TrueTomHarley

Everyone is one to you. You must be a terror in your Kingdom Hall, assuming you really go to one.

No, I think we found a new track to explore.
Nobody is more unkind here than you. There may be some as unkind, but you are in the top tier. Plus, the fact that you claim to represent Jehovah’s organization, and they don’t, makes your unkindness by far the worst. I mean, nobody expects 4Jah or Witness to be nice..You are every bit as insulting as Alan, and far worse, because he represents the atheists and you don’t.
Nobody picks fights with every single person here, finding no difference between friend and foe. They are all foes to you.
Nobody excoriates brothers more than you for straying in even the tiniest degree from some aspect of counsel, as though every syllable was unyielding iron. And yet, nobody is a more blatant example than you for ignoring such counsel with regard to engaging apostates. Everyone else makes some acknowledgment of why they overstep that “line.” Only you oversteps it while still claiming to represent to the nth degree those who obey counsel.
It is very hard to believe that you are a Witness. Can you really be one? Possibly you are one of the “sons of thunder” who wanted to call fire and sulphur from heaven to avenge a slight to the Lord. But the Lord rebuked them for this. Accordingly, you too ought to be rebuked frequently so that if possible “you may be healthy in the faith.”—assuming you are actually there.

What did Jesus do when he was “disrespected?”
How insistent was Jesus on proving himself right?
Even were I to take this as an insult, which appears the way you intend it, how many times did Jesus say to Peter (after 3 times denying him) “The one that should be ashamed is you, ex-disciple!”
I mean really, CC. If you want people to believe that you are a Witness, you should act like one.

There were some models—not one that I ever drove, they were being phased out—that if all the high school kids crammed in the back of the bus, they could lift the front wheels.
I learned the truth during my senior year of college. After graduation, I determined to pioneer. Unlike some more mature youngsters, I never knew what I was doing there anyway. I had been (this for Srecko’s sake) “manipulated” to be there. If your grades were not in the toilet, there is no way the high school would tolerate your not going to college unless you had strong reason not to go, and I didn’t. I took the path of least resistance. I used my time poorly there. When I returned for some specific course work 40 years later I had the time of my life—goals make all the difference.
As I get older, I appreciate what this must have meant for my parents. When your child graduates from college, you want some “bragging rights.” It’s not why you sent him there, but it is part of the anticipated package. What did my parents get? A kid who drove a school bus and rang the doorbells of their neighbors to tell them about this weird religion. All the more “tragic” because I went to school mostly on their dime. It was quite doable back then, even if not so today.
My dad did not have any problem with it. Raised on a farm, he was not impressed with the pretensions of men. “You raise you kids and after that their life is for them to live,” he would say. Accordingly I am pretty much like that today with my own kids, one of whom remained with the faith and one of who did not.
But my mom had a tougher time with it. It was all the more so when one of her contemporaries—a mom of one of my classmates—urged her early on to “get him out of there!” But in time some of her friends would invite me in to hear me out. One of them studied for a time. They all sent back good reports to reassure her that whatever I was doing I was well-spoken about it and it was doing me no harm. I wasn’t “tuning in, turning on, and dropping out.”
 

There were some models—not one that I ever drove, they were being phased out—that if all the high school kids crammed in the back of the bus, they could lift the front wheels.
I learned the truth during my senior year of college. After graduation, I determined to pioneer. Unlike some more mature youngsters, I never knew what I was doing there anyway. I had been (this for Srecko’s sake) “manipulated” to be there. If your grades were not in the toilet, there is no way the high school would tolerate your not going to college unless you had strong reason not to go, and I didn’t. I took the path of least resistance. I used my time poorly there. When I returned for some specific course work 40 years later I had the time of my life—goals make all the difference.
As I get older, I appreciate what this must have meant for my parents. When your child graduates from college, you want some “bragging rights.” It’s not why you sent him there, but it is part of the anticipated package. What did my parents get? A kid who drove a school bus and rang the doorbells of their neighbors to tell them about this weird religion. All the more “tragic” because I went to school mostly on their dime. It was quite doable back then, even if not so today.
My dad did not have any problem with it. Raised on a farm, he was not impressed with the pretensions of men. “You raise you kids and after that their life is for them to live,” he would say. Accordingly I am pretty much like that today with my own kids, one of whom remained with the faith and one of who did not.
But my mom had a tougher time with it. It was all the more so when one of her contemporaries—a mom of one of my classmates—urged her early on to “get him out of there!” But in time some of her friends would invite me in to hear me out. One of them studied for a time. They all sent back good reports to reassure her that whatever I was doing I was well-spoken about it and it was doing me no harm. I wasn’t “tuning in, turning on, and dropping out.”
 

