James Thomas Rook Jr.

Perhaps because it's ONE O'clock in the morning, I see NO connection between the topic "I was wrong", the scripture you quoted, and the comment in red. Could you please explain, as if to a to a two year old, who need crayons and hand puppets?

The ONLY thing that makes "due process" a fair process is the right of both the prosecution and the defense to cross examine all witnesses, and harangue the Truth out of we Earthlings ... big ugly bags of mostly water. It's a process based on adversaries and justice derived from trial by combat. Sheep get due process , but it is usually into mutton.

I have seen many things, and know a great deal more than that. No matter whose wings it arrives on, the credibility of everyone claiming ownership as "Sky Pilots" is highly suspect. My considered opinion is that Jehovah's Witnesses are civilization's best bet, but I realize that Truth and Justice you only get from God. ...all else is contaminated by DNA. There are NO exceptions. Suck it up and move on ... or go nutso.

If reviving a 4 year old topic is lame, the Society could have saved about 5 million trees.

These same concerns were raised when the Lone Ranger, and his Indian sidekick Tonto would go into town, to a Saloon, and get totally plastered ... and then without any money, offer to pay for their drinks with silver bullets, or a peek under the Lone Ranger's mask.

Quite often those "worthies" that escape destruction, are the ones who have getaway money, and can afford to do so. As many in the Peoples' Republic of Kalifornia, Taxachusettes, and New York are discovering ... there is nothing more PORTABLE, than people with money.

If a JW votes in a national election ... will there be congregational sanctions against him? The last thing I heard was in 1999 in the Watchtower that it had changed that we were now allowed to follow our consciences, in voting quoted here: " Questions From Readers How do Jehovah’s Witnesses view voting? There are clear principles set out in the Bible that enable servants of God to take a proper view of this matter. However, there appears to be no principle against the practice of voting itself. For example, there is no reason why a board of directors should not take a vote in order to arrive at decisions affecting their corporation. Congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses often make decisions about meeting times and the use of congregation funds by voting with a show of hands. What, though, of voting in political elections? Of course, in some democratic lands, as many as 50 percent of the population do not turn out to vote on election day. As for Jehovah’s Witnesses, they do not interfere with the right of others to vote; neither do they in any way campaign against political elections. They respect and cooperate with the authorities who are duly elected in such elections. (Romans 13:1-7) As to whether they will personally vote for someone running in an election, each one of Jehovah’s Witnesses makes a decision based on his Bible-trained conscience and an understanding of his responsibility to God and to the State. (Matthew 22:21; 1 Peter 3:16) In making this personal decision, the Witnesses consider a number of factors. First, Jesus Christ said of his followers: “They are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world.” (John 17:14) Jehovah’s Witnesses take this principle seriously. Being “no part of the world,” they are neutral in the political affairs of the world.—John 18:36. Second, the apostle Paul referred to himself as an “ambassador” representing Christ to the people of his day. (Ephesians 6:20; 2 Corinthians 5:20) Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Christ Jesus is now the enthroned King of God’s heavenly Kingdom, and they, like ambassadors, must announce this to the nations. (Matthew 24:14; Revelation 11:15) Ambassadors are expected to be neutral and not to interfere in the internal affairs of the countries to which they are sent. As representatives of God’s heavenly Kingdom, Jehovah’s Witnesses feel a similar obligation not to interfere in the politics of the countries where they reside. A third factor to consider is that those who have a part in voting a person into office may become responsible for what he does. (Compare 1 Timothy 5:22, The New English Bible.) Christians have to consider carefully whether they want to shoulder that responsibility. Fourth, Jehovah’s Witnesses greatly value their Christian unity. (Colossians 3:14) When religions get involved in politics, the result is often division among their members. In imitation of Jesus Christ, Jehovah’s Witnesses avoid becoming involved in politics and thus maintain their Christian unity.—Matthew 12:25; John 6:15; 18:36, 37. Fifth and finally, their keeping out of politics gives Jehovah’s Witnesses freeness of speech to approach people of all political persuasions with the important message of the Kingdom.—Hebrews 10:35. In view of the Scriptural principles outlined above, in many lands Jehovah’s Witnesses make a personal decision not to vote in political elections, and their freedom to make that decision is supported by the law of the land. What, though, if the law requires citizens to vote? In such a case, each Witness is responsible to make a conscientious, Bible-based decision about how to handle the situation. If someone decides to go to the polling booth, that is his decision. What he does in the polling booth is between him and his Creator. The November 15, 1950, issue of The Watchtower, on pages 445 and 446, said: “Where Caesar makes it compulsory for citizens to vote . . . [Witnesses] can go to the polls and enter the voting booths. It is here that they are called upon to mark the ballot or write in what they stand for. The voters do what they will with their ballots. So here in the presence of God is where his witnesses must act in harmony with his commandments and in accordance with their faith. It is not our responsibility to instruct them what to do with the ballot.” What if a Christian woman’s unbelieving husband insists that she present herself to vote? Well, she is subject to her husband, just as Christians are subject to the superior authorities. (Ephesians 5:22; 1 Peter 2:13-17) If she obeys her husband and goes to the polling booth, that is her personal decision. No one should criticize her.—Compare Romans 14:4. What of a country where voting is not mandated by law but feelings run high against those who do not go to the voting booth—perhaps they are exposed to physical danger? Or what if individuals, while not legally obliged to vote, are severely penalized in some way if they do not go to the polling booth? In these and similar situations, a Christian has to make his own decision. “Each one will carry his own load.”—Galatians 6:5. There may be people who are stumbled when they observe that during an election in their country, some Witnesses of Jehovah go to the polling booth and others do not. They may say, ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses are not consistent.’ People should recognize, though, that in matters of individual conscience such as this, each Christian has to make his own decision before Jehovah God.—Romans 14:12. Whatever personal decisions Jehovah’s Witnesses make in the face of different situations, they take care to preserve their Christian neutrality and freeness of speech. In all things, they rely on Jehovah God to strengthen them, give them wisdom, and help them avoid compromising their faith in any way. Thus they show confidence in the words of the psalmist: “You are my crag and my stronghold; and for the sake of your name you will lead me and conduct me.”—Psalm 31:3." Now, all this is well and good .... but if a Brother's conscience will allow him to vote in national elections ... will he be chastised, sanctioned, or punished for the free exercise OF his conscience, by the CCJW ?

