TrueTomHarley

Well, it's all anecdotal and I don't pretend to be dropping the 11th Commandment. But IF you have been trained by Bible education, which can be found you know where, and IF your life has not been made so important so that your present demanding career makes it unthinkable to interrupt it for such a duty, you are more likely to provide personal care for your aging parents.
Look, don't argue with me on this one because I will give up - you'll never see a white flag go up so fast. But I had some fonts lying around the house and I had to use them before they went bad so I used them here. Besides, as far as I'm concerned, if you want to go to college, go to college. If you get some peer-pressure heat because of it, just accept it as a price that must be paid. That's how it is with any human organization. Not everything goes your way. But you accept it because you know that the Lord's will can be magnified here on earth if his servants are organized, as opposed to as if each person is his own wandering planet.
Nor should you be too quick to blow off the circuit overseer who said of his former fancy pants circuit that there were 100 that went to college and only 3 who remained in the truth. Atheistic, humanistic professors, sexually avant-garde students and faculty alike,  see your naive offspring coming along with stars in his/her eyes and say 'It's Game On!' just like I do with the Librarian whom I fear.
And don't miss the organization's counsel, which arguably could be given more strongly, that it's not just what you should not do, but what you should. Prepare your youngster well ahead of time to choose from career paths available to him and learn what options are available and at what cost. If you are all thumbs yourself, make sure he knows that one can't make a living in all-thumbs. Or maybe it is given. Despite their counsel to familiarize yourself with whatever comes down the pipe, I am drawn to what primarily concerns me.
I like CMP's point, too, that where he comes from, the ones who get to university are serious minded but the ones who take the easy stuff are riff-raff, generally speaking. It's not that way here. Here they just party and malign Trump and take absurd curriculum that has no practical application anywhere. But it is different where he is, apparently.
Bernard Strawman pointed out that Tom Irregardless wouldn't use his word so much if he had some education. But Tom has focused on education that trains morally, the kind of education God's organization specializes in. You can always hire out for smarts when you need them.
 
 

A childhood friend of my son died the other day and he is not the first one. This system has not been easy on the younger generation, though it is easier on them than it is on the younger generation still, some of whom have hung themselves and streamed it live on Facebook. It’s a little hard for adults to reassure their children that all is right with the world when they see their classmate on the internet doing that, even though some apostates who have gone atheist try to let on that the world is just getting better and better.

Anyhow, he had strayed far from his Bible roots, though I did remark that I hope when I die I have as many people saying what a good guy I was as he did, and I worried somewhat how the speaker would handle it since it is a bit dicey and I found myself wishing I could give the talk myself, for I am good at that sort of thing, if not much else. What you must do is carry on not too much about his ‘bad decisions,’ (which the speaker did not, though it depends upon whose eyes you view it through) but you must keep an eye upon his non-Witness buddies and his daughter particularly and say: ‘this talk is for them.’ Of course, you cannot be untrue to the Scriptures, but the Scriptures are like a multi-faceted gem – you must search for the proper facet with which to let the light shine through. And you don’t have to avoid ‘bad decisions’ entirely – after all, no one can say that crashing your snowmobile through the ice when it had been warm lately was a good decision.

When you break into the Bible, 1 Thessalonians 4:13 is a fine place to start. ‘For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, about those who are sleeping in death, that you may not sorrow just as those do who have no hope.’ Who can argue with that - Witness or non-Witness?

Everyone hung about at the lodge afterwards, and I approached members of the lad’s biker gang, who were visibly taking his death hard. “My son played with him as a kid,” I said, ‘but you would know him better than me – what was he like?’ ‘Better grab yourself some pizza,’ I said later on. Commish said no, for they had to ride and if they ate they might fall asleep. I said don’t take it the wrong way, but that strikes me as humorous and it reminds me of how my ancient Dad now has a lot of Westerns playing in the background, some featuring Ronald Reagan! in which the good guys are always ready to ride at the end of the show.

I also told him about the days long ago when I was in the doghouse with my wife and I looked for some grandiose gesture to try to rectify matters so I visited the Dinosaur Restaurant where Hell’s Angels were reputed to hang out to see if I could recruit them to visit her on twenty choppers and the head guy get out and hand her a dozen long stem roses. The waitress thought it was a really cool idea, and she would tell the guys, but I never heard back. “You should have called us,” the biker at the funeral said, “we would have done it.” I walked away to chat with others and he approaches me to hand me his well-worn biker card – I mean, think of the places it must have been! Believe me when I tell you, I am sorely tempted to pick a fight with my wife deliberately so as to land in the doghouse again so as to hire these guys. Though it will probably happen anyway for I am not the easiest guy to be around long-term and my wife occasionally gets fed up. Others in the congregation say: “that Tom Harley is a great guy, but imagine if you had to be around him 24/7!”

