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TrueTomHarley

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Everything posted by TrueTomHarley

  1. Whenever we enjoy a roasted turkey this time of year, we cook it with a bookbag under its wing so that there should be no misunderstanding. WHOA! @Admin has been busy with software innovations! Related topics now appear in the sidebar. (isn't this new?) It is "Similar Content' My own favorite holiday is one of them, and posts I started about Ground Hog Day. Don't nobody say nothin bad about Ground Hog day here, or I'll send the filthy rat down your chimney like Santa and he will leave lice everywhere.
  2. "Turn me on, dead man" - The Beatles National pep talks are fine. Thanksgiving to God we can all live with and don't have to rain on anyone else's parade. But if Jehovah is this kind of a God, he sure took his eye off the ball as regards many parts of the earth, didn't he? That said, whenever I am bold (or dumb) enough to go out in service on a holiday, I find some verse of harmonious theme and say something like: 'this is what we are doing out of respect for the holiday.' It seems an insult to the householder to not connect your remarks to his interest of the day - we otherwise unfailingly try to do that - reading bumper stickers and so forth. (which as often as not were affixed by the previous owner) Even as I write, I warm further to this idea, though it is Witnessing 401 - an advanced course. Many brothers get their heads handed to them on a platter for holiday witnessing. Is it possible, for those so inclined, to connect their remarks with the day's theme and become almost a holiday tradition? I like him already. (within limits) I like him already. Wasn't he the brother who enjoyed the sauna? It seems he was little concerned about tongues wagging.
  3. I am not always entirely sure where @Allen Smith is coming from, but it may help him to know that I like Mark Twain and I take many of his sayings to heart, such as: "Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand." In my opinion, and I think that of the Scriptures and organization (which would not have us patiently reasoning with flat-out apostates) there are some who can benefit from being reasoned with. And some who cannot. When you address the latter, you are not actually addressing them, but whatever audience lies beyond. Admittedly, no human can make a final judgement as to who fits in which category - I have reassessed in the past, and even re-reassessed - but with some you can come pretty close. It's a little dicey being here in the first place, for Allen no less than I.
  4. The section overseen by @The Librarian should be "Obadiah Revisited" The shortest Hebrew Bible book is that of God's nation under constant assault, and how their relatives, the Edomites, enthusiastically join in the attack - turning their brothers over to those who would kill them....and how Jehovah feels about that.
  5. It is typical of this world. When it at last wakes up to a moral problem, it wildly overreacts. The most blatant and current example is not in pedophile accusations at all, but in college campus accusations of rape. http://www.weeklystandard.com/why-campus-rape-tribunals-hand-down-so-many-guilty-verdicts/article/2010401 the article describes how it is almost impossible for an accused male student to win. It describes how, when the accuser's story is inconsistent or doesn't add up, that is dismissed as an expected result due to trauma. The prevailing cockeyed thinking is very much like the one advanced by @Noble Berean "why would you even want to take the chance of a sexual predator persisting in the congregation?" Simply substitute "college campus" for "congregation" and the thought is his.
  6. Well, it is what it is. I don't care about any corporate agenda.
  7. Okay, okay, I admit it. It is me in my younger days. As for the identity of the sheep, it is a bit hard to tell because it is facing away, but I think it is @James Thomas Rook Jr.
  8. It is true that I resist all changes of all types. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. My wife even says that I extend it to: 'If it IS broke, don't fix it.' That being said, the blue font is not the best choice, IMO. Black makes a better contrast.
  9. Yeah, that's how I interact with the police, too. Can you think of anyone who doesn't? Can you think of any organization that doesn't? It may change, though. I have offered my suggestion for next year's yeartext: "Salvation belongs to the police."
  10. The scoundrels will all append a B on the front end.
  11. Love those police! What strikes me here (this is no reference to @Noble Berean) is that people who loathe the police in some contexts absolutely love them in others. They have a lot of capabilities that I sincerely appreciate. But they have a lot of capabilities in Russia, too, and they direct some of them toward our brothers.
  12. Okay Nowhere Theologian is not a word we generally use. I am not one. I am afraid I do not know where you are coming from, Allen. I think that I would like to. I am not sure of your role in this play.
