TrueTomHarley

I have also given the WorldNewsMediaForum a very low review. Although I am one of the most prolific commenters here, I have not received any discount! It’s outrageous!

Why are they jumping like that? Tell them to settle down. The trick is not to boast over such a thing. The trick is to charge with malpractice anyone claiming Christianity that has not gone this way. After all, if you are really serious about getting a united Christian message out there, of course you will have such a site. It is in itself overwhelming evidence that when it comes to declaring “this good news of the kingdom” per Matthew 24:14, Jehovah’s Witnesses are the ones to watch: “And this good news of the Kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” It harkens back to a thread a few years prior: When your car needs service, do you take it to the shop content to operate with duct tape, vice grips, and WD-40? Or do you take it to the shop that cares enough to equip itself with every conceivable tool, even it the count should number 1000?

Yes. So that the worldwide rot that it has collectively produced does not manifest itself in the congregation. I am even almost to the point of doubling down on that statement that reading the Awake is the equivalent of a 4 year college education. Every so often I still hear some old-timer repeating it—usually one with little secular education. it is a ridiculous statement on the surface and opponents have been beating us over the head with it from Day 1. If we dig a little, however, we see that it is not so ridiculous, and in some respects—the important ones—it is even spot on. Where did that statement first appear? It certainly was never an official statement of policy. I think it was someone’s personal observation and expression of appreciation for what is published. Maybe it was included in someone’s life experiences or in some short snippet piece like that old “Watching the World” series. Does anybody know? Like @The Librarian (that old hen)? For education to be any good, you have to be able to do something with it. It should add up to something. But like juxtaposed waves, much of the product of higher education cancels itself out. It results in opposing philosophies and schools of thought that can barely coexist, that fails dismally those of the greater world caught in the crosshairs It is a building that someone lays down blocks by day and his adversary takes them apart at night, a field that someone sows fine seed by day and his enemy sabotages with weeds at night. What good is it? If you look at individual components, you are impressed. If you look at collective results, you are unimpressed—you may even be disgusted. In contrast, the Bible education Witnesses enjoy serves to unite them. The secular education of each individual might be less than the world average, but it is offset by being cumulative, cooperative, not competitive. Nor is it lacking in anything truly of practical use. Would anyone say that the JW organization is lacking in engineering skills? In digital skills? Environmental skills? Architectural skills? Managerial skills, and so forth? Moreover, when one Witness knows something of practical use, he freely passes it along to others. This does not happen in the overall world where paywalls are the norm. Knowledge there is not given away—one must pay an enormous amount to be privy to it. College expenses (in the US) incurs debt that is not discharged for decades, and in some cases, never is. A prime sticking point in US-China trade negotiations is the claim that the Chinese do not respect intellectual property—they rip off the technology of others. Can anyone imagine the American Bethel and an Asian Bethel getting into such a spat? It is inconceivable. If the US Witnesses know it, Asia gets it free. If the Asian Witnesses know it, the US gets it free. Don’t go telling me about the excelling value of this world’s education. It rises to higher peaks—no question about it. But then it negates the value of those peaks by failure to provide the moral underpinnings that each Witness gets for free in the Awake. (Of course, Awake is not anything like it used to be. It has been scaled way back. But the point still stands. All you need to is broaden the subject from just a magazine to the entire resources of the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization. Surely that is fair. After all, the education of the Awake was never compared to a single college—it was compared to the entire world’s educational system.)

If you like, you can report me. ”Dear WT: TrueTom isn’t doing it right. I caught him for you. Your friend, Shiwiiiii.”

Since the verse of Peter says what it does, the GB can hardly say other than what they do, can they? Though masked as an attack on the GB, it seems that what you really have a problem with is that passage of verse. Surely there is no harm in directing people to a known place of safety, is there? You have a beef with that? As to whether it applies to each and every case, someone very dear to me says, when asked if anyone other than those baptized will be saved: “Well....I’m not Jesus, and I don’t know.”

