TrueTomHarley

Yes, of course. I think most who write here write for some other motive. It is certainly true of me. Sure. It could be I’ve been here too long. I’ve come to regard the forum as “mine”—indeed, some have thought it is—and here I ignore that good advise with impunity. I suppose that’s not good—it certainly is not according to our training. Alas, I’ve come to know the characters too well, or at least have become set in my view of the characters. I have to set my own terms for being here, because I think it is not right to earnestly discuss spiritual things with those who unequivocally hate the Christian organization. (not to imply that you have no problem with it, of course. I don’t think it. You’re doing what all faithful visitors do, what I did at one time.) But neither do I want to be seen as an attack dog. Having said that, see how long it takes for that idiot 4Jah to get on your nerves. You can write a post about torture and he will attach a laughing emoji to it. He asks JWI about Santa Claus, for he is not sure himself, and JWI says there is no Santa Claus. Then he calls JWI a hypocrite for observing December. (Let the reader use discernment, but if he doesn’t want to, that’s okay too. Maybe I’ve been here too long.)

For the life of me, I cannot take this fellow seriously. With a level of abuse (granted, I provoked it here, but it is just so much fun. And this is not really an example of it) that is off the charts, it is virtually the only thing about him worth mentioning. I can’t imagine why the Librarian (that old hen) puts up with him, when she has dropped the abuse hammer on others. Poor CC suffers it every time you turn around—not necessarily unjustly, but certainly no worse than this fellow. Even Brother Fullalove (me) triggered an abuse complaint long ago. I can only think that when commenters answer him without rebuke, or at least reproof (most do not make that error) it is because somewhere through probably painful experience in life they have learned what is expedient with abusive men.

Oh my goodness, you have asked this of Witness? 1 I hate the GB 2 I’m a better anointed than they are. 3 I hate the GB 4 I’m a better anointed than they are. 5. I hate the GB 6. I’m a better anointed than they are. 7. I hate the GB 8. I’m a better anointed than they are. 9. I hate the GB 10. I’m a better anointed than they are. Well, after all, you are new here. And expressing yourself so well. It is remarkable that, scan her entries as you will, you will find virtually nothing of what she actually believes. All you will find is attacks on the Witness organization.

The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Homies nine that day;... And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air, And Alan stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there. Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped— “That ain’t my style,” said Alan. “Strike one,” the umpire said. ”You ignorant moron! That was a home run!” Alan said... With a smile of [atheist] charity great Alan’s visage shone; He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on; He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the spheroid flew; But Alan still ignored it, and the umpire said, “Strike two.” ”You’re brains are in your ass!” Alan said. “I knocked that one out of the park, too!” ...The sneer is [never] gone from Alan’s lip, his teeth are clinched in hate; He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate. And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go, And now the air is shattered by the force of Alan’’s blow. ...Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright; The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light, And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout; But there is no joy in Adhominemville—mighty Alan has struck out. ”I did not!! That was a grand slam home run!! All of my swings are!! What a bunch of clueless imbeciles—all of you. The most stupid, brain dead crowd that I have ever played for!! What a....”

This reminds me of when I told Alan about all my friends in the circuit, and he dismissed them all as backstabbers. I acknowledged that this was true, and that I was even getting a little tired of it, but not to worry, as I had learned to whirl around like Chuck Norris and take them out with a kick to the head.. The fact that he cries foul at the hint of a joke, misunderstanding the very nature of life, as he regards this forum as his own personal courtroom and himself as Clarence Darrow, only adds to the ludicrous picture he presents. How can anyone possibly take him seriously?

I mean, the food is so good! I just wish those women would get out of my way so I could read the menu in peace.

This reminds me of a skit I used to do about Jezebel. Jezebel: ”I’m looking for some good-for-nothing men.” Good-for-nothing man: “Um—that would be me.”

The remark sort of speaks for itself, doesn’t it? I like it when anti-Witness spokespeople come across as either pure hate cases or unhinged crazies—often both.