  13. Yes, it is a noble sentiment - but nobody is going to do it. We are just going to shoot our mouths off. We have long been trained that way. It didn't start with O.J. but his is the oldest vivid example I recall. The public is whipped into near hysteria by constant repetition of a certain scene. That scene arouses powerful thought and (mostly) emotion, but it is only 2% of the facts. A few months later the jury convenes. They hear (ideally) 100% of the facts. But when they reach the 'wrong' verdict, there is universal outrage. Consistently, there really shouldn't be any trials anymore. Put everything on Facebook and render verdicts according to likes. People are not inclined to believe a court verdict anyway, if it is not what they want. Why waste everyone's time? Nobody likes jury duty. Think of the money that would be saved! @adminshould get cracking on it because he wants to go big. He is tired of a website full of religious nuts. I mean, he likes it, but he wants to build. He doesn't want to cater to anyone's corporate agenda. He should expand into this. He will become so influential that he will be able to tell Mark Zuckerberg to use the service entrance. Even @The Librarian(the old biddy) will be able to do so. More children to tyranize - she will love it! It's a horrible thing - for respected institutions to be so easily made impotent. However, the 'silver lining' for anyone being slammed in court, whether justly or not, is that they can say: 'Do you really believe that joke of a system?" It is also why you should never criticize one who chooses mostly, or even solely, to read Watchtower publications. Yes, they will miss a lot, and their ability to relate to certain others will be impeded. But they will not have to experience the sensation of the ping pong ball ever slammed this way or that by Players intent upon dividing the human population. They won't have to weigh every word to figure out who is spinning them lies and what they are.
  14. I have stated before my thought that the Trump/Hillary election is a god-send for Christians. Not because of the results, but because it has forced all the crazies from their holes out into the open. It is ever so hard to deny 2 Timothy 3:1-5 now, whereas in the past if someone disagreed those verses especially apply today, there was not much you could do about it. It is also demonstrated clearly that the biblical 'mountains' and 'hills' today consist merely of highly paid crazies. News means nothing in itself. You simply look for who or what the journalist is trying to torpedo. It is true with the court system. Trump orders this or that and the Obama-appointed judges throw it out. It once was just the reverse, but was not so highly publicized. The point is that court rulings don't mean much of anything today - you simply have to look at which agenda has won out. I suppose that's true - how can one argue with the value of learning - but the challenge is, as soon as you think you know anything about law, some orangutan throws in a - um - monkey wrench and you are right back where you started. The law is fantastically complex. The cynics (not me, of course) would say that it is made so deliberately for the sake of job security and expansion in a high-growth industry.
  15. You are right. Crime is crime. Sorry. If we are discussing backing the dumptruck of toxic waste into the river, it is very important that you post your story of the guy caught littering. It is not good. No one says otherwise. But it is also not very specific - nor is it rape. If it was, he would have been convicted of it.
  16. That's two, Srecko. Good job! Yes, and in the whole wide world there will be many more. His crime: pleaded to two counts of lewd or lascivious acts We were speaking of countless cases of rape within another certain dominant religion. In that context, the contribution you've excitedly offered up - so thrilled - just doesn't cut it. It is not in the same 'league.' "which then removed Gorski from his position as an elder, but allowed him to remain an active member" After imposing what discipline?, for they invariably would. It would be rebuke of some sort with sanctions - something not mentioned in the story. Should they have shot him? What were the laws at that place at that time? If it is a scenario where critics say they must go "beyond the law" to prove their concern for children, doing that can get them in hot water in most places, because the default law is clergy/penitent protected confidentiality. That's why G Jackson pleaded to the ARC to make their laws uniform, which would make JWs job so much easier - it would be across-the-board policy, with no room for misunderstanding or misapplication, and it wouldn't matter if a given family head wanted to avoid airing his family's dirty laundry on the 11PM News. Even today, families do not line up to do that, whether religious or not.
