Pjdriver

That reminds me of the man that walked up to a Jew and slapped him in the face. The Jew. said; "Why did you do that?" The man said: “You people murdered my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”. The Jew complained: “that was over 2000 years ago!!!" The man surprised, replied: “Well,......I just heard about it yesterday”.

We have a separate topic for Music videos. I don’t have a link, but someone knows it. Great song.

There's a bit of controversy surrounding O.J. Simpson's book, "If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer," which many have interpreted as a roundabout admission of guilt. The book offers a hypothetical description of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. There was a lot of controversy around Simpson attempting to profit from the crimes. The book's publication and a related TV interview were initially canceled due to public outcry, although the book was later released by a different publisher. Judith Regan, the book's editor, considered it to be Simpson's confession. Additionally, the planned TV interview was to feature Simpson describing how he would have committed the murders "if he were the one responsible," suggesting an indirect admission Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_I_Did_It:_Confessions_of_the_Killer . What innocent person would ever write a book how he would have killed his ex wife who he claimed to still love and an innocent young man? He was not a good man.....but Manasseh wasn’t either.

I enjoy watching the NBA. I would say about 3/4 of the players have beards. I see them more now than ever. I think there’s is something very natural about it. Think about it. Women were distinctly created with a smooth complexion. Why would Jehovah create man with facial hair that grows as fast as the the hair on your head if it wasn’t natural....in fact that’s what makes it natural. Was Adam created with a full grown beard? Or was he smooth and then let it grow? Or did he shave?

Our Congregation Servant as they were called back in the day, was an assassin, out get Nazi high ranking officers for the Polish Govt’ during WWII. Long interesting story but I remember him having demonstrations using his wife to show how we could preach under ban door to door or just making RVs. She wood enter a building dressed a certain way....she rearranged a couple things and came out looking very different. You could tell, they’ve done this before. This brother escaped from a Nazi camp, made it to the U.S. The Nazi that was assigned to track him down came to the U.S. after the war and both met each other at a convention when one seen the other getting baptized. Years later, after being in the same congregation as the assassin, I was then in the same congregation as the son of the Nazi sent to get my old assassin Congregation Servant. In the 1960s I was letting my hair grow a little to blend in....not real bad, but he came up to me messed my hair up and said in a serious tone: “Are you trying to be a girl?” I got my hair cut!

Now, they could confuse us with Amash Whatever we can do to confuse them.

Getting back to our recent relaxing of the dress code.....does anyone get the feeling we may be preparing to blend in more as the GT approaches , especially in the ministry?

Doug, I know what you mean, but it’s all about who has love for Jehovah and faith in his promises. I recall a sister Nancy Yuen.....who was from a wealthy family that even had servants. She never worked hard a day in her life. She became one of Jehovah’s witnesses in China under communist rule. She was arested several times for preaching. After several times, they sentenced her to 20 years hard labor. She told me they interrogated her for months trying to break her integrity. She showed me her scars where they tied her elbows close together behind her back, so she couldn’t pray. That’s how crazy they were. Her husband who was very wealthy, but not a JW finally was able to get her out somehow, I can’t remember. She moved to San Francisco, where my wife and I met her. She wanted to cook dinner for us, as we tried to insist on taking her out. So we went to her apartment right in downtown near Chinatown. I recall she placed a big plate on the table with a huge cooked fish, but it was still whole, with the eyes staring at me. She told us her full experience.......But she talked about it like it was a great experience in the Ministry. She always gave credit for her endurance to Jehovah’s power. Good people come in all flavors. Although Jesus did say....it would be 'easier for a camel to go thru the eye of a needle, than a RICH man to get into the Kingdom of God’.

Dave, it’s interesting that the Bible speaks of Jehovah having both Male and female qualities.....but before he "created male and female” Gender did not exist. He specifically gave females certain qualities and males certain qualities. However he encourages all of us to learn from both qualities. A child raised with 2 good parents will generally be a more balanced in their views and appreciate both qualities, male and female. In the Bible, when referring to God and angels, including Satan, the pronouns used are typically masculine, such as "he," "him," “his”, and Father and son in many instances. This is the case in both the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Greek Scriptures. Angels, when mentioned with pronouns or names, also use masculine terms. The two angels named in the Bible, Michael and Gabriel, are given masculine names. In narratives involving angels, they are described using masculine pronouns. For example, in Genesis 19:1-5, the angels who visit Lot in Sodom are referred to as "men," and masculine pronouns are used throughout the account. Way Back in the day, masculine terms were often used generically to refer to persons whose gender was not specified or when referring to a group that included both males and females. As for Jehovah, while masculine pronouns are used, it's important to note as our current WT study shows...that Jehovah is described as having qualities that we might consider feminine as well. For instance, Isaiah 66:13 portrays God as comforting His people "as a mother comforts her son." But since the Bible always depicts heavenly creatures as male.....the artwork follows that pattern. However, this in no way diminishes the value of feminine qualities that all heavenly creatures including the creator himself possess . Men do not possess superior qualities than women by any virtue of just being a man. Men were created to be the head of the woman but he was not created superior to the woman.