Like Penguins, I think they were more interested in fish.

I personally care absolutely NOTHING whatsoever about anything to do with knowing who the "King of the North" is. I first started learning about the "King of the North" at Assemblies, accompanying my mother, circa 1960, and took copious notes, including dozens of scriptures supporting all that was said. Later, we were told that the identity of "The King of the North", had changed, and again it was backed up with dozens of scriptures supporting what was said. In the intervening 60 years or so, we musta studied all about this 35 or more times, either in the Watchtower, or some book that we studied during the now defunct "Tuesday Night Bookstudy", at a Witnesses home. Then of course there were public talks at the Kingdom Hall, etc. etc. I, frankly, only scanned the above post, then realized as Rhett Butler said to Scarlet O'Hara in the movie "Gone With The Wind", "Frankly, Scarlett .. I don't give a damn". Such esoteric, useless things cloud our minds to the point we cannot concentrate on the things that are REALLY important, such as: James 1:27 New International Version (NIV) " Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." Further, even if I DID know who the King of The North" is, there is absolutely NOTHING I can do about it, except sit back and watch. ... and my left eye starts twitching, and I start drooling if you dare mention "Gog of Magog".

It helps a LOT ... when the wicked people that God wants exterminated, have a LOT of valuable Real Estate.

How deep can it travel in water? ... all the way to the bottom.

I hope somebody will survive Armageddon who knows how to make glass window panes, and cell phones.