  17. I like these words of Covington. I like, too, the stable country that is the U.S. that would steadfastly allow itself to be reigned in by its own constitution. (this may be eroding somewhat, but it is still the pre-eminent example) Unfortunately, there are also unstable countries, and some that are regressing, who, when you tell them of their own constitution, say: "Oh yeah! Great paper! We have it in the men's room for drying hands." #stopjwban I love Blackwell's book. I quote from it in my own, and in the one to come. I got mine on a 'book tour' - when he was top-billed speaker for a special meeting at the Niagara Falls convention center. Another was our circuit overseer, Dave McClure, son of Lucy McClure of the case that reversed Gobitas. He told of getting beat up walking to and fro school. As only Dave McClure could do, he made getting beat up almost sound like fun. The remaining speaker was someone I don't remember who rattled on about health, spouting opinion that would never happen today. "If you're not sick, don't go to them!" I remember him saying about doctors. I also remember McClure, who was sitting near me, say loudly after the talk: "Well, I guess I'm gonna go down there and get me a hot dog!" These were back in the days when "each one did what was right in his own eyes." McClure is (while I am in story-telling mode) the one who fell asleep while I was conducting a study and he was following along. He dropped his book, which woke him up. (he was a diabetic, and afternoons were not easy for him) Later the two of us stopped at the home of a new person who asked who conducts the study when a publisher asks the C.O. along. He said: "Weelll, I just check beforehand with the brother, and if he wants me to conduct it, I do. But if he says he would rather conduct it himself, then I just nod..... He is also the one (from my other post) who would make the sign of the stake. In my single days, I used to stick like glue to these guys. I was his chauffer when he visited our congregation, and he sat in his Chrysler's back seat.
  18. Alright, worship them if you insist! But as you know, they will say, like Peter, 'rise, for I too am a man.'
  19. I disagree. To the extent your statement is true it is only because media has managed to muddle perception - today, 'rape' is equated to 'too free with the hands' which is equated to 'having investigated it for purposes of discipline/protection but never having done it themselves.' IMO, it is disloyal to God to not always point this out, regardless of how culpable one may think the modern-day organization is. In this case, the subject truly is a convicted rapist and he was an elder, but that is extraordinarily rare, whereas for the Church, it was a dime a dozen. In a collection of millions of persons, you will find examples of anything. Everybody knows that. JW Elder abuse is essentially unheard of. No large group of anything human has a better record Having said that, I am not one for beating up on the Church over this. It is too much like rejoicing over another's downfall - regardless of whether they deserve it. It has become public knowledge - I do not have to pile on. If I mention it, it is only a mention. I do not harp on it. Their deeds are between they and God, as are ours.
  20. And me, who gives him credit and properly frames his deed: http://www.tomsheepandgoats.com/2010/11/did-jesus-die-on-a-cross.html
  21. One thing I like about @AllenSmithis that he does not yield the moral high ground. Why should he? I will concede that for one brief instant of time it may be that this or that advocate seems more a protector of a child than its congregation organization. But not too long after his or her back is turned, that child is tossed right back into an unprotected cesspool. The world has compiled a list of abusers that is so long it is absolutely worthless to enforcement. Consequently, being put on 'the list' is largely a matter of revenge or public shamimg - not undeserved, but it does nothing to solve the problem of protecting children. To some extent, it has devolved into a job machine and a platform for grandstanding politicians to declare how they are tough on pedophiles. England's top cop recently recommended all men found with pedophilia on their computers not be prosecuted. It pained him to say it, he said, but the simple fact is that there is so many that police cannot possibly keep up and are distracted from monitoring the real nasty ones - the ones who they say are like Medusa - look at it once, and your heart turns to stone. All the time, we hear of children abused by persons who were already on the list - why - they were right down the street! The world chokes on its abusers. For that matter - the world is so nuts - it ought to put every victim on the list as well, or at least on a watch list, for it is common knowledge that an abused one readily becomes an abuser. Completely unfair - but it makes perfect sense for a world that thinks it can snuff out abuse through pedophile registries. Rapists are the ones who should be aggressively punished. No punishment is too great. As to the rest - look, even someone who recently confessed to being a victim of an extended family member - it probably would not have happened in these days of Caleb and Sophia, who are told: "If anybody tries to touch you - even if it is someone you know and trust ... and then tell mommy or daddy." An extended family member doing abuse is common. A parent doing it is very uncommon, except in the case of a step-parent. The training of every Witness in the world via the Regional convention would also have gone a long way to prevent her calamity. Allen is right to never yield the high ground. It is a huge court mess the brothers dealing with and I don't know how it will resolve, but Allen will not allow others to pull the 'righteous' card. Even with this mess, we are more righteous than they. The court cases are a classic example of getting slammed for doing the right thing: monitoring any abuser so that they can be punished and any other congregations protected by their slipping in and feigning innocence. Nobody else even tries it. Do they have 1 abuser per hundred, or 50 per 100? Nobody knows or wants to know. Only Jehovah's Witnesses have the courage to stand up to a moral outrage and they should not be maligned for it.
  22. It explains (to me) many things, or at least puts them in a different light. You are rather bold to share it, even anonymously.
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