TrueTomHarley

No, you concrete-brained dinosaur—“all mixed up and firmly set”—because they act the same way when no money at all is at involved. They do things that cost a fortune to benefit penny-less persons in the developing world
If it was all about money with them, they would have TOLD you to go to college, earn as much money as you can, and send it all to them! They would not be recommending people at every turn to lighten up on their use of the world—they would advise people to double down on it!
Just one blockhead on the WNMF will do it for me.

You dodo, he has asked nothing of the sort. Go back and read it again.
If I ever reread Revelation and discover yet another beast—one described as one of those little yapping dogs that bite you in the ankle or pees on your pant leg the moment your back is turned, I will have an intrepration for that one that will even make your ‘true anointed” turn green with envy,

No, you concrete-brained dinosaur—“all mixed up and firmly set”—because they act the same way when no money at all is at involved. They do things that cost a fortune to benefit penny-less persons in the developing world
If it was all about money with them, they would have TOLD you to go to college, earn as much money as you can, and send it all to them! They would not be recommending people at every turn to lighten up on their use of the world—they would advise people to double down on it!
Just one blockhead on the WNMF will do it for me.

I once worked with a girl named Casey who positively loved science fiction. In the context of other things, I mentioned the film I, Robot.
Oh, that was terrible! she said.
But as we kept talking, it turned out she had never seen it. Um...Casey, how do know it's terrible if you've never seen it? I asked. The answer was that she was a purist. She knew the movie did not follow Isaac Asimov's storyline, and that was enough for her!
For an Asimov purist, the movie would indeed be blasphemy. Asimov, who wrote literally almost all the time, having 500 books (written or edited) and 90,000 letters to his credit, with works in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey Decimal system, penned the Foundation trilogy and the I, Robot series, both pillars among science fiction. His plotting was ingenious, and had he been able to empathetically sketch people as well as ideas, he might have gone down as one of literature's true greats. Alas, his characters are cardboard, like those TV characters who are freely interchangeable save for one or two superficial features: this one is mean, this one likes to eat, that one is a geek, etc. Too bad - for every other aspect of Asimov's writing is extraordinary.
Asimov was an atheist, but I always imagine that, if current atheists had been taught the Bible by Jehovah's Witnesses instead of the churches, they may not have turned atheist. It's probably not so but I dream it anyway. For example, in his last autobiographical book, Asimov observes that hell is "the drooling dream of a sadist" crudely affixed to an all-merciful God; if even human governments were willing to curtail cruel and unusual punishments, wondered Asimov, why would punishment in the afterlife not be restricted to a limited term.  [Wikipedia entry on Isaac Asimov] Yeah! Man, I wish he had heard first from Jehovah's Witnesses! Virtually alone among Christian faiths at the turn of the last century, Jehovah's Witnesses exposed hellfire for the vicious rubbish that it is. JW "founder" C. T. Russell was known in his lifetime as the man who "turned the hose on hell and put out the fire!"
At any rate, had he been a Witness, it would have benefited him personally. He died in 1992, of AIDS contracted from a blood transfusion nine years prior.
Still, I am grateful to Dr. Asimov, not only for the hours of intriguing science fiction he laid upon me, but also for his non-fiction works. Asimov's Guide to Science probably was my springboard to individual branches of science. If Asimov lacked in sketching fictional characters, he was gifted in sketching real ones. Not only the pillars, but also the buffoons, he succeeded in portraying the humanity of scientists. It is from him (Asimov's guide to Biology) that I first read of Ignaz Semmelweis, early advocate of antiseptic surgical practices and forerunner of germ theory. 
In the mid 1800's, Semmelweis got it in his head that fever and death following doctor-assisted childbirth could be curtailed by washing hands and equipment frequently. Doctors back then would deliver a baby, having just emerged from an autopsy, only wiping their hands on their smocks! There were some sort of tiny "particles" contaminating the women, Semmelweis proposed. Doctors howled with laughter at such nonsense. Asimov's book vividly portrays Semmelweis' presenting his ideas at seminars, with his esteemed audience mocking him, hurling catcalls! Doctors argued that, even if Semmeweis' findings were correct, washing one's hands each time before treating a pregnant woman would be too much work. Semmelweis enforced strict antiseptic practices at the hospital under his supervision, cutting deaths to under 1%, and it made no difference in their attitude! Colleagues ridiculed him his entire life, he suffered a nervous breakdown and, says Asimov, died in an insane asylum tormented by memories of women screaming in their death-agonies following hospital-acquired infections. With Semmelweis out of the way, his own hospital went back to familiar practices and the mortality rate climbed to 35%.
You can read the bare facts in many places, but Asimov's account is the most vivid I have come across, remarkable in a book that purports only to be an outline, a "guide."
Whenever those atheists start prattling on about how scientists graciously change their views at the first hint they may be off-base, whereas it's only the pig-headed religionists who "stay the course" come hell or high water, I play the 'Semmelweis' card.
Athiest or not, I miss Isaac Asimov. 
(Reprinted from www.tomsheepandgoats.com - July 16, 2007)
****************************
 

