Joe Grundy

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Posts by Joe Grundy

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  16

  Send money to KH in lieu of flowers.

  by Jack Miller in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  "in lieu of flowers send money to the kingdom hall"..... wow.... this young woman's jw servant husband was caught cheating on her again with another jw "sister", but when she told her husband she wanted to forgive him again and continue with her marriage, he told her he didn't want that.

  he wanted her to simply move on with her life.here is how she moved on: she put on her wedding dress, got into her car in the garage and started it.

  do you think finding her this way spoke louder than any suicide note?

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  Joe Grundy

  "You can't directly blame the Society for this tragedy"

  Yes you can, for the reasons outlined in your post.  The indoctrination took its toll.
  
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  25

  Blondie's Comments on the 1-18-2015 WT Study (HOLY)

  by blondie in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  november 15, 2014 wt study issue.

  january 18, 2015 to be studied.

  opening comments.

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  Joe Grundy

  "Although we are not under the Mosaic Law, its requirements give us insight into what is acceptable or unacceptable in God’s sight."

  (I never was a JW).

  This quote is an excellent example of the problem that christians have in trying to maintain continuity from the OT god, bridge the gap between the god of vengeance and 'gentle Jesus, meek and mild'.  (Especially the xians who relegate the books of the Maccabees, etc., to apocryphal status).  It was a problem for me when I was, a long time ago, a BAC.  The doctrine of a .'new covenant of grace' and the other explanations don't really cut it and don't square with the unchanging god teachings.   There's a good reason, I think, why most don't like to ponder these points (they're in the 'too hard' box) and it's a really difficult point for JWs because (it seems to me) WTBTS is much keener on OT than NT.  (Is it coincidence that Beth Sarim was designated for use by the OT 'princes'? - after Rutherford was finished with it, of course).

  The logical problem is quite straightforward.  A law is either in force or it is not.  If a law is no longer in force it is because it has been repealed, and laws are repealed or superceded because they are no longer applicable or relevant or in accordance with current views.  Their insights into what was acceptable is discarded.   (Easy examples are laws concerning slavery, homosexuality, etc.)

  Probably the most widely-known item under mosaic law is the prohibition of eating pork.  Simple to understand, not much interpretation required.  No great scholarship required to decipher the 'insight' into 'what is acceptable'.  And yet, AFAIK, the GB, that almost-but-not-quite-divinely-inspired distributor of god's instructions, has rarely or ever issued a pronouncement on this vital subject.

  One could make the point that a god who was at least as competent as an average legislator could make his laws at least as clear-cut as man-made laws (which is to say always open to interpretation on the finer points) and not rely on vague 'insights'.

  Here's a topical example from the UK.  The age of consent is 16,  Until the 2003 Act, a teacher who had sex with a 17 or 18 year old pupil committed no criminal offence.  Since that Act, a 'person in authority' who has sex with a person under 18 commits a crime.  Straightforward, no 'insight' required.

  Although, in my example it's not clear what the situation would be if the pupil was his/her wife (age for marriage is 16).  Forget that.

  My point is - by this quote the GB is strengthening their position that THEY are the ones who can interpret the insight into what is 'acceptable'.  This is rubbish.

  
  

  (PS - apologies for rambling.)
  
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  10

  Islamaphobia

  by Joe Grundy in

  1. social
  2. current

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzwzfpzw0ps.

  je suis charlie.

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  Joe Grundy

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzWZFPzw0Ps

  Je suis Charlie
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  43

  Je Suis Charlie

  by Slidin Fast in

  1. social
  2. current

  this incident in paris makes me feel absolutely furious.

  yes i feel desperately sorry for the victims and their families no one should have to deal with that.

  the thing that makes me feel absolutely incandescent though is the attack on freedom of speech and expression.

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  Joe Grundy

  Je suis Charlie aussi.

  This was an horrendous crime which, IMO, will have extremely serious repercussions.  Maybe members outside Europe don't realise how this dominating news across Europe this morning.

  After the Danish cartoon scandal some nine years ago Christopher Hitchens delivered some very forthright speeches, and he was absolutely right.

  There was already foment in many European countries.  Yesterday, by sad coincidence, my brother and I were discussing tensions here in the UK.  And the news reported publication of a new novel 'Submission' by France's most popular novelist which plausibly foresaw an Islamist government in France in 2025.

  There was already unrest throughout Europe - from recent events in Scandinavia, through Germany, France with the NF, to UK with its range from rabid nationalism to milder but loony UKIP.  And those are only the bits I know about.

  IMO, there are enough problems in the world that we need to solve (hunger, disease, poverty) and I am generally optimistic that we, as humanity, can achieve a lot.  Divisions caused by imaginary offence to imaginary deities only get in the way.

  I am minded of the fatwas issued against Rushdie merely for writing a novel, and I can't help but wonder why the imams of the various islamic cults don't issue fatwas against their own nutters carrying out these acts.

  (And, while I'm in rant mode, if the JW GB REALLY believed all their crap, why aren't they in Iraq/Syria/etc. explaining to radical islamists why they're wrong?)

