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James Thomas Rook Jr.

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  1. Upvote
    James Thomas Rook Jr. got a reaction from Anna in Demonism and the Watchtower   
    In order NOT to be labeled a liar and a slanderer, Alessandro Corona ... and justifiably so ... you are going to have to PROVE EVERY ASPECT of those statements you just made. 
    YOU PERSONALLY ... not just waving your hand at a PDF file link.
    I assume you did not just pull them out of your imagination.
    Please supply enough detailed overview and references that your seemingly OUTRAGEOUS claims may be INDEPENDENTLY checked by the average, reasonable person.
    If you do not ... and it WILL take some work .... your credibility is ZERO.
    ...by the way, I did read about 55 pages of that PDF, and concluded that it is the rantings of a man quite mad.
  2. Like
    James Thomas Rook Jr. got a reaction from ComfortMyPeople in Should JW's punish, disfellowship, or shun members who disagree with certain teachings?   
    Actually, it was Charles Taze Russell ....in
    the very FIRST issue of the Watchtower.
    July 1, 1879 in the article "What is Truth?"
    Here is the full text of the article ....
    "WHAT IS TRUTH?" This question is one which every sincere Christian should ask and seek to answer. We should learn to love and value truth for its own sake; to respect and honor it by owning and acknowledging it wherever we find it and by whomsoever presented. A truth presented by Satan himself is just as true as a truth stated by God. Perhaps no class of people are more apt to overlook this fact than the Christian. How often do they in controversy overlook and ignore truth presented by their opponents. This is particularly the case when arguing with an infidel. They feel at perfect liberty to dispute everything he says on religious subjects. This is not the correct principle. Many infidels are honest— as anxious to speak and believe the truth as are Christians— and if in converse with them we ignore truths which they may advance, we not only fail to convince them of our truths, but put an end to all hope of reaching them; for our failure to admit the evident truth which they advance begets in them contempt for the one who is not honest enough to admit one truth because he does not see how it can be reconciled to another. Accept truth wherever you find it, no matter R9 : page 3 what it contradicts, and rely for ability to afterwards harmonize it with others upon "The Spirit of truth, which shall guide you into all truth," as Jesus promised. Truth, like a modest little flower in the wilderness of life, is surrounded and almost choked by the luxuriant growth of the weeds of error. If you would find it you must be ever on the lookout. If you would see its beauty you must brush aside the weeds of error and the brambles of bigotry. If you would possess it you must stoop to get it. Be not content with one flower of truth. Had one been sufficient there would have been no more. Gather ever, seek for more. Weave them together as a garland —"Bind them on thee as a bride doeth." "Bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: so shalt thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man." Prov. 3:3. C. T. R. I believe that covers it ALL.
    Oh ... and JW Insider ... thanks for the "setup".
     
    .........
  3. Haha
    James Thomas Rook Jr. reacted to Anna in Should JW's punish, disfellowship, or shun members who disagree with certain teachings?   
    What about when an apostate upvotes a brother? Gulp
  4. Downvote
    James Thomas Rook Jr. got a reaction from Nana Fofana in Should JW's punish, disfellowship, or shun members who disagree with certain teachings?   
    The source did NOT make those things any LESS true.
    If your allegiance is to the TRUTH ... it is never mis-spent.
  5. Upvote
    James Thomas Rook Jr. reacted to Albert Michelson in Should JW's punish, disfellowship, or shun members who disagree with certain teachings?   
    Hmmm kinda reminds you of all the JW elders and their secret sins.  I love how witnesses always ask for the indiscretions of their members and leaders to be overlooked but continually harp on or about any issue with Ex members.  The hypocrisy is palpable.
  6. Upvote
    James Thomas Rook Jr. got a reaction from JW Insider in Should JW's punish, disfellowship, or shun members who disagree with certain teachings?   
    The source did NOT make those things any LESS true.
    If your allegiance is to the TRUTH ... it is never mis-spent.
  7. Downvote
    James Thomas Rook Jr. got a reaction from bruceq in Should JW's punish, disfellowship, or shun members who disagree with certain teachings?   
    The source did NOT make those things any LESS true.
    If your allegiance is to the TRUTH ... it is never mis-spent.
  8. Like
    James Thomas Rook Jr. got a reaction from Albert Michelson in Should JW's punish, disfellowship, or shun members who disagree with certain teachings?   
    The source did NOT make those things any LESS true.
    If your allegiance is to the TRUTH ... it is never mis-spent.
  9. Like
    James Thomas Rook Jr. got a reaction from admin in Quantum Computing – Artificial Intelligence Is Here   
    I doubt that any quantum computer in the foreseeable future will be able to jump an air gap of about six feet.
    There is a quantum computer already with INCREDIBLE properties, made of meat (mostly fat), that has not yet managed telepathy.
  10. Upvote
    James Thomas Rook Jr. got a reaction from JW Insider in The Bone Disposal Unit   
    If we can no longer kill our children ... can we chain them to the rafters in the attic?
    I mean ... if we take them outside when they howl and wail, to "go potty"?

