New Light on Beards

[Srecko Sostar]

15 hours ago, BTK59 said:

agreement between fellow believers

Fellow Christians in JW have a mutual agreement about beards? 

15 hours ago, BTK59 said:

Watchtower takes the matter of global trends

Well, well. This is Funny and/or Alarming.

15 hours ago, BTK59 said:

Do you believe that everyone in Jesus's time, including the apostles, had beards? This idea seems irrational.

In the time of Jesus, there were people in both Greenland and Australia. What do they have to do with beards in the Jewish nation? Jesus is role model ... with his beard? Or not?

Since JWs want to be like the first Christians who were mostly Jews, then it is important to remember that the Jews did not follow the world's trends in hairstyles, beards and clothes but stood out as different from their contemporaries. What do JWs want? To be different or the same as people from "nations"?

 

[Anna]

12 hours ago, Pudgy said:

nuanced theme throughout is that the entire Brotherhood has the collective memory of a goldfish.

😂 It's not that of course. Everyone will notice the switch and also the other new member on the far right.  It's that they can't be bothered to take a new photo is funny. I suppose it's easier and quicker to just do it this way....

 

[Anna]

Quote from the article below:

"My test is politics and business. When businessmen and politicians* adopt beards, we know we are in a true beard movement.”

*Add Jehovah's Witnesses.

 

https://www.truefittandhill.com/blogs/journal/history-of-beards-and-facial-hair

[TrueTomHarley]

12 hours ago, Pudgy said:

Perhaps George88, you could explain the following photo which has been used in previous publications, where non-person Anthony (tight pants Tony) Morrison is shown at the GB table (really great photo, by the way…. lighting, composition, posing etc. ….) which is in the February 2024 Watchtower but a NEW Governing Body Member has been photoshopped in where the nuanced theme throughout is that the entire Brotherhood has the collective memory of a goldfish.

Not that I would challenge you on this, but it would be better if you would point to the previous publication. Yes I see the 2024 one with the two new brothers. Where is the previous one you claim was photoshopped over? Unless you can point to it, you can easily be portrayed as the dupe with the mind of a goldfish.

[Pudgy]

I am glad you challenged me.   I am embarressed I don’t have a ready answer. I will search for it.

[Pudgy]

I found the reference … in the April 29-May 5, 2017 Watchtower on the JW. org website, but Tony Morris’ existence was already being erased, as the photoshop changes had already been done on the WT digital records.

It also shows the new GB members, totaling 9, which are two new current  2023 additions.

If anyone has a paper copy of that Watchtower of 6 years ago (I don’t), please photograph and post it here.

You know … the book “1984” was supposed to be a warning … not a policy manual.

Assuming a six-month lead time on Watchtowers, the original photo was taken in December, 2016. (just a guess).

I have known for years WHY the Society stopped producing Watchtower Bound Volumes, really, and seeing TPT actively getting erased from history, again confirms it.

[TrueTomHarley]

1 hour ago, Pudgy said:

 

I found the reference … in the April 29-May 5, 2017 Watchtower on the JW.org website,

You’re daft! It’s not the same picture at all! (assuming you mean the article, ‘Who is Leading God’s People Today,’ in the February 2017 Watchtower, which would have been studied around the dates you say.) The seven members photographed then are with entirely difference facial positions. The seating order is the same, that’s all.

If you do not mean that article, the you are going to have to be more specific as to what you do mean. The dates you mention, 4/29-5/5, do not correspond to anything on the Meeting Workbooks.

Until you are more specific, I’m going to assume you have hung out with liars too long and have uncritically lapped up what they fed you, surprising for one who, though ever hair-trigger ready to lambaste the GB, makes a big fuss over precision

1 hour ago, Pudgy said:

If anyone has a paper copy of that Watchtower of 6 years ago (I don’t), please photograph and post it here.

Yeah, that would settle it, but I still think you’re nuts. Even were AM photoshopped out, that is your conspiratorially-minded evidence that it is hoped Witnesses will forget he ever existed? No more so than Bro Cook appearing in the 2024 picture but not the 2017 might be taken for trying to make us think that he always existed.

[George88]

You're right, Tom. I'm tired of responding to incoherent statements.

According to the web search results, the clean-shaven look became popular in the early 1900s, when the Gillette Company patented the first safety razor and encouraged men to shave daily. The trend was also influenced by the discovery of bacteria and the preference of women for smooth faces. However, before and after that period, various styles of facial hair were fashionable in different eras, such as sideburns, mustaches, goatees, and beards. You can learn more about the history of facial hair in America by clicking on the links below. 😊

https://www.buzzfeed.com/brandensueper/american-facial-hair-throughout-history

https://www.insider.com/evolution-of-facial-hair-2018-11#today-lumbersexuals-12

https://www.almanac.com/history-shaving-and-beards

It's a pity that people are placing such excessive emphasis on this issue, similar to the exaggerated focus of 1975. Who are the instigators of this exaggeration among the people here?

[TrueTomHarley]

23 minutes ago, George88 said:

It's a pity that people are placing such excessive emphasis on this issue, similar to the exaggerated focus of 1975. Who are the instigators of this exaggeration among the people here?

Look for the guy with fleas.

[Pudgy]

Perhaps I have been sucker punched, but the last 2024 photo I posted came from the JW.org website. It’s a straight screenshot of the Feb. 2024 WT. 

In my search for the April 29, May 5, 2017 WT issue to check, I screwed up. 

My apologies … still checking …..

 

THIS is what I found in the February 2017 Digital JW.org files Watchtower.  

It looks like I have been bamboozled … again, my apologies to all. 

Thanks Tom for the well deserved criticism.

[BTK59]

8 hours ago, Srecko Sostar said:

Fellow Christians in JW have a mutual agreement about beards? 

Now they understand. Hopefully, witnesses will no longer raise uninformed questions about the discrepancies with other countries. International assemblies host many foreigners who are exposed to diverse cultures and their acceptance.

8 hours ago, Srecko Sostar said:

Well, well. This is Funny and/or Alarming.

Either way, it's just one person's opinion.

8 hours ago, Srecko Sostar said:

In the time of Jesus, there were people in both Greenland and Australia. What do they have to do with beards in the Jewish nation? Jesus is role model ... with his beard? Or not?

Among the mixture of Jews, there were also Romans who kept themselves impeccably groomed, with no trace of facial hair. It is worth noting that not everyone can pull off a beard, especially if it grows unevenly or appears unkempt. Maintaining a polished and presentable appearance is crucial for portraying oneself as a responsible individual; this is the image that should be prioritized.

8 hours ago, Srecko Sostar said:

Since JWs want to be like the first Christians who were mostly Jews, then it is important to remember that the Jews did not follow the world's trends in hairstyles, beards and clothes but stood out as different from their contemporaries. What do JWs want? To be different or the same as people from "nations"?

You've contradicted yourself, but I'll acknowledge the importance of appearing respectable throughout the generations. What was once considered unseemly in the past is now acceptable in the present.

If you comprehend the concept, that's great. If not, it's our responsibility to make it understandable.

Matthew 6:16-18 New International Version
Fasting
16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

[TrueTomHarley]

2 hours ago, Pudgy said:

THIS is what I found in the February 2017 Digital JW.org files Watchtower.  

It looks like I have been bamboozled … again, my apologies to all. 

Thanks Tom for the well deserved criticism.

If only a lesson was to be learned from it.