You dodo, he has asked nothing of the sort. Go back and read it again.
If I ever reread Revelation and discover yet another beast—one described as one of those little yapping dogs that bite you in the ankle or pees on your pant leg the moment your back is turned, I will have an intrepration for that one that will even make your ‘true anointed” turn green with envy,

These types of comments from you are so frequent that it seems clear to me you are someone who wants to be told what to do—by a “true anointed,” of course—but you do want to be told what to do.
Brothers who are like this are nightmares in the congregation—transforming every bit of counsel into a RULE that they beat others over the head with, so it is just as well that you are out. Much effort is made through the various schools to refine this ‘rule-mongering” quality out of our people. In your case, you appear to have saved them the trouble.
What that means is that you cannot order them from Bethel anymore. Would you require them to print everything forever?
They have ALL been recently made available on the JW app, so they couldn’t have been THAT “infamous,” could they?  That they were not digitally available before I think is just a matter of having bigger fish to fry. They had to wait their turn. 
The discussions of the beasts with the seven heads—particularly the “image of the beast” that has life breathed into it by the two-headed one—the beast that was, was not, and yet is—the central issue of Jehovah’s sovereignty vs man’s sovereignty —there is nothing like it anywhere.
What have you fallen back to, 4Jah? Are you checking mean-looking animals at the zoo to see if there is one with 666 written on its forehead?
 

Not you—don’t you ever think? 
If I need a jack-in-the-box that says to every comment “Jehovah’s Witnesses Suck” I’ll go to the store and buy one.

These types of comments from you are so frequent that it seems clear to me you are someone who wants to be told what to do—by a “true anointed,” of course—but you do want to be told what to do.
Brothers who are like this are nightmares in the congregation—transforming every bit of counsel into a RULE that they beat others over the head with, so it is just as well that you are out. Much effort is made through the various schools to refine this ‘rule-mongering” quality out of our people. In your case, you appear to have saved them the trouble.
What that means is that you cannot order them from Bethel anymore. Would you require them to print everything forever?
They have ALL been recently made available on the JW app, so they couldn’t have been THAT “infamous,” could they?  That they were not digitally available before I think is just a matter of having bigger fish to fry. They had to wait their turn. 
The discussions of the beasts with the seven heads—particularly the “image of the beast” that has life breathed into it by the two-headed one—the beast that was, was not, and yet is—the central issue of Jehovah’s sovereignty vs man’s sovereignty —there is nothing like it anywhere.
What have you fallen back to, 4Jah? Are you checking mean-looking animals at the zoo to see if there is one with 666 written on its forehead?
 

Maybe we can liken traditional 1914 views to Newton’s physics and newfangled views to Einstein’s.
Newton‘s laws of physics work perfectly well in the real world. You can land a man on Mars with them no sweat. So also does 1914 work in the real spiritual world—you can come up with the neatest ways to explain events since then—“facts on the ground,” they have been called— not to mention the most clever book interpreting the Book of Revelation, with connections too compelling not to take to heart.
Contrast that with Revelation as interpreted elsewhere, such as this article with regard to LDS. It is drivel so bland one cannot imagine spending time with it, full of ‘how do you feel about this?’s and ‘what do you think about that?’s. I don’t need the stupid book in that event—I’ll just come here to see what JTR, 4Jah, Srecko, and Witness thinks.
https://religionnews.com/2019/12/23/what-do-mormons-do-with-the-book-of-revelation/
But under extreme conditions of Newton physics, some anomalies pop up, prompting Einstein to delve into and rewrite laws. Are there extreme conditions today with regard to 1914? Overlapping generations start to stretch thin—how long until they snap apart? the Einsteins here start to fret—and so they investigate to rewrite basic understandings.
I know, I know—it doesn’t explain everything. But I kind of like it. If I had more time and interest, “Oscar Einstein” would soon be making his appearance.
 