  It's a futile dream to imagine that all organised religion would disppear but it's tantalising to wonder how much humanity could achieve without it.

  Je suis Charlie.
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  12

  Tragedy and God's Will

  by cultBgone in

  1. social
  2. current

  it's utterly amazing to me how religious belief in an omnipotent deity shapes some people's thinking.. one woman whose family missed the air asia flight which crashed stated that it was god's will to give her father hepatitis so that she canceled her family's vacation trip on that flight.

  she says she believes god saved her family and protected them.

  however, she later mourns the fact that she lost friends on the flight...so does she believe god deliberately planned for them to die?

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  Joe Grundy

  I was interested to hear/read of Bart Ehrman's story.  He is a renowned NT scholar, author,  etc. and well-worth checking out on youtube.

  Despite his academic work which identified the inconsistencies etc. in the NT what led him to become an agnostic/atheist from being a fully-committed BAC was the issue of 'suffering'.  Worth looking at the interviews on yt he's given on this.
  
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  24

  Christmas Eve Afternoon

  by Joe Grundy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  well, it's christmas eve afternoon here now in the uk.. traditionally a time when all the panic shopping is over, what's done is done, what you've forgotten you've forgotten, time to raise a glass (or two) and relax.. so may i wish all members/readers/posters a very happy xmas, whether you celebrate it or not, and extra 'get up and go' for 2015.. best wishes to all.. .

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  Joe Grundy

  Thank you, and best wishes to you.

  I will spend tomorrow (Xmas day) with my son, my sort-of daughter in law and my grand-daughters (3 & 5). Looking forward to it.

  It's 2.30 pm here. The sun is shining and I should go for a walk n the beach. But instead I'm going to drink some pretty good beer and listen to old Prairie Home Companion shows online!
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  24

  Christmas Eve Afternoon

  by Joe Grundy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  well, it's christmas eve afternoon here now in the uk.. traditionally a time when all the panic shopping is over, what's done is done, what you've forgotten you've forgotten, time to raise a glass (or two) and relax.. so may i wish all members/readers/posters a very happy xmas, whether you celebrate it or not, and extra 'get up and go' for 2015.. best wishes to all.. .

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  Joe Grundy

  I'd like to expand on my own previous comments, if I may.

  Here on JWN there are often very different views expressed (sometimes not so tactfully) and sometimes hackles are roused.

  But, in the overall scheme of things I like to think that there is a fundamental sense of goodwill, and a substantial bank of practical help, available to those who need it. Sometimes, of course, people who may need it have been directly damaged by WTBTS. In other cases the cause of the damage is more tangential.

  I believe that the 'well of goodwill' (sorry if that sounds a bit soppy but it's been exhibited here many times by so many posters) is a substantial thing which I, for one, appreciate.

  I believe (as as a never-was dub) that this goodwill may be the most potent force in helping those suffering from the effects of WTBTS to realise that those of us in the 'real world' aren't so bad.

  Sorry, that was a clumsy way to say what I'm trying to put across.
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  24

  Christmas Eve Afternoon

  by Joe Grundy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  well, it's christmas eve afternoon here now in the uk.. traditionally a time when all the panic shopping is over, what's done is done, what you've forgotten you've forgotten, time to raise a glass (or two) and relax.. so may i wish all members/readers/posters a very happy xmas, whether you celebrate it or not, and extra 'get up and go' for 2015.. best wishes to all.. .

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  Joe Grundy

  Heaven: thanks for your comments. Anyone would have done the same. There is a trendous amount of strength and caring here on JWN, available unconditionally where and when it is needed.

  Phizzy: Cheers - yes it is. A bottle of Old Speckled Hen is going down very well here. I have a couple more, then I may have to force myself to walk a couple of hundred yards to the Cricket Club ...
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  24

  Christmas Eve Afternoon

  by Joe Grundy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  well, it's christmas eve afternoon here now in the uk.. traditionally a time when all the panic shopping is over, what's done is done, what you've forgotten you've forgotten, time to raise a glass (or two) and relax.. so may i wish all members/readers/posters a very happy xmas, whether you celebrate it or not, and extra 'get up and go' for 2015.. best wishes to all.. .

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  Joe Grundy

  Well, it's Christmas Eve afternoon here now in the UK.

  Traditionally a time when all the panic shopping is over, what's done is done, what you've forgotten you've forgotten, time to raise a glass (or two) and relax.

  So may I wish all members/readers/posters a very happy Xmas, whether you celebrate it or not, and extra 'get up and go' for 2015.

  Best wishes to all.
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  25

  Stupid comment Witness made about the Exodus film.

  by Trapped in JW land in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i was talking with two brothers at the kingdom hall the other day.

  one of them suggested seeing the new exodus movie.

  the other brother says, "i heard it's really violent"!

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  Joe Grundy

  Oh, brother ADCMS. you're not thinking 'properly' (tm) here.

  Further prayerful reflection and study of the 'Divine Food' will surely bring you to the correct view that this was merely Jehovah demonstrating his loving ways.

  (If you find it difficult to come to this correct view, Elders Dumb and Dumber would love to have a chat with you).