It was a perfect job for a pioneer. I actually lived in a basement apt at the Kingdom Hall then. I would arise in the AM, drive about 1/4 mile to the bus barns, and be back in time for the text. 4 hours in the field and I was back for the afternoon runs.
I know several who do it now. In some areas, the pay is quite good for a part-time job. It is that way where I live.
And yes, even though living at the Kingdom Hall, I would still sometimes be late for meetings.

What would they apostasize from?
Not only to the many verses dealing with apostasy reveal the nature of apostates. They also reveal the nature of the Christian congregation.

Yes. This is another “booby prize” at first glance that turns out to be top prize at second..It is an indication that JWs have the truth: We have by far the best apostates.
No NT writer does not deal with the subject of apostasy. Two chapters of the Bible are devoted to it entirely. Unless the world has been won over by Christ (we all know the answer to that one) then the reality then should be the reality today. And nobody has more vociferous “apostates” than ours. We should be proud of them, for through them is our validation.

Xero: I enjoyed this. It brought back memories. Your experience is my experience, not the specifics, but the general outline.
This is a specific that is the same. To this day, that book is my favorite, dated though it must be by now..
I had two college chums, and I gave the book to both of them. I thought one would love it and one would hate it. I was right!
I was also wrong. The one I thought would like it hated it. The one I thought would hate it liked it.

hehehe :)))))))

It was a perfect job for a pioneer. I actually lived in a basement apt at the Kingdom Hall then. I would arise in the AM, drive about 1/4 mile to the bus barns, and be back in time for the text. 4 hours in the field and I was back for the afternoon runs.
I know several who do it now. In some areas, the pay is quite good for a part-time job. It is that way where I live.
And yes, even though living at the Kingdom Hall, I would still sometimes be late for meetings.

When I pioneered years ago as an unmarried 20-something, I drove a school bus to support myself.
“You enjoy your job, don’t you?” said my mentor in another congregation. “I haven’t said so,” I replied.
”No, but you never said you didn’t,” was his reply.

Got it. Who can say? People gots to be cut slack.
My newfound nemesis says to me, “Did I ever say I was perfect?”
“Well, no,” I hang my head in shame.
“Alright, then!” he crows and the moment I turn my back he toasts it with a flamethrower.

When I pioneered years ago as an unmarried 20-something, I drove a school bus to support myself.
“You enjoy your job, don’t you?” said my mentor in another congregation. “I haven’t said so,” I replied.
”No, but you never said you didn’t,” was his reply.

This is not a bad idea. I could benefit from it (but probably won’t)
I’m not entirely sure the relevance, but I used to love this takeoff on the old Certs ad:
”Certs is a breath mint”
Certs is a taste mint”
”a breath mint.”
”a taste mint.”
“Breath”
”TASTE!!!”
“Oh, yeah??!!!”
“YEAH!! WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT??!!!!!”

A relative of mine is a need-greater in a developing country, one of those where houses may well be on stilts due to the downpours.
People there fear COVID, she says, but they fear starvation more. They are setting traps to catch rats. They are fishing in sewers for eels. Women are selling themselves into prostitution, doubly risky for them because they know they will be jailed if caught.
Do you mean these kind of problems, while we flail away at a antitype that blew up in our faces?

This is not a bad idea. I could benefit from it (but probably won’t)
I’m not entirely sure the relevance, but I used to love this takeoff on the old Certs ad:
”Certs is a breath mint”
Certs is a taste mint”
”a breath mint.”
”a taste mint.”
“Breath”
”TASTE!!!”
“Oh, yeah??!!!”
“YEAH!! WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT??!!!!!”

This is not a bad idea. I could benefit from it (but probably won’t)
I’m not entirely sure the relevance, but I used to love this takeoff on the old Certs ad:
”Certs is a breath mint”
Certs is a taste mint”
”a breath mint.”
”a taste mint.”
“Breath”
”TASTE!!!”
“Oh, yeah??!!!”
“YEAH!! WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT??!!!!!”

Yes. This is another “booby prize” at first glance that turns out to be top prize at second..It is an indication that JWs have the truth: We have by far the best apostates.
No NT writer does not deal with the subject of apostasy. Two chapters of the Bible are devoted to it entirely. Unless the world has been won over by Christ (we all know the answer to that one) then the reality then should be the reality today. And nobody has more vociferous “apostates” than ours. We should be proud of them, for through them is our validation.

You do NOT sleep with a smile of Jesus in your face. If you did, your manner of communication, respect, and kindness would align with his.
At the drop of a pin, you pick fights and take offense. Jesus didn’t do this. Picking on poor @Araunaof the fading eyes—shame, shame!

What did Jesus do when he was “disrespected?”
How insistent was Jesus on proving himself right?
Even were I to take this as an insult, which appears the way you intend it, how many times did Jesus say to Peter (after 3 times denying him) “The one that should be ashamed is you, ex-disciple!”
I mean really, CC. If you want people to believe that you are a Witness, you should act like one.