I believe the statement that William was aligning himself with was that of Peter. You asked your question wrong. Do you think that verse has any merit, or is it all nonsense? Do you object to working in harmony with that scripture?

Come, come. Do you really think Stephen Lett is seducing and persuasive? He follows in the footsteps of ones of the first century who were so “ordinary” and “uneducated” that they were embarrassing in a world centered around “wisdom.” People find it necessary to go to bat for him: https://www.tomsheepandgoats.com/2019/01/let-us-appreciate-brother-lett.html Last I heard, your organization consisted of a page on Facebook. Thus, every time I see Mark Zuckerburg bumbling his way through Congress, flailing away against charges that he is rotting the fabric of society and handing the country over to the Russians, I am shocked—I tell you, shocked!—that you would be bedfellows with him! The reason humans organize is so they can do things. The motive to deprive them of organization is so they cannot. It is no more complicated than that. Yes. And if we want to serve Christ we organize so as to best bring our God-given talents to bear. Even when the scoundrels organize, God takes note that they do what they could not do as individual loose cannons: “Then Jehovah went down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men had built. Jehovah then said: “Look! They are one people with one language, and this is what they have started to do. Now there is nothing that they may have in mind to do that will be impossible for them.” Maybe that is what is so odious about a certain branch of Christendom. It is so selfish. “Me & Jesus” is all that counts—being saved. The thought of actually doing anything concrete in service to him turns them right off. Last I heard, God is pleased when we bring him our best, not when we abstain from what we otherwise could accomplish because it is too much work. You get to “enter Jehovah’s rest” when you take him up on his invitation, rest from your own and thus find refreshment in entering a work that is bigger than yourself. It is by “tasting” that you come to know that “Jehovah is good.”

Pretty much like this verse, from this week’s Bible reading: “They originate with the world; that is why they speak what originates with the world and the world listens to them.” (1 John 4:5)

I think you have watched too much Perry Mason. Was it really that way? So you feel each party in a judicial case should have his own lawyer, taking a page from the adversarial legal system of today? “When both sides properly prepare a case, the adversary system can effectively guarantee the revelation of all the facts bearing on an issue. The more experience you have with it, the more you’ll find it a surprisingly scientific method of trial preparation.” — Perry Mason. (Season 5, Ep 13 The Case of the Renegade Refugee) Come now, that is not a religious statement? Thrust upon us by a new world of “science” that has despaired of finding impartial judges the like of Exodus 18:26: “capable men fearing God, trustworthy men hating dishonest profit?” The reason they are hard to find is that the world embraces values to the contrary. Not so in the Christian organization. I will take the congregation justice system any day, which only deals with the spiritual matters that are of no concern of secular courts. But a hostile world tries to frame some of these spiritual matters as grist for the legal mill. What is happening is that those who refuse discipline are airing their complaints to a world that despises discipline and thereby finding common sympathy. It brings to mind the trademark of those describe in 2 Peter as “apostate”—they “hate” discipline. You don’t think that those who came out on the short end of the world’s court system don’t also complain about how they were abused and unjustly sold down the river? It is human nature to do so in a system that downplays responsibilities and upplays rights. Yes, Bubba. The effort today is to hinder those wanting to stay separate from the world—ideally, even making it illegal to do so. Several Bible statements would outrage the “anti-cult”-driven legal climate of today: “But now I am writing you to stop keeping company with anyone called a brother who is sexually immoral or a greedy person or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even eating with such a man.” (1 Corinthians 5:11). The Bible writer would be challenged legally today for trying to “control” people; who is he to tell them who they can eat with? “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your homes or say a greeting to him. For the one who says a greeting to him is a sharer in his wicked works.” (2 John 10) Ditto. He is “controlling people.” Let them greet whoever they want, even those whom HE finds “wicked.” “It is necessary to shut their mouths, because these very men keep on subverting entire households by teaching things they should not for the sake of dishonest gain.” (Titus 1:11) Oh? It is “necessary” to restrict someone’s free speech for the sake of “enforcing” your religion? See you in court, Paul. From time to time, the earthly organization rewords something—like the disfellowshipping announcement or the questions for baptism—to make clear that members are voluntarily adhering to Bible counsel rather than, as opposers try to present it, suffering the bullying of an “evil” “oppressive” “corporation.” It may fail in this one day, because the intent of those hostile to Christianity is to make the Bible verses themselves illegal, or at least make it illegal for anyone to actually follow them. The goal is to deprive Christians of organization. That way they can more easily be assimilated into the greater word. This is framed hypocritically, even obnoxiously, as an attempt to liberate them. It is no more better realized today than in Russia, where Jehovah’s Witnesses are not illegal, but only their organization is. ‘It’s not the foot-soldier they want to kill off. It’s only the generals that must go. That way the foot-soldier can more easily switch sides—and he will be all the happier for it,’ so the thinking goes. Of course, a scheme so devious cannot be comprehended by the average person, and the authorities simply feel free to beat up on any Witness. The goal to “liberate” Christians from the organization they form is more advanced in Russia, but it proceeds along the same path in Western lands. “Liberate” them into what? Yes. So that the worldwide rot that it has collectively produced does not manifest itself in the congregation.

