Dearest Jelly and CopperCorns (sorry, I like nicknames... ask anyone...)... may you have peace!
Jelly, you are correct. That's why I asked WHO did my Lord condemn? The WTBTS applies EVERYTHING to 'earthly' governments... and yet, our 'wrestling' is not WITH 'earthly' governments, but against 'the government, authorities, and world rulers of this DARKNESS, the wicked SPIRIT FORCES in... THE HEAVENLY PLACES.'
Ephesians 6:12 (please, see Greek)
But, of course, they got it wrong. Of course. They go around judging and condemning and saying everybody's got 'ta go... but them. And why not them? "The temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah we are." Same thing the Jews said. Did them... or their 'organization'... no good either.
CopperCorns (sorry, I know it's Copernicus, but...), I didn't think you rude at all. You simply didn't understand. No problem. There were things my Lord said that his disciples didn't understand right away, either. Unlike 'religion', however, when asked by those that 'belonged' to him, he condescended to explain. But he said that he spoke the way he did, so that some WOULDN'T get it. Why? You must remember: of the things revealed to Christ's slaves, even the ANGELS don't know and wish to 'peer' into.
If you were a king and you were setting up your 'cabinet' (or parliament or whathaveyou), you wouldn't speak in a way that made your 'sacred secrets' known to all, would you? For that could prove to be dangerous. You would speak in a way so that those who 'belonged' to you could either (a) understand right away, a 'code' per se, or (b) could have it explained to them in further detail at some later time, away from others. Yes? And that's all that happened. Truly, nothing 'new'... under the sun.
I try to speak in a way that ASSUMES intelligence, not ignorance. We all have the CAPACITY... and dictionaries... to look up words we don't understand. But we don't all have the wherewithall. I don't say that as a mockery, but as a truth... and a caution. Let me explain:
One the GREATEST 'tools' of religion (just as it is of ANY kind of slavery), is the ignorance of the masses... the enslaved. Religion COUNTS on you not knowing what words mean, where they originated, how they were originally rendered and meant to be used, how they were changed, who changed them... and for what purpose. They are COUNTING on you to not CARE enough... to find this stuff out. And THE greatest 'religion' at doing that... is the WTBTS.
You see, the WTBTS COUNTS on the fact that you... and many others... don't particularly LIKE to read, POSSESS limited reading comprehension skills... and WON'T look up word meanings. They COUNT on it. That's why they print the garbage and propaganda that they do! Again, I don't say this as a mockery... but as truth! Christianity is most guilty of this, restricting reading of the Bible FROM the laity and reserving it only for the heirarchy of priests, bishops, etc. The WTBTS leaders figured out that there IS nothing new under the sun... that mankind could STILL be 'misled'... and has made a FORTUNE... doing it.
Centuries ago, LOTS of folks were burned at the stake... for reading... and COMPREHENDING... what the Bible actually said, and stating that what the Catholic Church was TEACHING... was in opposition. The WTBTS is absolutely NO different. That is the very reason WHY they print so many publications. THEY... know YOU... aren't going to question what they say, because you don't really COMPREHEND what they say OR what the Bible says... and you won't TRY to... so, you are FAIR GAME... for being misled.
Again, no mockery... for I, too, was misled. But I questioned all along and was 'under suspicion' from day one. I just bought into that 'wait on Jehovah' melarkey, like so many others. Until I just couldn't 'buy it' anymore. Until I heard a voice that said, "READ IT AGAIN! and did, and saw the LIE."
What's my point? If you don't understand something... ASK! If you can't ask... you are in the WRONG place... among the WRONG people. People who speak truth... have NOTHING to hide... and have the answers to questions about THEIR statements. And if you don't understand a word... LOOK IT UP! If you can't look it up because you aren't sure of the spelling, use your MsWord or WordPerfect or other word processing program. Type the word at you THINK it should be spelled... then use the spellcheck. 9 times out of 10, it will give you the correct spelling. Then, you can click on your thesaurus... and see similar words that will give you a clue. And, as I said, there is ALWAYS the dictionary.
I am not trying to 'talk down' to you... or chastise you. Perhaps you know all of this already. But I have found that a LOT of people don't read pertinent information... or skip over words they don't know or understand... to their one detriment. They either don't get useful information... or misinterpret it... or have it misinpreted TO them, because of the 'oh well, it's not important' attitude.
And like I said, religion... particularly the WTBTS... is counting on that.
So, if I EVER post anything that you don't understand, all you need do is ask, and I will explain it further, okay? I promise.
And I remain...
Your servant, and a slave of Christ,
SJ