No. You are not rambling. Your points make perfect sense and show good heart.
Look, there are some who are genuinely aghast at child abuse and participate with good thoughts. But there are also some liars whose concern over chlld sexual abuse is probably not a sham, but it is clearly secondary to their greater goal. They use it to further that goal.
It's greatly time and energy consuming to battle the liars on what is a here today - gone tomorrow internet thread. They're all welcomed here, which I find - odd. Unless I am up for a brawl, I, like you, will not do it. (But sometimes I am up for a brawl)
Eventually, it's all going to go against us. We know that. Jesus followers will be hailed before courts. Why? So they can receive Good Citizenship plaques? Or will it be so as to defend themselves before persons 'lyingly saying every sort of wicked thing' about them? (Matthew 5:11) But the bad guys will always win in this system of things. When Jesus appeared before Pilate, he didn't sweet talk his way out of it, did he?

No. You are not rambling. Your points make perfect sense and show good heart.
Look, there are some who are genuinely aghast at child abuse and participate with good thoughts. But there are also some liars whose concern over chlld sexual abuse is probably not a sham, but it is clearly secondary to their greater goal. They use it to further that goal.
It's greatly time and energy consuming to battle the liars on what is a here today - gone tomorrow internet thread. They're all welcomed here, which I find - odd. Unless I am up for a brawl, I, like you, will not do it. (But sometimes I am up for a brawl)
Eventually, it's all going to go against us. We know that. Jesus followers will be hailed before courts. Why? So they can receive Good Citizenship plaques? Or will it be so as to defend themselves before persons 'lyingly saying every sort of wicked thing' about them? (Matthew 5:11) But the bad guys will always win in this system of things. When Jesus appeared before Pilate, he didn't sweet talk his way out of it, did he?

No. You are not rambling. Your points make perfect sense and show good heart.
Look, there are some who are genuinely aghast at child abuse and participate with good thoughts. But there are also some liars whose concern over chlld sexual abuse is probably not a sham, but it is clearly secondary to their greater goal. They use it to further that goal.
It's greatly time and energy consuming to battle the liars on what is a here today - gone tomorrow internet thread. They're all welcomed here, which I find - odd. Unless I am up for a brawl, I, like you, will not do it. (But sometimes I am up for a brawl)
Eventually, it's all going to go against us. We know that. Jesus followers will be hailed before courts. Why? So they can receive Good Citizenship plaques? Or will it be so as to defend themselves before persons 'lyingly saying every sort of wicked thing' about them? (Matthew 5:11) But the bad guys will always win in this system of things. When Jesus appeared before Pilate, he didn't sweet talk his way out of it, did he?

JW insider: Child sexual abuse is bad stuff - nobody argues it is not. We're agreed.
But one can't help but shake his head at how fragmented this system is. The same society that puts the physical welfare of children on a razor's edge of alertness sells them down the river in so many other ways - by sticking them with poor education, by fleecing them for $$$$$$ and lifelong debt when they go for higher education, by spying on them with AI toys so as to sell them more stuff, by promoting policies destructive to families, thus depriving children of an emotional foundation, by embracing every new sexual model of living, by saturating them with violence on TV and internet, by not effectively punishing bullies. 
Somewhere i read that a child can more readily survive sexual abuse than they can persistent bullying, yet that goes on all the time. The outside world is very selective in its zeal to protect children. Would that even a fraction of the wrath of those who would defend children in one arena be applied to the others. Suicide of youngsters is endemic today. Please don't tell me that even eliminating child sexual abuse would solve the problem. This world collectively couldn't care less about children - if it did, it would remedy the above concerns.
Ironically, the JW organization that some would love to take down does much to promote the interests of children in most of these other areas. Even on sexual abuse, they have produced one of the best videos out there: Protect Your Children. I mean, C'mon! - an organization that does that is going to wink at child sexual abuse? 
 

The general rule is that where the law requires the names of even suspected abusers to be handed over to secular authorities, the JW organization will do it. That's further than most go. Two thirds of those required by law to report persons they suspect of pedophilia, such as medical people, do not do it.