The fracking part doesn't usually make any significant earthquakes. The shakes it causes are very minor, often too small for us to feel. However, when the leftover waste water from fracking (and other similar activities) gets pumped back into the ground, that's when there might be trouble. This process can mess with the underground pressures and sometimes trigger bigger earthquakes. As for California, it's a special case. The state is naturally shaky because it sits on the edge of two Tectonic plates and they grind against each other. This is what causes most of California's big quakes, not human activity like fracking. In some other places, like Oklahoma, there's evidence that pumping fracking waste water deep into the ground has made more earthquakes happen.

And don’t forget.....clean underwear.

Carlos, yes they tell us when and where to wear a suit and tie. Where did the suit and tie originate? We don’t set the trends. The world does or a local areas. We are a little slow to catch up and that is why we are all surprised at the beards and less “formal” dress in the ministry etc.... But we eventually got there. If all the "who’s is who" folks stopped wearing suits and ties altogether,.....we would eventually stop as well. But those changes will affect the brother policies, it just may take some time. So yes I understand the elders decide what we wear on the platform.....but I’m talking about who sets the styles in the first place. In that sense, the world has a great influence on our dress choices, albeit innocuous. Sorry if I misunderstood you. I think we probably agree, but are coming from different angles.

And now we are heading in that direction. I’m not complaining....I’m happy about. Just sayin that’s the way it works for the most part. When in Rome do as the Romans. Paul wasn’t talking about their immoral conduct.

That was more or less a party to raise $$$$$ Not real formal.

If the president and business men etc...all stopped wearing ties....so would we. True? You’re talking about GB just decides where and when we wear what the world wears. Notice they alway qualify what to wear with: if that is the standard of dress in that land. (in the world). We don’t start the trends..... the world does.

Carlos, ultimately, our choice of dress is greatly influenced by the 'who's who' in the world, or even in your own area. I don’t mean they directly dictate our choices, but we observe the latest trends along with what we consider modest by scriptural principles, and voilà: we have a dress code. It’s the world’s trends along with modesty that determine our code. When in Rome (Worldly place) do as the Romans do (in moderation)

Didn't you see the picture? Beards in heaven.

Could beards be a requirement for heavenly life? Haven’t you noticed all the pictures of those in Heaven have beards? We had the clues all along.... and we just couldn’t see it! Perhaps the brothers are preparing themselves for heavenly life. The end Must be near.

I don’t believe all decisions made.... MUST be from Jehovah. If that were true it probably would have been done sooner. Jehovah allows the GB to think on their own, following bible principles as they can understand them. This dress code is as much about policy, culture as it is about Bible principles. So discretion is often left to the Faithful and “Discreet” slave. If this wasn’t true we would not need to correct mistakes and interpretations etc...

“The Bible principle is to show honor and dignity.....how we apply that as it specifically relates to styles of clothing.....is a directly related to the "cultural norms”. Make sense? With Cultural norms where I live, most people do not wear a suit and tie anymore. However, some groups, organizations, politicians, and businesses persons may feel it more appropriate to dress more formally at certain times. That’s the "cultural norm" where I live. In some areas they never wore a tie. We have found a balance. The friends teaching the congregation with talks and parts from the platform would dress more formal.....But otherwise just look clean and not casual. It’s no right or wrong, it’s our cultural view point, and following the principle: “when in Rome, do as the Romans do". That’s all! Does that make more sense?

I remember I had a personal conversation with Brother Jaracz years ago and we were talking about changes. He specifically said; Before we take any action or make any changes, we want to be sure, we won’t have to “Backup”. Meaning reverse any decisions. One thing you can be sure of is that the GB gave this a lot of consideration, including the optics and feelings of some the Ultra Conservations among us....and the culture shock some may experience . They found a balance, which is not easy to do. Now we just have to also be balanced in our approach to being less “formal”, yet not casual.

Good point. Like Paul and Bob Dylan both said: “Times, they are a Changin’ “ When in Rome, do as the Romans do. -Paul

I think one problem from moving closer to the middle with styles is that some will have a hard time distinguishing between casual and more dress up. I’m sure there will be an adjustment period....then it will be fine.

Hi David, I think the problem is..... you are expressing a cultural view, not a right and wrong view. It’s easy to mix them up. So it’s more a personal opinion than a Bible principle. You are correct about being dignified, and respectful.....etc. However ask yourself; Who gets to decide what specific clothing is dignified? Is there a scripture? It’s generally a culture consideration. That means basically a group opinion. At one time the group opinion was that a suit and tie and a dress etc...was the only way to show dignity for the occasion. Now, the group opinion is that suits are not exclusive to making something dignified. When my grandparents were young it was dignified for a woman to wear a dress to the floor. A skirt up to the knees would have been inappropriate and looked down on. There’s been a multitude of cultural changes since Adam. That being said.....If someone like yourself feels it’s not dignified for you yourself to go without a tie, then you should keep wearing ties. No one should criticize you. They should respect your personal choice. What you and many others now are feeling is called "Cultural Shock”. Give it a few months my brother.