are up the crick and our brothers have it very tough for a time. The only caveat is that they are used to it, as we would not be.

Does Putin amass wealth for himself? American politicians do no less. They come in poor and they leave wealthy. They come in wealthy and the leave wealthier. Trump is one of the few who go against the pattern. He comes in wealthy and sees his interests take a hit.

I also don't buy that the top guy of almost any system of government is a thug. As often as not they are conscious of a responsibility to govern and provide for the public good. As far as I can see, it is true of Putin. The trouble is, these guys think that you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. They all think it. The problem with a system of concentrated power is that they are able to implement it. But that does not mean that their intention of providing public service for the citizenry is phony.

2 minutes ago, J.R. Ewing said:

Well, The Watchtower 1989 façade is only real to those that listen to people like James K. Walker (Ex-Mormon) that was selling this conspiracy theory

I have not heard of him and I do not follow any of the 'names' out there. So probably a lot gets by me.

42 minutes ago, TrueTomHarley said:

It will work for about ten minutes. But I will not be the first transgressor.

The trouble with it is that few will want to bury their comments on the profile page of another, hidden from common view. I, for one, am never carrying on a dialogue with any given person. Probably that is true with most others.

Just now, The Librarian said:

This may not work... but I figure it's worth a shot.

It will work for about ten minutes. But I will not be the first transgressor.

9 minutes ago, Anna said:

Ans that's why sarcastic people like you will never understand!

Well - you are certainly right about not understanding.

3 minutes ago, Anna said:

So irregardless what you say, Tom Irregardless

There actually was a Tom Irregardless and I fought for years with him not to say it. I thought my prayer had been answered when an older brother who also used to say it recalled how he had been approached by another who had asked him to look it up in the dictionary. "I never found it," he said - and he never used it again.

My heart soared when I heard this. I approached Tom and asked him to look up the word in the dictionary. But times had changed. He found it. True, it was labeled "irregular" but that was a distinction far too subtle for Tom Irregardless. As though he were Trump himself, he doubled down on it!

Fair enough. She answered the questions. And then some.

23 minutes ago, J.R. Ewing said:

Unfortunately, I won’t be around to see God’s Judgment Day.

Why is that?

24 minutes ago, J.R. Ewing said:

I just hope I am able to show Jah! That even in sleep, I made every possible attempt to “obey” and “submit” myself by faith to God’s ultimate decision for humanity

This makes it sound as though you are writing from the grave.

25 minutes ago, J.R. Ewing said:

Generation “X” was marked as the apostate generation.

Maybe. But they have plenty of fine guidance from older ones.

27 minutes ago, J.R. Ewing said:

“irregardless”.

Irregardless, indeed. What a long strange trip its been.

11 hours ago, Arauna said:

Neutrality is a very BIG issue - I preach daily to people who were indoctrinated from young

I don't think there is anyone who is not. The only difference is the degree of openness about it. 

The best reason to stay neutral is our reason. But another perfectly valid reason (though it betrays some laziness) is that it is close to impossible to get an accurate read on anything. Every source skews matters according to pre-existing patterns of perception. To some extent, you can get around this by following diverse sources and not just the home team, but that takes time, and time is precious.

Not long ago Putin was in China and said that sanctions against Kim would be futile - Kim would see every single person starve to death before he would give up on arms. He then asked was it for naught Kim sought to missle-up? He knew very well what happened to Saddam Hussein who truthfully swore up and down he had no weapons of mass destruction, but that did not stop his enemies from taking him out and killing a family member or two in the process. Putin then said some other things. 

CNBC reported everything he said except the Saddam connection, thus letting the impression stand that only sheer madness can explain his actions. 

They don't all lie, but selective covering of events accomplishes the same thing.

During glasnost, when Russia seemed to change from surly bear to teddy bear. Davey-the-Kid was pressed on who was occupying now the role of 'king of the north.' He replied that it was Bolivia.

1 hour ago, Anna said:

Not paying you.

Rats.

For some reason that I do not understand (is it my imagination?) I seem to rankle you even more than I do the nefarious JTR, who simply prepares another cartoon -  though I would have it the other way around. I consistently find myself agreeing with almost everything you say, and at times being corrected by you.

Some things, though, can be taken too far. Though I agree in some measure with 

1 hour ago, Arauna said:

One wants to use ' money /banks' to control the world (I will not mention the religious backers) The other:  who want to fight with weapons to rule the world (of which ISIS is a good example.)

it could also be pointed out the king of the south these days bombs more countries than the king of the north. Money, in this instance, powers the south to manufacture weapons as much or more as the north. Publicly traded arms makers must report quarterly - and those quarterly reports better look good, or hordes of stockholders threaten to abandon ship and go look for 'greener' pastures. Corporations reach a point where they must create their own market, and not just wait for the market to come to them, as a private company might do. Hence, the many Washington lobbyists who ever push the perception that there are many many enemies who must be kept in check by weapons, which, as it turns out, can be supplied by the outfit that they represent.

It is not just the king of the north who loves weapons.

5 hours ago, Arauna said:

I think you are talking absurdities! 

Do you really know what a 'religious political' movement is?

I don't think I said that I viewed us that way. I said that the Soviet government did. It is in Baran's book and is well-supported.

Who cares what I think? The brothers were not trying to operate where I governed. They were trying to operate where they governed. I simply meant to note their point of view, not indicate agreement with it.

1 hour ago, Israeli Bar Avaddhon said:

Agree. Do not check the scriptures. We would not want to find something we do not like

During Soviet times when the government was atheistic and could hardly be expected to pick up on religious nuances, it turned out they looked askance at being labeled the 'king of the north' who 'put his trust in the god of fortresses.' 

They were suspicious - and remain so to this day - that the Witnesses were but a political movement disguised as a a religion, taking orders from US based Brooklyn.

1 hour ago, TrueTomHarley said:

As it turns out, I did go to college and I do have a degree. It didn't help me a bit.

Furthermore, while I am more well-read than many, college had nothing to do with it.

I once calculated I had read 55 of the 100 'most important books in history' on a list put out by the BBC. Nobody I encountered had read more.

I read almost all of them via 'Books on Tape' while working a humdrum job in which only my body had to be engaged, but my mind remained mine. Possibly I can credit college with stimulating an already existing appreciation of reading. But it's a rather expensive route just to take away that lesson. I'll share it for free: Read.

(that'll be $5.99, please)

And even with all that reading, I have found Bible-based literature to be the best framework for evaluating everything else, simple though that writing is.

 

17 minutes ago, Bible Speaks said:

Oh yes! I have FORTUNATELY (FORTUNE) ? met you. Keep up the Good Works Brother.

It has been my good fortune to ... ah, no. Fortune......Luckily I ....no, strike that. Luck It is my good destiny to .....um, no..strike again. Destiny. What a wonderful quirk of fate that ....uh oh ...Fate    

Ah, forget it!

 

1 hour ago, Gone Fishing said:

I, (thankfully), am one of those under-educated, college dropout JWs highlighted in another thread. Funny, it made no difference to me financially on comparison with siblings and peers who availed themselves of "the king's shilling".

As it turns out, I did go to college and I do have a degree. It didn't help me a bit.

It is my fault, not theirs. Nonetheless, I'm quite certain that both GF and JWI made more dough than I, and probably even Bellyacher-in-Chief JTR.

17 minutes ago, Anna said:

Wasn't the bound volume printed well before the Y2K problem?

I can see you don't know anything about science.