The backdrop of all pedophilia stories is that authorities are frothing over their inability to make a dent in child abuse. We all know it. You can't throw a stone in any direction without hitting ten pedophiles. The authorities drop 95% of what is thrown to them. We all know that, too. Constantly we hear of crimes against children by people who were already on the sex offender registry, which is so watered down with 'innocuous' offenders that it is worthless as a tool to law enforcement. The young man who had sex with his underage girlfriend whom he later married does not belong on the sex offender list. The Economist Magazine in 2009 (easily searchable) ran a series on just how chaotic and useless such lists are.  Today such lists are mostly a tool of public shaming or even revenge - they do little to protect children. The authorities who must monitor internet child porn in order to do their jobs liken it to Medusa - one look and you turn to stone. The battle is not being won. It is being lost, and authorities are pulling their hair out over it.

The question is not whether or not child sexual abuse has occurred among Jehovah's people. Of course it has. We are people, and child sexual abuse is viral today - it is everywhere and seemingly uncontrollable. What I address is the pleading hope of opposers to paint JWs as a hotbed of abusers. It's a ridiculous charge, and they know better, for they are not overly stupid. But their primary concern is to take down a religion they hate. Elsewhere I have written of the backdrop that must be considered when reading any story of pedophilia involving any group.

These days cigarette smoking is maligned in the media. It is strange that marijuana smoke is not, for it is physically more harmful to the lungs.

Will the day come, or has it already arrived, when the number of lives saved through bloodless medicine will exceed those lost by fearless members of a relatively tiny religion who refused to compromise in matters relating to God's law? 

I  wrote  all  to  you  by  PM  message...  so all  is  okay !
@TrueTom  Look  by  my  postings  in  category  "Experience"...  There  you  can  read  an example  of  a  boy went  door  to door  with  a  CO. Brother !  The  CO,  really  enjoyed  the  little  door tio door  talk  of  the  little  boy   It was  a  success...  and  the  CO.  used  that  text  at the  next  door  too !   So  you  all  see,  our  kids are  so  clever  and  mature  too !

I don't know a lot about moon worship. But I do know about the moon. I like it.

I don't know a lot about moon worship. But I do know about the moon. I like it.

I'm surprised that the above comment was allowed to stand here, for it has nothing to do with anything. Elsewhere this character was advised to take it out on the street when he likewise tried to hijack a thread to take down a religion he hates. He was advised to start a separate thread. Why should he think he can barge in here and sully a post which consists only of two Bible verses?

Our morons went on to build a massive infrastructure, even including an 880 language website, in order to declare the Bible's Kingdom hope to populations worldwide at minimal cost - a hope that transforms even their present life for the better. When your morons have done the same, then we can talk. So far they seem only interested in destroying, not building 

I don't know a lot about moon worship. But I do know about the moon. I like it.

Don't cross the librarian. Surely we learned that at school
Don't cross the Librarian. Surely we learned that at school
If fully documented reports should become available from someone who is just trying to be helpful, I won't read them, because I don't have to. I am fully willing to concede that our guys may have screwed up in a given case. Or it may be slander that someone positiively PLEADS with me to read - someone who says he is my friend. But I don't feel I need to read it, for even were it to be a clear victory for his side, it does not change the fact that our guys are our guys. It does not change the fact that our guys preside over a Bible education work - even producing a website with 880 languages - that nobody else feels they need bother with - 'to hell with the lowly ones,' they say. It does not change the fact that the JW policy on child abuse is among the strongest ones out there.
 

To be fair, someone should report satisfaction statistics for those who have gone to (recent) college, for it is not free, and job openings do not necessarily greet graduates. Moreover, if you flame out today, you find yourself working at McDonald's trying to pay off the astronomical bills you have so far run up.
 

To be fair, someone should report satisfaction statistics for those who have gone to (recent) college, for it is not free, and job openings do not necessarily greet graduates. Moreover, if you flame out today, you find yourself working at McDonald's trying to pay off the astronomical bills you have so far run up.
 

A scarcity of money, time, and education is generally a major obstacle to quality Bible translation, as has been observed. But I think the organization, largely because it is organized (and dedicated, and stresses self-sacrifice) has gotten around all three of them.
On education, when we find an expert, he trains 100 others. When the world finds an expert, he competes with other experts. If he trains them, it is at a significant fee which works, along with other factors, such as a for-profit distribution channel, to price the final product out of reach of the common people it is hoped to benefit. Our people produce a straight-forward master text in English. All the translators are schooled in translation techniques. They are all encouraged to ask questions about specific problems or verses, and when they do, the answers become part of a database accessible to all.
Regarding 'free,' it isn't really free, since our people may get room and board. If they're in full-time service, as I think most/all of them are, they receive a small monthly stipend. It's not as though they must log their regular workday at the factory, and then translate an hour or two after dinner. 'Generous' or 'Efficient' or 'Whole-souled' are better descriptive words than free.
Regarding time, I'm not sure that is a factor. There are no deadlines that I am aware of. They get to it when they get to it. If they find  they need more time, they are granted it.
However, I don't want to quibble over these things. Maybe there is a better way to do it. But what is typical is the remark heard at the weekly meetings this week - the Nepalese man expressing appreciation for the NWT in his language. In English there are many readable translations, the NWT is not the only one. But nobody cares about the Nepalese because they do not have any money. Thus they are stuck with some 200 year old turkey of a translation that they can't understand, until the NWT comes along. That situation is repeated in many lands.