If memory serves, the predominate language inAzerbaijani is Russian. I am guessing that this is the first crack in the ice that has frozen JWs out of the Russian Federation, and as I have mentioned about four times earlier, the ice will thaw and JWs will be "reinstated" by Vladimir Putin before the end of 2020. If that doesn't happen it's no big deal, as we (JWs) have never been right about ANY prediction, so I would have a really good excuse.

If you ask politely ... Mr. Google knows .....

Because it is a monopoly, enforced by bayonets.

My wife just fixed me some popcorn ... I think I will just sit back and watch this one ....

4J; You need to go back, and carefully read what you have written. It is ENTIRELY based on false assumptions, and on how you FEEL surely what must be the case.. Just as an interesting aside .... not related to my trying to answer the the question of "Why ... ?", is that the development of atomic energy to make an atomic bomb contributed more to medical technology, by a factor of at least 100 to 1, than the human cost of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, since 1945. Every hospital in America, and my cardiologist, uses radioactive materials to diagnose and treat, and often cure disease of every sort. She gets canisters of short lived radioactive material every morning from a Pharmacy that daily creates and dispenses radioactive materials, because their half-lives are so short, by late afternoon, they are expended.

As Carl Childers said in the movie Sling Blade ... " Get it? "

...if you keep your left thumb on the edge of your monitor, as you read ... you will not lose your place.

Again ... we are talking about two ENTIRELY different things. OF COURSE it was not a righteous trial. OF COURSE Jesus did not get Justice. You live in a fantasy world of fantasy expectations. Jehovah God does not. That is why when considering the foibles, and limitations of all secular society ... he does NOT consider warfare to be the same as first degree premeditated murder. What I am trying to figure out is exactly WHY? I think it is a fair statement that you need to catch up on your reading or pay attention to what I have ALREADY said, which makes your indignant comments superfluous and immaterial.

Justice we get ONLY from God. All else is contaminated by DNA.

Jesus willingly walked into a known death trap ... but it was constructed by the Jews, and sprung by the Romans after an unfair trial .... but it was a legal trial ... and it was done by the Roman government having military occupation of Israel.

It seems that here James is, in his two SEPARATE sentences .... referring to murder in one case.... and fighting and waging war as being something different. That makes sense to me, as all the examples in the Bible show the same thing ... as well as that being the understanding of the entire civilized world's sovereign governments. Further, Jesus was executed after a trial by a sovereign government, and it is NEVER referred to him as having been " murdered ".. . anywhere ... by anybody .... ever.

Hmmmmmmm.... that brings up an interesting question ... for those angelic forces that war against God ... are there any mortal casualties on either side ... or is it just a big shoving match? If two angels fight ... does one get killed and the other perhaps only seriously wounded? It seems to me that the term "war" would result in massive casualties ( ... that means DEAD, for those in Rio Linda ...) on at least one side, and possibly BOTH sides ... otherwise it would not be a war at all. Here is where I might insert a joke about them ripping each others' feathers out .... but I will refrain.

CC: EVERYTHING you said in the above post is true .... but is completely beside the point ... and completely misses the POINT of the discussion. It is similar to me asking why automobiles are manufactured in the United States ... and you give a dissertation of the nitrogen cycles of various soil conditions, optimized for corn production... all interesting discussions, and somewhat related as to whether of not corn will grow well, but all the verbiage, charts and graphs, and stuff, related to corn. have NOTHING to do with the question of car manufacture ! NOTHING you have said above ... NOTHING WHATSOEVER, has anything at all to do with answering the ONLY question I brought up... "WHY .... doesn't Jehovah God consider warfare ... murder?" My best guesses looking at how Jehovah has acted, what He has done, and what He has said about BOTH types of homicide, show that he DOES NOT view them the same way There are irrefutable facts, that can be directly observed, from the Biblical record. What I am trying to codify, and correctly understand ...is NOT what ... that can be clearly seen ... what I want to know is ... WHY? I want to Grok. THAT is my agenda. Your agenda appears to be to defend something that was NOT disparaged, completely off topic.