It would be nice if you could provide a preview of this. I see no evidence of the “new and better,” only an emphasis on demolishing what is. In fact, that is why JWs became JWs in the first place; they tired of the “new and better” promises that always turned out to be but empty words.

It is far far far easier—and more alluring—to tear down than it is to build up. However, it is more noble to do the latter.

Yes. I wrote up a post on this at the time and included how other translations handled the verse. An excerpt: (from https://www.tomsheepandgoats.com/2019/01/who-is-mentally-diseased.html ) “Moreover, “mentally diseased” was placed in quotation marks, indicating it was not meant as a medical diagnosis, but as an adjective to suggest a manner of thinking. Nor is the term anything original. It is merely a repeat of the Bible verse 1 Timothy 6:3-4....“If any man teaches other doctrine and does not assent to healthful words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, nor to the teaching that accords with godly devotion, he is puffed up [with pride], not understanding anything, but being mentally diseased over questionings and debates about words.” ...Douay-Rheims says ‘sick about questions and strifes of words.’ In view of the context, what sort of ‘sickness’ do you think the translator had in mind? Tuberculosis, maybe? Or is it not a sickness of thinking, so that ‘mentally diseased’ is not such a bad rendering after all? NASB...offers ‘morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words.’ Does ‘morbid,’ when applied to thinking, suggest balance and soundness of mind? Or is ‘sickness,’ even ‘mentally diseased,’ more to the point?” Here’s a few other translations: ‘diseased’ (Emphasized New Testament; Rotherham) ‘filled with a sickly appetite’ (Epistles of Paul, W.J.Conybeare) ‘morbid appetite’ (A New Testament: A Translation in the Language of the People; Charles Williams) ‘morbid craving’ (An American Translation; Goodspeed) ‘unhealthy love of questionings’ (New Testament in Basic English) ‘morbidly keen’ (NEB) ‘unhealthy desire to argue’ (Good News Bible). “Do any of these other versions suggest soundness of mind? So the NWT’s ‘mentally diseased’ is an entirely valid offering, even if more pointed than most. Plus, once again, the term is an adjective, as it is in all other translations, not a medical diagnosis. Context (in that Watchtower article) made this application abundantly clear.”

Hmm. Would this do for a headquarters? Look how some apostate put up a “no-left-turn” sign (into the store!) That might harm book sales—I’d have to take that down.

It irks me whenever eloquence is confused with competence. There is very little correlation between the two.

It was a visit to this place that made me do whatever was necessary:

Even hitmen suffer from bureaucracy. Next they will unionize.

