New Light on Beards

[TrueTomHarley]

6 minutes ago, xero said:

 

I dunno. This looks a lot like Vic Vomodog who, years after he left the faith, would continue to show up at hospitals, bare his arm, and order, ‘Fill ‘er up!’ just to show Jehovah’s Witnesses what he thought of them. Doctors invariably tried to shoo him away, but he would always return.

[Anna]

25 minutes ago, George88 said:

It is precisely for this reason that I strongly discourage the utilization of this particular website.

And yet here you are

[Anna]

2 minutes ago, George88 said:

When a person receives a blood transfusion they are taking in not only blood but also a part of the donor's soul.

What?

[xero]

1 hour ago, Anna said:

What?

Interesting what nonsense exists in the minds of fellow travelers.

[TrueTomHarley]

1 hour ago, George88 said:

think it's time to go back to criticizing the Org for the beard thing and leave science to those who truly understand it.

Some of those who never celebrated their birthday may soon be celebrating Beard Day. Mark December 15th on the calendar. We don’t have that many holidays.

[Pudgy]

Beard day could be celebrated with Seinfeld Festivus (… the holiday for the REST of us ….)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festivus

A completely secular holiday that can be adapted to any date you want, and traditions added as needed.

December 15 it is !!

 

 

 

[Thinking]

2 hours ago, George88 said:

Sure they did. It's called nose hair. Ha! Ha!

As I mentioned before, the organization should consider allowing women to have hairy armpits to blur the lines between traditional femininity and feminist expression. We could even take it further by allowing women to embrace their natural leg hair and wear provocative clothing to challenge societal norms. If certain witnesses are going to criticize us for embracing change, why not challenge conventions on every front, including dress codes? Why not allow elders to dress and smell however they like?

Scripture states that we should present ourselves as approved by God. However, should we remove this clause as it is being promoted by inappropriate individuals?

In this manner, the Watchtower will be indistinguishable from False Religion (Christendom). The attitudes being expressed here mirror those of the Pharisees and false religion, enabling a select few to align with the organization without acknowledging their hypocrisy in attempting to dictate when they refuse to be dictated to. The sources of knowledge being embraced by individuals here are indeed intriguing.

 

a brothers nightmare …

[TrueTomHarley]

2 hours ago, George88 said:

The attitudes being expressed here mirror those of the Pharisees and false religion, enabling a select few to align with the organization without acknowledging their hypocrisy in attempting to dictate when they refuse to be dictated to. The sources of knowledge being embraced by individuals here are indeed intriguing.

Precisely! 

[Many Miles]

1 hour ago, TrueTomHarley said:

4 hours ago, George88 said:

The attitudes being expressed here mirror those of the Pharisees and false religion, enabling a select few to align with the organization without acknowledging their hypocrisy in attempting to dictate when they refuse to be dictated to. The sources of knowledge being embraced by individuals here are indeed intriguing.

Precisely! 

Honestly it saddens me to see men following men. Just plain petty. Which version of "the organization" are folks supposed to follow? Folks treat men like God, who decides for them what is supposed to be good or bad. The GB shows over and over again it can flip its teachings upside down. What are honest people trying to live right supposed to do? Just prostrate themselves before mortals like themselves and say, "Please! Tell us how today what we should do today to worship our Creator, and tell us tomorrow if YOU want us to do the opposite and we will." Put that in your next work of fiction. Or, maybe its a reality in someone's mind? Go ahead. Write it. It should be that way.

Men who follow men are victims of a dominion never granted to mankind. Mankind was granted dominion over animals, vegetation and the earth. But not dominion of men. Men who dominate men do so to the injury of those whom are dominated by men.

Worship God by living decently. Treat your fellow man as you would want to be treated yourself. Be willing to give your life for those whom you love. Fear God. Do your best to learn yourself what He expects of you. If this is done sincerely it is enough. There is no more to give than your best. Anything beyond that and God will step in to help. And, why not. According to the biblical account, all God ever wanted from Adam was to live in harmony with the natural world provided, and to have enough respect to abide by a single prohibition beyond that.

But that doesn't seem to be enough for some folks. No. Some folks need us to worship "the organization".

[TrueTomHarley]

21 minutes ago, Many Miles said:

Honestly, it saddens me . . . Some folks need us to worship "the organization".

You may be missing something here.

[Pudgy]

Can you imagine Jesus or the Apostles carrying a suitcase or a trunk of stuff?

The downfall slide to rationalization  begins when real estate and money become important considerations.

In the History of Civilization there have NEVER been any exceptions.

[Srecko Sostar]

On 12/15/2023 at 10:09 PM, JW Insider said:

https://www.jw.org/en/library/videos/#en/mediaitems/StudioFeatured/docid-702023024_1_VIDEO

 

One of the important features that members of the GB took into account for "clarification about wearing a beard" includes imitating the trends that prevail in the world of politics and business. This is clearly stated in Update by Steven Lett. (starts at minute 10:00)

Quote: "Furthermore, as time has passed, we have noted that in many countries it is acceptable for men who hold responsible positions in business and government to wear beards..."

That same Governing Body (consisting of elders) wrote this: "If an elder establishes a rule based on culture, he is not acting according to the Scriptures. Younger men must be evaluated, not by personal or cultural viewpoints, but by the measuring stick of God's Word. - 2 Tim. 3:16, 17." - https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/watchtower-study-august-2018/do-not-judge-outward-appearance/

Another in a series of contradictions of this "Theocratic Government" in WTJWorg. 

Double talk. Imitation of "the world". Adapting to "world trends". Disregarding one's own standards. "Lowering" own standards.

In the world of WTJWorg, certain patterns of behavior change depending on the current circumstances in the environment (especially in the USA). We have the opportunity to see two ways in which the GB applies the so-called "Biblical Principles".

In one model, the GB tries to "force" the government of a country to respect the JW's right to freedom of thought, speech and worship as implemented and practiced by WTJWorg, usually through court cases or mass letters campaigns.

In the second model, they find reasons to adapt the so-called "biblical principles" to the social and cultural changes of "worldly people and their institutions".