Posts by Charles Gillette

So then, the earthquakes in Haiti and the tsunami that took millions of lives..happened for a reason what reason can we give for the Holocaust. Ask those individuals not to worry it all happened to you for a reason. I just cannot accept this. Blueblades

56

Do You Ever Wish That Hillary Was President?

by minimus in

jw
friends

hillary is very supportive of doing whatever it takes to undermine trump.

would you be happy if she were your president?.

Charles Gillette

Hillary would of been OBAMAS third term. His legacy was in her hands. Can you read between the lines. Remember when Obama told Putin "When I get re-elected for a second term I will be better able to help you."He did not say "IF" he said when I get re-elected. Is that not collusion with Russia? He did not know that there was a open mic. If Trump said that the media would of played it back 24/7. However they are quiet and have buried that tape.

22

Everything Happens For A Reason

by Charles Gillette in

jw
friends

does everything happen for a reason?

i hear this from so many people without any explanation as how this is so.

what do you think about this belief?

Charles Gillette

Does everything happen for a reason? I hear this from so many people without any explanation as how this is so. What do you think about this belief? I will share an explanation and I would like you to express what you think about it. When bad things happen,for example,accidents,disease,famine,poverty etc. If everything happens for a reason,then some agent must have wanted them to happen.If a person can be fingered for the misfortune,he can be punished or squeezed for damages.If no individual can be singled out,one might blame the nearest ethnic or religious minority,who can be lynched or massacred in a pogrom. If no mortal can plausibly be indicted,one might cast about for witches,who may be burned or drowned. Failing that,one points to sadistic gods,who cannot be punished but can be placated with prayers and sacrifices.And then there are disembodied forces like Karma,fate,spiritual messages,cosmic justice,and other guarantors of the intuition that "everything happens for a reason." Could it be instead that misfortunes may be no ones fault. To which of the above do you ascribe to and why? I myself don'believe that everything happens for a reason,it just is what it is and humans or animals or nature can be the cause of so much suffering and unforeseen things. Yes someone or thing can be at fault. I give credit to Steven Pinker and his new book...Enlightenment Now..The case for Reason,Science,Humanism,and Progress. Everything happens for a reason has always bothered me because i could not give a person who says this to me a clear answer. Thanks to Steven Pinker I can give them something to think about.

By an old time member Blueblades since 2002

14

Death

by Charles Gillette in

jw
friends

i often wonder about death.

no one has any idea, do they?

people have speculated since the beginning of time but each original concept of the hereafter as been absurd as the one before.

Charles Gillette

I often wonder about Death. What is it really? No one has any idea, do they? People have speculated since the beginning of time but each original concept of the hereafter as been absurd as the one before. How did Hamlet put it before his own demise? Didn't he describe death as "an undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveler returns?" Is that what we fear, the unknown quantity of the Great Beyond? Is it a glorious heaven, a destructive hell, a great black nothingness, or all the above? Is there a Grim Reaper? I have been a watchtower slave for 33 years. Frm 1969 through 2002. I faded and moved away from the Watchtower in Brooklyn. I joined this site 16 years ago as Blueblades in 2002. We have had many discussions on this topic. However since new ones have joined us, I wonder what contributions they can bring on this very painful topic on Death. I am now 73 years old and don't have much time left above ground. I have come to accept that once your physical body stops functioning, thats it. I have read read many books on this subject and you can decide for yourself, really is there life after death? I have no fear of something I have no knowledge of. Science has estimated that about 180 Billion humans have come and gone on this planet and no one has come back on earth and explained about the hereafter. Of course one can point to most Holy BOOKS and be satisfied and have faith in what the writers have written. I for one cannot. Blueblades. How about you?

5

So let me get this right about what your saying about Jesus!

by nowwhat? in

jesus the non judgmental man who ate with sinners, fed the hungry, showed compassion for the poor, and who wanted mercy not sacrifice is the going to be leading the charge out of heaven with fire in eyes and out for blood.

killing 99.9 % of all men, women and children on earth.

because they didn't heed some obscure religious group that hadn't gotten one bible prophecy right in almost 150 years?!

Charles Gillette

Its one of the best fiction book of all time. Don't lose any sleep over it.How do the writers in the Red Letter King James version 50 and more years later know that those are the exact words of Jesus. Misquoting Jesus,the story behind who changed the Bible,the wording and why. Bart D. Ehrman. Read this one.

29

What’s your opinion—-Wearing a Trump Hat ok to get kicked out of bar?

by minimus in

jw
friends

maga hat...make america great again .

guy wears it in nyc bar and gets thrown out.

manhattan court throws out the case citing that since its not religious discrimination, it’s the bar’s right.. what so you think about this?

Charles Gillette

Usually establishments have the code of rules on what is proper and improper in their place of business.Having this displayed as one enters prevents any misunderstanding.

81

Roll Call for the benefit of Newbies and Lurkers. In One Sentence tell why you left the Org.

by Wasanelder Once in

roll call for the benefit of newbies and lurkers.

in one sentence tell why you left the org.

not 2 sentences.

Charles Gillette

Ray Franz's two books Crises of Conscience and Christian Freedom,along with reading the Bible's creation account and the four different accounts in the gospel concerning Jesus's resurrection.

10

How do we Avoid...becoming Intellectually Dishonest?

by TerryWalstrom in

intellectual honesty: "i am willing to be wrong when facts go against cherished beliefs.".

are you willing to be wrong?.

without a willingness to be wrong (who can always be right?

Charles Gillette

Carl Sagan's Baloney Kit, is a very good chapter in his Demon Haunted World book shining a candle in the dark. Also,What happens when two scholars on the same subject for example Jesus existed, no Jesus never existed have different so-called proofs to back them up. Its like plaintiff and defendant arguments. Of cause one can do their own research also but that's not what I'm asking. The two scholars swear that they are the one who have the facts right.There is only one correct answer to the question did Jesus son of God really exist. I doubt that these two opposing scholars are using what you have shown here in Topic. So, we are left to come to the answer ourselves. I don't think that the question about Jesus existence matters at all for non believers, however, it does for believers. Blue Blades