If Melinda Mills  wanted to save me from looking like an ass before the entire forum, she would write some letters to the GB and then tear them up.
Sorry, Melinda. It was Anna. My apologies.

You know, I begin to think that I would like JTR in person now that I have learned he is part of a congregation. True, he is a hothead, but he is our hothead. I can work with that. Though I have a great many faults, an inability to get along with people is not one of them. Everybody likes me in the circuit. True, there are some who think I am too much 'out there,' but that does not translate into dislike. Everybody agrees that I am neither judgmental nor harsh, nor do I take offense. Everybody agrees that I do what I can to build up. (((Yeah, that's what you think, Truetom. We just don't tell you that you are a jerk!)))
In the congregation, I think I would like JTR, for he is a straight-shooter, and that is a good thing. Like everyone else, I would run for cover when he explodes, but I would return when the coast is clear. If he has remained faithful despite ill treatment by ones in position of authority, that is a good thing and it earns my respect. Does he go in service? Possibly, maybe probably, for he does not forget his vow. I'd like to work with him. We would get along fine.
However, if he conducts himself outrageously online, I will blast him out of the water to the full extent of my limited power. Imagine - slapping before me a cartoon specifically designed to malign God's organization - how could anyone not conclude he hates God's people, if not God himself? When the Orlando shooter is blowing them away at the gay nightclub, you don't rush in with balm for his spiritual pain. When JTR goes in service, he does not say "Good morning! I'm here to tell you what SOBs some of our elders have been." No. He starts a discussion. He shows a video. He places literature. He starts a Bible study. But when he returns he finds the householder has had a change of heart, because he has discovered JTR's words online.
He is right when he is primarily concerned with what Jehovah (and his wife) thinks of him. He is right when he recognizes a moral obligation to tell the truth. But there is a time and a place. And abundant Bible counsel that some things ought to be covered over and, if possible, forgiven. He is wrong when he says that, since he learned the hard way over his lifetime, they can learn the hard way over their lifetime. Part of him knows he is wrong on this. If your old man treated you horribly, do you get back by treating your kids the same way? Unfortunately, some people do, and a family cycle of abuse never ends.
As CMP pointed out, the current crop of elders benefits from ever more intensive courses on how to treat the flock. When the high-ranking brothers design these courses, they put themselves through it first, for the saying "half of those at Bethel are there to test the other half" is not lost on them. They don't just design the courses for the peons. They put themselves through it first. The poor elders of JTR's congregation don't know what to make of him, perhaps. He so plainly carries volatile anger, and they, being of a different generation and just trying to do the best they can, don't know where it comes from from
I'm not aghast at giving away a fault. As I get older, i get to indulge some wants and I have written two books about the only thing I know - theocracy. There, I give away many faults. Especially in the second book, where one (real) character (a fellow like Diotrophes) is a "dirty rotten lowlife." Believe me when I tell you that he was. But the two books are both playful in overall tone and they have the greater context of the good guys winning. Some comments here would suggest that the good guys don't have a prayer, or even that there are no good guys.
Maybe I don't understand this forum and don't belong here. Maybe I should retire to my own blog. All the players here were entrenched long before I came along, and maybe I don't understand how things work. Maybe this forum is more private than I imagine and not freely viewable by anyone in the whole wide world that knows how to do an internet search. Although we are advised from Jesus to forgive whenever possible, sometimes there is occasion to tell something dark and nasty. Is it here? Maybe it is, though I will still blast away at whatever seems designed to tear down until someone shows me the door. If they don't 'play fair' with Jehovah's reputation, I see no obligation to play fair with them.
Melinda has her letters that she doesn't send. I have my books. We're all encouraged to have our say in our heart to Jehovah and leave it at that, wherever possible. Reveal stuff in the context of where it may help, and there are such times, but don't put it on the clothesline in the front yard where the whole world sees the shit on your underwear.