What did Jesus do when he was “disrespected?”
How insistent was Jesus on proving himself right?
Even were I to take this as an insult, which appears the way you intend it, how many times did Jesus say to Peter (after 3 times denying him) “The one that should be ashamed is you, ex-disciple!”
I mean really, CC. If you want people to believe that you are a Witness, you should act like one.

Xero: I enjoyed this. It brought back memories. Your experience is my experience, not the specifics, but the general outline.
This is a specific that is the same. To this day, that book is my favorite, dated though it must be by now..
I had two college chums, and I gave the book to both of them. I thought one would love it and one would hate it. I was right!
I was also wrong. The one I thought would like it hated it. The one I thought would hate it liked it.

One thing I've had hammered into me over the past decades of pioneering, studying w/mentally ill people, people who were out of jail, homeless people, professors of anthropology, teachers of farsi at the local mosque, chinese buddhists from hong kong (using me to practice english), professors of astrophysics, ranchers, ex-football champs, a hip hop artist and so-called normal people is that I'm not more worthy of survival than any of these.
In fact many are arguably better people personality wise. People who really care about other people.
That's been my lesson. I believe the truth of the bible in outline taught by JW's w/exception w/regard to rather specific ideas surrounding certain events in the last 100 years.
My experience coming in was that these were some of the most open-minded people I'd dealt with. I watched them w/my gf for about six months just observing these meetings and going to get togethers (she was studying - I was an unhappy atheist). I felt that out of respect for her interest it was worth my time to watch them for a time to see what I thought of them.
At some point, I thought "I want all my friends to be JW's, but I don't want to be one." I could see weird people in the congregation and normal people - as an outsider. Weird people always give me the creeps, but most of the people I talked with didn't do that, like every other religion.
My change in attitude came from the first apologetics I'd ever seen "Is the Bible Really the Word of God", the old book on Evolution (a little blue one)...then I started hitting Christian stores and found a bunch. I hadn't started to study yet, but went w/my gf to one day of this district convention when they released the book "Life How Did It Get Here - By Evolution or Creation". I read it that night. What's funny is that I had almost all the referenced books because I was taking a lot of evolutionary classes at the university - I was in the midst of E. O Wilson's - Sociobiology and had finished Dawkins book the Selfish Gene. I was amazed. I went and got every book I could find on this, one of my favorites being the book "Darwin Was WRONG - A Study in Probabilities".  After eating up all I could on this, I was a thoroughgoing theist.
So I brightened so no doubt. God exists!.... Next step...has he communicated w/us....
So I doubled up on apologetics relative to the manuscript and historical evidence for the Bible. I used Gleason Archer's "A Survey of Old Testament Introduction" and "Is The Bible Really the Word of God" ...anyway a lot more in this regard....I bought the cassettes for the bible and listened to them while I was running.  (I'd started to study now, because I felt the guy who was studying w/me was OK, but he was kindof not that logical, so I got passed on to another couple of elders and we'd go through the material.
It'd go like "How does that make you feel about Jehovah" (a sample question), and I'd go "I can see from x that if y were true it would be reasonable to feel z, but I'm not quite there yet."
It took a while. I had more questions on biology and so they brought in this sister who'd been a masters biology major and I got to grill her w/questions.
Me - "What about the dinosaurs?"
Her - "Soil building takes time. Dinosaurs were great processors of plant material....."
It went like that.
I wasn't and still haven't been thoroughly convinced on some of these matters. (but is it important, when there IS a creator?)
Then there was the whole 1914 thing. That was something needing analysis. The question then and now was not whether the Jews were in captivity 70 years, that was not disputed....At least not to believers, but chasing this chronology is a collossal pit....Not that I don't recommend chasing it, just that no one was ever convinced of anything via chronology. (Except if you were a Jew in Babylon and you got word it was getting close)
 
Anyway...I've wandered. My final point is that I don't believe the bar for survival to be only JW's. I'm thinking it's the majority. Now does this mean some event may be allowed to impact the earth and the only way people survive is through divine intervention? I think so. Then the rest who perished in my view would likely get resurrected - face it - it's only the blasphemy against God's spirit which according to the Insight book is hard to know if anyone has done this or not....so I'm sure Jehovah is more merciful than any of us could imagine.
So then you follow your conscience - it's yours to follow or not, to wound or not. If you know how to do what's right and don't that's on you. If someone's doing something wrong and that's out of your control - well "Desiderata"...
 
 
 
 

I request that all upvotes that might otherwise go to CC, who disdains them, be bestowed upon me instead. I need all I can get to counter the deluge of downvotes from 4Jah.
Never could there be a worse waste of already strained eyes.
Better people than you have tried to figure this out. I wouldn’t lose sleep over it. I’m not sure what happened either. Last I checked he was upvoting you routinely.