In the US, one can easily be presented with a “surprise” medical bill upon being released from the hospital. This happens when one of those involved in patient treatment turns out to be a non-network provider. The resulting bill can be tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of dollars for a hospital admittance that was covered by insurance. I had always assumed—I think most people did, if not all people—that the cause was simply blundering incompetence, that the US health care system is so disorganized, cobbled together haphazard one piecemeal step at a time, that nobody has a grasp on it all, and everyone feels bad about the monster that they have collectively produced, but it is typical inept human social evolution and nobody has a clue what to do about it. I never dreamed that it was deliberate. But that turns out to be so. Money flows from this planned mess to the hedge funds that back it. Hospitals themselves become dependent upon the system the former have foisted upon them. It is no more than “follow the money”—something I routinely do in order to get to the bottom of things but forgot to do it here. When bills are proposed to correct the abuses—seemingly everyone would back them—instead, opposition is intense: https://khn.org/news/investors-deep-pocket-push-to-defend-surprise-medical-bills/

What I said was that no one here was a typical witness

A dentist !!

It’s not lousy anymore. I fixed it.

@JW Insider did not write TrueTom v Apostates. He did not write Dear Mr. Putin. I wrote them. There were portions that I forwarded to him for comment. To that extent, he had input. His comments were most helpful and every time I ignored them I came to regret it. I got all excited about a statistical factoid from the follow-up Aussie case study. He told me it wasn’t so watertight as I had imagined. He was right and I downgraded it to a suggestive pointer. He said that there were a ton of errors—typos and punctuation atrocities—in the manuscript and I was later aghast at how abundant they were. It took me forever to get them out. Even now there are probably a few—but it is time for new things. Even his instinct about my describing the old bound volumes as the family gods—bulky, toted everywhere, and very seldom used—I came to agree with. I was just being self-indulgent, and no one had ever described them that way but me. Why put anyone off unnecessarily? His biggest contribution was when I ran by him beforehand the letter that I submitted to the Philly Inquirer in response to their first of what proved to be four incendiary articles. This was a big moment for me. The topic was white-hot, I had never seen anyone not run from it, and I didn’t want to mess it up. For all I knew, they might print it. I respected his insights and incorporated most of them. That letter became the core of what ultimately became a chapter in TrueTom vs the Apostates, “Four Incendiary Articles.” https://www.tomsheepandgoats.com/2019/01/four-incendiary-articles.html So yes, he has good judgement and instincts about what I consulted him for. Yes, his advice proved valuable. Yes, I am grateful to him for it. No, he did not write any of either book. Our cooperative role may expand. We came across The Librarian, that old biddy, bending over dusting Gibbon’s “Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire” on a lower shelf in her library. JWI and I toppled the entire bookshelf on her and squashed her flat. You should not expect to hear from her anymore except for some automated posts she may have previously submitted. I planted a story that a California law was going to kill the internet. Admin fell for it, and he sold the entire forum to me for only a dollar. JWI agreed to come in for just 50 cents. If I let him do his thing, going on and on and on about some egghead things that I don’t really care about—and after all, he did help me with the bookshelf—I will gain his good will forever. Yes, it is chronology he is into. But he writes at such length that everyone falls asleep except for other eggheads. He has done the research to expound on what he does, as others have done the research to disagree with him, even the semi-resident titan who doesn’t wish to be described that way. I gather that our view is not the one that predominates in the mainstream scholarly world, but this does not unduly concern me. I am too used to headlines that read: “Everything you thought you knew about such-and-such is wrong.” Matters of scientific scholarship can and have turned on a dime. Besides, even if his most drastic thought proved true, it would amount to no more that a (colossal) misread of the bus schedule. It would not mean that the bus is not coming.

Go figure.

Hmmm. How old is Mrs Rook? Out with it.

He forgets also that there really aren’t any typical Witnesses here. Everyone here (for any length of time) falls well outside the Bell curve in one way or another. Plus, one never knows who is just a pretender.

It seems to me that they have taken the very opposite tack—assuring every member that there is no stigma arising from reporting child sexual abuse to the authorities. https://www.tomsheepandgoats.com/2019/02/the-reproach-of-child-sexual-abuse-falls-on-the-abu.html