  11. Upvote
    James Thomas Rook Jr. reacted to Witness in Governing Body: Does it show loyalty or disloyalty to question the GB?   
    "Governing Body: Does it show loyalty or disloyalty to question the GB?"
    Firstly, I ask, loyalty to what?  The organization or to God?
    I think the better question is, do we show loyalty to God and Christ when tolerating wayward teachings by the GB?  If these men were faithful servants, they would welcome questions and suggestions from fellow anointed servants and adjust their own thinking by reasoning on the scriptures. This is the role of a steward; to gather from all sources. 
      Although they truly would love to called so, and hint at it frequently, they are not Moses. Instead of pointing to themselves as the source of the final word, they should be pointing to God. Acts 14:15; Luke 4:8; Rev 19:10 There is not just one rotten and discarded teaching from the mouths of the GB, there is a bushel of them.  Matt 12:33; Col 2:8
    Are they above law of loving one’s neighbor as one’s self?  They certainly show it in the same way as the Pharisees. Matt 5:20; Mark 10:42-45; Phil 2:3; Rom 12:10; Eph 5:21
    Even Jesus did not expect glory for himself. John 7:16,18; 17:4
    We are judged on our love for purity in truth, not for following men.
     
  12. Upvote
    James Thomas Rook Jr. reacted to Noble Berean in Governing Body: Does it show loyalty or disloyalty to question the GB?   
    Knowing the role of the Governing Body should help us to understand how to treat them. This was brought up in another thread, but it seems relevant here. In the first century, the order of authority was apostles then prophets (1 Cor 12:28). 
    It seems to me that the prophets and apostles checked each other so that no one group became too powerful in the first century. They both had different but equally important roles to fulfill: the apostles took the lead over the congregation and the prophets were spiritual guides. 
    The prophets were necessary to "fill in the gaps" of an incomplete Bible, but today we have a complete Bible. So, prophets are unnecessary. However, the GB asserts that Bible discernment is unsuccessful without their interpretations of it. In other words, the Bible alone is insufficient--we need the GB to "fill in the gaps." So, the GB acts likes the apostles by taking the lead and prophets by being exclusive interpreters of the Bible.
    This premise seems flawed to me. The Bible should stand alone as a separate entity. It shouldn't be intertwined with the GB, because the Bible should act as an external auditor for the GB's actions. At present, by being "guardians of doctrine" the GB can make the Bible fit their method of operation. The Bible is not a rigid thing and this can be taken advantage of.
    So while I respect the Governing Body for taking the lead, I feel that they have too much unchecked authority, and this could set a bad precedent for the future. The GB should be actively checked by the Bible and any student of the Bible.  
     