The Librarian has specifically said that my writing is quite good. Is she an ignorant moron, too? Why not AlanF?

Because he is mommy. Read and watch some more. Maybe that will do the trick.

I think it may have been a conspiracy to inject Alan into our happily bickering site so that everyone is tempted to throw up their hands in disgust and leave. It is like a brother’s comment yesterday on how we know there is an earthly resurrection because, plainly, the unrighteous are not going to heaven per Acts 24:15. Whereupon he envisioned that if they were, would it not resemble that mob storming the Capitol building? I haven’t been able to get the image our of my mind since of that same mob of riffraff storming the pearly gates. And now along comes Alan, as though with horns and painted face, storming our fine 2nd home of a forum where all of us get to hone our writing skills.

Prove that my proof of your disproof of my disproof of your disproof of my proof of your horrendous adhominem is wrong. Then you might have something besides the “heads I win/tails you lose” rules of your mommy world. That’s what I’M talking about.

No. They are not simpleminded. You keep asking for “proofs.” Your adhominem is the best proof anyone could ask for that whatever you have does terrible things to a person. Paul calls this “shipwreck of the faith.” So be it. It is a battle for hearts being waged today. Anyone not repulsed by your adhominem is probably bound to go in your direction anyway. That is why I keep coming back to it. It is the best safeguard possible, in the spirt of “by their fruits you will recognize them.”

THAT I can explain to you any day of the week with my eyes closed.

No. It was an outlier congregation in every way. Even the guys wore makeup.

Please have someone notify me upon your death so I can etch into your grave marker, “He was always right.”

Naw, his was that rouge congregation we used to hear about where even a ministerial servant appointment required a 6-year degree.

In your own way you are as malignantly obtuse as the other fellow. The reason I don’t focus on your proofs or debunkings is that they are not important. I’m perfectly willing to concede some of them will go your way. If they do, chalk it up to human imperfection. If they don’t, they still do not provide the underpinnings of a strong Christian faith. So you want me to go round and round on things that will not have consequence either way they fall? Maybe I don’t have a life, but nowhere near to the extent you don’t have one. You live in a make-believe world of Sherlock Holmes.. Life is not like that. The Word says very little about proof. Jesus routinely said and things that would infuriate those of the narrow mindset you have retreated into. He raised straw men. He answered questions with questions. He employed hyperbole. He spun complex parables that he did not explain—let the heart figure it out. ”Taste and see that Jehovah is good,” says the Psalm. You have tasted and seen that he is bad. What more is there to say? And yet whatever place your tastebuds have led you obviously does not satisfy, for you repeatedly feel the need to troll in an attempt to sway other Witnesses. When they are not swayed, which is almost always, you resort to the name calling of a child. At least Witness, and even 4Jah, pieces of work though they may be, at least present as wanting to help. They at least present as having somewhere to lead. They don’t look to the future as you do, proclaim it is rotten, and tell how they look forward to their death before it gets even world

No no—he is a friend, you with the failing eyesight. I kind of like the guy. I think all that he is saying is that he himself withstands it in his own personal life, not that he doubts its existence.

“We must not put people in boxes,” one sister said at the Zoom meeting. I heartily signaled my agreement to all the Zoom-boxed participants.

Everyone uses the word Orwellian today, it is the new insult. It is the same as how verbal pugilists, upon failing to convince the other side, describe ones on that side as “arrogant.” It is the same as how “cognitive dissonance” has become the new phrase of insult, as in, “Your cognitive dissonance must be massive to withstand the force of MY overpowering arguments.” Blow it all off. It is just blowhards blowing hard, as they have always done. On average, the people of this system of things are smarter than those of Jehovah’s Witnesses, better educated. Yet that advantages is squandered by their inability to get along, to yield, to work together for common good. Witnesses run rings around them in the practical deeds of their choosing, thus triggering taunts of Orwellian, arrogance, and cognitive dissonance.