These types of comments from you are so frequent that it seems clear to me you are someone who wants to be told what to do—by a “true anointed,” of course—but you do want to be told what to do.
Brothers who are like this are nightmares in the congregation—transforming every bit of counsel into a RULE that they beat others over the head with, so it is just as well that you are out. Much effort is made through the various schools to refine this ‘rule-mongering” quality out of our people. In your case, you appear to have saved them the trouble.
What that means is that you cannot order them from Bethel anymore. Would you require them to print everything forever?
They have ALL been recently made available on the JW app, so they couldn’t have been THAT “infamous,” could they?  That they were not digitally available before I think is just a matter of having bigger fish to fry. They had to wait their turn. 
The discussions of the beasts with the seven heads—particularly the “image of the beast” that has life breathed into it by the two-headed one—the beast that was, was not, and yet is—the central issue of Jehovah’s sovereignty vs man’s sovereignty —there is nothing like it anywhere.
What have you fallen back to, 4Jah? Are you checking mean-looking animals at the zoo to see if there is one with 666 written on its forehead?
 

Question: (serious question open to all)
When something is said to be a “conscience matter”—as the “blood fractions” today is said to be—does that mean that there IS a right and a wrong to it, but Jehovah allows “wiggle room” “on account of our hardheartedness”?
Or
Does it mean that there legitimately are two different ways of looking at a matter, and he really does encourage us to use our conscience in choosing the course that seems the most reasonable to us?

You don’t ‘downvote’ this post, 4Jah2Me—why in the world would you do that? Unless you are mad that I do not consider you an Einstein.

Does it look like I am suggesting that? Just look at the fine use I am putting my iPad to right now.

Maybe we can liken traditional 1914 views to Newton’s physics and newfangled views to Einstein’s.
Newton‘s laws of physics work perfectly well in the real world. You can land a man on Mars with them no sweat. So also does 1914 work in the real spiritual world—you can come up with the neatest ways to explain events since then—“facts on the ground,” they have been called— not to mention the most clever book interpreting the Book of Revelation, with connections too compelling not to take to heart.
Contrast that with Revelation as interpreted elsewhere, such as this article with regard to LDS. It is drivel so bland one cannot imagine spending time with it, full of ‘how do you feel about this?’s and ‘what do you think about that?’s. I don’t need the stupid book in that event—I’ll just come here to see what JTR, 4Jah, Srecko, and Witness thinks.
https://religionnews.com/2019/12/23/what-do-mormons-do-with-the-book-of-revelation/
But under extreme conditions of Newton physics, some anomalies pop up, prompting Einstein to delve into and rewrite laws. Are there extreme conditions today with regard to 1914? Overlapping generations start to stretch thin—how long until they snap apart? the Einsteins here start to fret—and so they investigate to rewrite basic understandings.
I know, I know—it doesn’t explain everything. But I kind of like it. If I had more time and interest, “Oscar Einstein” would soon be making his appearance.
 

They had persecution for few years but it ended. Orthodox church leader behind it.  Now many JWs from occupied Ossetia and Abkhazia  are here (occupied by Russia) because they can do field service more easily here.  

It all depends upon where you look and what is most important to you.
I am reminded of that line from the 1968 book The Truth that Leads to Eternal Life: “True, there has been progress in a materialistic way. But is it really progress when men send rockets to the moon, and yet cannot live together in peace on earth?”
Some people think it is.

It all depends upon where you look and what is most important to you.
I am reminded of that line from the 1968 book The Truth that Leads to Eternal Life: “True, there has been progress in a materialistic way. But is it really progress when men send rockets to the moon, and yet cannot live together in peace on earth?”
Some people think it is.

Did you check that on yours?