     
  13. Upvote
    James Thomas Rook Jr. reacted to JW Insider in Governing Body: Does it show loyalty or disloyalty to question the GB?   
    Thanks again for the direct question. I absolutely do believe in the authority of the Governing Body to interpret "Presence, Sign, Gentile Times, etc." And I also believe it is your responsibility, bruceq, to question it, the same way that the Galatians were expected to question the teachings about circumcision and law that were being promoted by James, Peter and John and others.
  14. Sad
    James Thomas Rook Jr. got a reaction from AllenSmith in Should JW's punish, disfellowship, or shun members who disagree with certain teachings?   
    This is why I LIKE being a comedian on this forum ... no shortage of comedic "Straight Men".
  15. Confused
    James Thomas Rook Jr. got a reaction from AllenSmith in Should JW's punish, disfellowship, or shun members who disagree with certain teachings?   
    And don't forget, 1914 was when Edgar Rice Burroughs published  his famous book "Tarzan of the Apes", which was such a magnificent piece of literature (seriously), that the little town North of Los Angeles, California where Burroughs lived was renamed Tarzana, California!
  16. Upvote
    James Thomas Rook Jr. reacted to Alessandro Corona in Governing Body: Does it show loyalty or disloyalty to question the GB?   
    the Boreans were commended for questioning Paul. 
  17. Haha
    James Thomas Rook Jr. got a reaction from JW Insider in Should JW's punish, disfellowship, or shun members who disagree with certain teachings?   
    This is why I LIKE being a comedian on this forum ... no shortage of comedic "Straight Men".
  18. Like
    James Thomas Rook Jr. got a reaction from Albert Michelson in Should JW's punish, disfellowship, or shun members who disagree with certain teachings?   
    And don't forget, 1914 was when Edgar Rice Burroughs published  his famous book "Tarzan of the Apes", which was such a magnificent piece of literature (seriously), that the little town North of Los Angeles, California where Burroughs lived was renamed Tarzana, California!
  19. Upvote
    James Thomas Rook Jr. reacted to Shiwiii in Mattress Mack Comes Through in Houston   
    Very nice post TTH.
    It really is sad when this becomes a media plug and headline story either for or against someone instead of an encouragement for people to act this way everyday.  I'm sure Mattress Mack would be happy with a simple thank you instead of a parade in his honor. We should all encourage each other to act accordingly, as decent human beings, do what is right and not what is easy. 
  20. Upvote
    James Thomas Rook Jr. reacted to Albert Michelson in Should JW's punish, disfellowship, or shun members who disagree with certain teachings?   
    Wrong it's the JWs who are making a positive claim, they are ones who have to prove it. A claim like that ( Jesus coming invisiblely and selecting your organization as his religion and your leaders as his sole channel of communication) is not true until proven false it needs to be  proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. It can be disproven beyond any reasonable doubt but the onus is on the witnesses to prove their claim, as the saying goes "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence"
  21. Upvote
    James Thomas Rook Jr. reacted to Albert Michelson in Should JW's punish, disfellowship, or shun members who disagree with certain teachings?   
    So you just haven't done the research?
    the-gentile-times-reconsidered.pdf
    nope, you claim it's true, you claim god chose them and it's his organization then you have the prove it plain and simple.
    Bahahahahahahaha wait you think that's evidence. 
  22. Haha
    James Thomas Rook Jr. reacted to TrueTomHarley in Tropical Storm Harvey: Beware of Fake Photos   
    Just ban JTR and his graphics machine and you'll do fine.
  23. Haha
    James Thomas Rook Jr. reacted to JW Insider in Why does Jehovah God forbid tattoos?   
    I remember once when Jesus demonized some pork, but it was at their own request. (Demon's request, not the pork's.)
    (Matthew 8:31) . . .So the demons began to plead with him, saying: “If you expel us, send us into the herd of swine.” But Jesus also gave some good dietary instructions for raising pigs. They evidently don't digest beads of calcium carbonate very well, or else perhaps it doesn't sit well with them and makes them violent.
    (Matthew 7:6) . . .“Do not . . . throw your pearls before swine, so that they may never trample them under their feet and turn around and rip you open.  
     
     
  24. Upvote
    James Thomas Rook Jr. reacted to JW Insider in The Bone Disposal Unit   
    I think everyone knew that this was one of his favorite subjects along with his favorite numerology topics. I'm sure he was the one who wrote the article in 1956. I have been assured that he was the one who often repeated the idea that 999 people out of every thousand would die at Armageddon. This was even included in assembly speeches open to the public. The 99.9% figure was also included in the Watch Tower publications a few times.
    *** w58 10/15 pp. 614-615 What Will Armageddon Mean for You? ***
    Revelation 9:16 gives us an inkling of the size of Jehovah’s forces when it speaks of him as using, on a certain occasion, cavalry to the number of 200,000,000. And 2 Kings 19:35 tells of just one of these destroying a host of 185,000 warriors in one night. . . . On Satan’s side will be all the rest of mankind, more than 99.9 percent, even as we read: “The whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.” He was also the one who said that due to the current laws of the land, we aren't allowed to kill our apostate children even though they are our own children.
    *** w52 11/15 p. 703 Questions From Readers ***
    In the case of where a father or mother or son or daughter is disfellowshiped, how should such person be treated by members of the family in their family relationship?—P. C., Ontario, Canada. We are not living today among theocratic nations where such members of our fleshly family relationship could be exterminated for apostasy from God and his theocratic organization, as was possible and was ordered in the nation of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai and in the land of Palestine. “Thou shalt surely kill him; thy hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him to death with stones, because he hath sought to draw thee away from Jehovah thy God, . . . And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is in the midst of thee.”—Deut. 13:6-11, AS. Being limited by the laws of the worldly nation in which we live and also by the laws of God through Jesus Christ, we can take action against apostates only to a certain extent, that is, consistent with both sets of laws. The law of the land and God’s law through Christ forbid us to kill apostates, even though they be members of our own flesh-and-blood family relationship. That's a very useful reminder not to kill our children, based on a question probably sent in by Percy Chapman, the Branch Servant in Ontario at the time.
    And of course, Fred Franz was the one who assured me that the hundreds of thousands of Christian martyrs who were willing to die for their faith in the 2nd and 3rd centuries were mostly all in Gehenna now, with no hope of a resurrection.
    Yes, he had a dark side. But at least he could snicker and joke while saying such serious things. I don't know if that makes it better or worse, though.
  25. Upvote
    James Thomas Rook Jr. reacted to Albert Michelson in Should JW's punish, disfellowship, or shun members who disagree with certain teachings?   
    I'd be very interested in what you would consider proof that the teaching isn't true. 
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