The reason there is an expression “skeletons in the closet” is that until very recently most people succeeded in keeping them there. Since it is “human nature,” I am not sure why humanists would think it is something bad that must be overcome. This is called being “no part of the world.” If it is wrong, then it is the Bible that is wrong, for that is what it consistently advises for Christians. I agree with this. It is what it is. Anti-JW rhetoric is watered down by the fact that everyone is venting about something these days. The world is a swirling mass of discontent, and to think people are going to focus on just one aspect is wishful thinking on the part of ex-JW activists. Witnesses are used to presenting the gem of the truth through a facet of their choosing. Now, the internet makes possible for others to present it through a facet of their choosing. But it is the same gem. “The game is the same, it is just up on another level,” writes Bob Dylan. It is the theme verse of TrueTom vs the Apostates. ”The truth is such a beautiful thing. It’s a shame that Jehovah had to waste it on humans,” one cynical brother said (who is no longer a brother). Humans have their flaws and will taint anything they touch. It is true no less in Bible times than today. That is why I coined the expression: “The trick is not to sanitize the present. It is to desanitize the past.” I kind of like it when pure loons (and I don’t count you as one of them) or unhinged hate cases represent the JW opposition. Given that there are 8 million JWs and that this forum has worldwide reach, I think the handful that participate here is really tiny. And most of those who do visit quickly take note of the voracious opposition, and thereafter take their leave. Still, I wouldn’t mind if we trained those inclined that way in how to use the internet, rather than be fearful of it & avoid it almost at all costs. I agree with counsel to avoid harmful association, yet everything is a matter of degree. If opponents mount a new offense through modern media, so be it. Learn to defend the truth from all attacks, not just the ones you prefer to address. One chapter of TT vs Apostates is of the Apostasy movie. Don’t go into conniptions that the fellow made it. Learn to provide an answer to it. And no, I haven’t seen it. I know the Witness backdrop as well as he: https://www.tomsheepandgoats.com/2019/01/the-movie-apostasy.html Those with their eyes on the “real life” of 1 Timothy 6 will develop different viewpoints from those whose focus is exclusively on this life. There is no need to run from this. There is no need to pretend that there is not a downside to being focused on the real life. Admit it. There is. There is no need to pretend that unbalanced people will not have negative impact, but even if presented “properly,” the Bible way of life will be derided from those who choose only this life. So? It is still easily worth being focused on the real life. Let those whose focus is on this life make all the points they want. Anything to highlight the two courses God puts before all people today. Obviously there is an element of delayed gratification in choosing the “real life.” Acknowledge it and move on. There was a time when delayed gratification was seen as a virtue, not the roadblock to happiness that it is today. Force advocates of this life to tell their upside. There barely is one, other than for a few decades they might be free of “control.” In focusing on the petty freedoms that this world has to offer, they end up oblivious to the real ones that serving Jehovah offers.

There is always that psycho ex-mate who just cannot let go.

You are so malignantly obtuse. The following two paragraphs appear in the book: "The things Jehovah’s Witnesses have reinterpreted, or even flip-flopped on, are all superfluous things, the trimmings on the tree, and not the tree itself. The essential doctrines of Jehovah’s Witnesses that distinguish them from any other religion have been solidly established for over 100 years—teachings that the Trinity is unscriptural, for example, and that the soul does not live on after death. These are the important points that one should focus on. Among the basic tenets discerned 100 years ago is that human salvation is not the prime issue before all creation; rather, the vindication of God’s name and purposes is. It is a huge distinction. To overly carry on as though one’s own personal salvation is paramount invariably pushes ones toward being self-centered. "Governing Body members take heart that blunders aplenty are to be found in Scripture—so that if they make a few, they feel right at home. In the first century the word went out among the congregations that the apostle John would not die until the Lord’s return. It took John himself to set the record straight. He didn’t bother doing so until nearing the end of his life. Perhaps he had thought it himself."

We overthink this. It is no more than heeding the coach.