I’m not one of them. Nor do I have you in mind with application of that Acts 5 verse. I have other people in mind.
Since I am also “out there,” even though not paralleling the topics that you take on, I give thought to “let he who is standing beware that he does not fall.” I don’t want to have happen to me what I have seen happen many times to others—brothers become experts in their own eyes and in time leave Jehovah’s organized worship completely, frustrated that it is not “keeping up.” 
I counter that tendency to become wise in my own eyes by firmly adhering to the traditional door-to-door ministry and making sure activity here is supplemental, not a replacement. My understanding is that you do the same, but I suspect that some others on this forum do not.
I counter the tendency to become wise in my own eyes by staying firmly cooperative with existing congregational arrangements, respecting the role and the need of leadership. I gather that you do the same. 
I counter the tendency to become wise in my own eyes by always looking for the good in others, such as in Philippians 2:3 mode of considering the other superior—searching out and honing in on the at least one quality, often many, at which the other plainly is superior, then always endeavoring to see him or her primarily through this lens. This I believe you do too. In fact, you are better at it than me.
I don’t view you as someone who is not obeying. I view you as someone who is bringing your gift to the altar. If you suspended your traditional ministry and began running down the Christian organization, I would reappraise. But you do not that I have seen. I too, try to “bring my gift to the altar,” such as it is, but it does not replace the organized activity that collectively makes the light shine.

Unfortunately, this saying is a load of manure, imo. You repeat it regardless. 

This is the most ridiculous.....excuse me.......MOM—put your joint out! I can smell it wafting down here! Remember.....catch the house on fire and I don’t have a fire escape down here!

Unfortunately, this saying is a load of manure, imo. You repeat it regardless. 

Yes. To borrow from the political world—which I know is not appreciated by many, still, a parallel is a parallel—something occurs here that is parallel to the media’s obsession with “separating Trump from his base.” What is their goal in doing that? So that the former will become irrelevant and the latter can be absorbed.
So it is with the obsession with running down the Governing Body. Why is it done? So that they will become irrelevant and those following their lead can be absorbed back into the world. 

It’s true. They do deserve it, though.
You certainly take enough shots at me

I remember when the catholic church changed fish-Friday to non-fish Friday.  My grandmother did not understand it but she just went ahead and did it. She stopped eating only fish on fridays.  No-one in the catholic church now goes back in the history of the catholic church to question that decision/teaching in an endless fashion. It has been accepted as being in line with scripture - so there is no endless rehashing of when the decision was taken and why they had it wrong before that change, who had it wrong etc. It is church history - the past.
Catholics are now questioning the new decision to have interfaith with other Abrahamic religions. Is it wrong of them to rather question what the church is doing right  now instead of the past?   I think not.  Past  improvements  are accepted and they strive to correct any deviations from gods word in the "current view" of things. 
Frankly, I do not care if Russel did not understand 1914 or not. I was not living at the time and it does not affect me now. People try to hash it up over and over to prove what?  It is NOW part of our teaching and I accept the teaching.  The reasons I will not go into here. 
I look at what the GB is teaching NOW because this is affecting us  NOW.  They have made mistakes in the past but so has every other  religion I know of and  most large secular corporations have  absolutely endless issues - it is life.  Most of my working life I saw large issues everywhere - so I have never had the expectation of earthly perfection from ANY organization be it religious or secular. 
I  therefore will only question teachings which are NOW part of the JW organization.   History is history and if it happens to fit in with past prophecies I will accept it I.e. the swift leopard beast with one big horn which is interpreted as Alexander the great. I accept the explanation because it fits the history.
We have the current teaching of the slave feeding domestics. Do I accept this when I read Matt 24:45 - yes or no.  If I accept it and get baptised - why will I start questioning it and its history in the congregation and cause dissent?  If I currently do not agree with my own previous decisions regarding JWs - then i can of free will leave the congregation and find a place where they have all the CORE teachings of the JWs without the teaching of the slave - but  i should not keep rehashing history and become a murmering  voice in the congregation.  This is not obeying scripture which encourages me to grow so I can encourage others.
Be in the congregation because you want to be there.  Do not sit with one foot in the congregation and the other outside it because you give yourself the right to higher criticism of the past history . 
If you do not like the present teachings - leave.  We live in a free world.........do not be a hypocrite and be an "indecisive" one........ but frankly - I do not know where you can go to......
If you stay - then accept the present teachings.  Contribute to the positive aspects of the congregation you are in.  Build up your brothers and sisters and build unity. .... do all the things the scriptures encourages us to do.