Paul, I now believe you are genuine. Apologies for doubting.
As Happeanna says, you handled an extraordinary and tragic day, brilliantly.
experienced a series of odd coincidences today.
this morning i noticed a friend had "liked" a picture i had posted on facebook.
i hadn't spoken with him for a while so i texted him that we should get together to 'catch up' some time soon.
Paul, I now believe you are genuine. Apologies for doubting.
As Happeanna says, you handled an extraordinary and tragic day, brilliantly.
experienced a series of odd coincidences today.
this morning i noticed a friend had "liked" a picture i had posted on facebook.
i hadn't spoken with him for a while so i texted him that we should get together to 'catch up' some time soon.
Okay Paul, perhaps I am jumping to conclusions. If you are genuine, then I offer my genuine apologies.
experienced a series of odd coincidences today.
this morning i noticed a friend had "liked" a picture i had posted on facebook.
i hadn't spoken with him for a while so i texted him that we should get together to 'catch up' some time soon.
given recent posts on the forum and discussion, maybe we could play this game: would i lie to you?
in the uk we have this tv programme where minor celebrities tell weird or embarrassing stories about themselves and the rest of the participants have to guess if it is a true story or made up.
when the others have voted then the person reveals if the story is true or false.
In relation to my own two stories, 2 is a complete fabrication.
in relation to 1, I did flour the story to throw people off the scent.
Firstly, my active JW wife has indeed viewed all the proceedings. She knows the proceedings better than me. I have no idea how she came to investigate that. My guess was that it came from someone at KH, but I just don't know. That was just a surmise or dubious extrapolation on my part.
Secondly, my second para is completely true, except it happened months ago, and:
(A) I don't know whether or not the old lady has internet access. I just threw that in, given a recent post by John Aquila.
(B) As bizarre as it might seem, I don't detect an internal struggle in my wife. In fact, I do not understand how someone who knows what she knows is still in the "truth", but she is rock solid.
So overall, by many people's standards, my first post was true.
Anyway, that was fun! Perhaps a good workout for people's b.s. detector as well.
given recent posts on the forum and discussion, maybe we could play this game: would i lie to you?
in the uk we have this tv programme where minor celebrities tell weird or embarrassing stories about themselves and the rest of the participants have to guess if it is a true story or made up.
when the others have voted then the person reveals if the story is true or false.
My guesses:
Anders: I would have picked 2 as more real. (I see you say both are true.)
LoveUni: I picked 2 as I knew enough about running to know 1 was impossible .
Nicolaou: 1. Is very plausible. 2. is not the way people typically react. Hence I guess 1.
PeteZ: I would have picked 3 and 4. I guess I got one right.
greatteacher: I guessed 2 because I couldn't understand how your husband's boss got to the other side of the door after locking it. I obviously read too much into that.
sbf: 1 is quite plausible. 2 is not quite right.
Bonsai: 2, or wouldn't post.
TMS: 1. Language not quite right (too theatrical) for 2. Also I can't see a panel of 3 reversing a decision.
TMS again: 1, as 2 is not the way people generally behave in that situation.
given recent posts on the forum and discussion, maybe we could play this game: would i lie to you?
in the uk we have this tv programme where minor celebrities tell weird or embarrassing stories about themselves and the rest of the participants have to guess if it is a true story or made up.
when the others have voted then the person reveals if the story is true or false.
I will take up sbf's challenge.
**************
Story 1:
I can not believe it. I have hope for the downfall of the borg.
I have read here that those that are still in the borg don't talk about the Australian Royal Commission. Well that is not the case in my wife's congregation. Not only that, my wife actually has viewed all the proceedings. I don't know the details of what they discuss when they go out on field service, but I suspect that there they talk more openly.
Linked to the discussions they have, there is an elderly sister in my wife's congregation, that lives not far from us, that my wife sometimes picks up and drives to meetings. Through her life living in a number of Australian congregations following her husband around (now deceased). She told my wife that Jehovah is simply not "with" some of those congregations. This is a lady in her 80's that does not have access to the internet, and webstes such as these. Her words have had an effect on how my wife views Watchtower. Unfortunately her faith has not been broken yet, but I can detect an internal struggle.
Story 2:
Our local Kingdom Hall is set on a slip road to an arterial highway. There is a Pentecostal Church further up the slip road, but otherwise the area is taken up by light industry (small factories, warehouses etc). The nearest residential plots are a street back. I guess when it came to build a Kingdom Hall, it was cheap land.
Recently, a friend of mine in the commercial real estate business has been asked to provide some advice on that kingdom hall. In particular, advice on its potential as commercial real estate. My friend explained it is worth virtually nothing as a meeting hall as there are plenty of those around and they don't generate much income. It has no value as a retail outlet either, given its location. However, its location as a warehouse and storage facility is huge, especially given the existing carpark and fairly secure fencing around it. It is set on a large block of land.
I gather someone is probing the market. My friend did not say who. At the moment two congregations operate from that Kingdom Hall, but the numbers that attend my wife's have dropped to around 30 to 40. I can see them combining the congregations with others nearby. There are 2 that are within 20 mins drive, and it would make sense for them to rationalise. Or at least it would make sense if Watchtower is nothing more than a publishing and real estate business.
*********
There you go. One of those stories is true. The other is completely false.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlchmi0cc00
I woke up this morning with a feeling I wrote something silly on this thread, last night. I deserve the mockery.
Anyway, OneEyedJoe makes the point I was trying to make.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlchmi0cc00
That was not a very good explanation. In fact, if you did not have a basic understanding of quantum mechanics, you would probably think this guy is talking a load of crap.
I won't try to explain his bubbles and multiverses for the moment. Another day, perhaps.
I felt listening to it, I could explain it better, even though this guy probably knows way more than I do.
I will give it a brief go. Quantum mechanics predicts that completely empty space is unstable and via statistics and probability, lumps of energy and mass will coagulate within that space. As a result of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, that will result in more space and time, which will in turn result in more matter and energy. This is the mis-named "big bang" which is really just a big expansion.
What I like is that in this respect, quantum mechanics is such a complete answer to the first 3 of Thomas Aquinas's "proof" of the existence of God (or Jehovah).
Mary was somewhat apprehensive about the legal aspects but felt that in this situation Bible principles should carry more weight than the requirement that she protect the privacy of the medical records. Surely the sister would not want to become resentful and try to retaliate by making trouble for her, she reasoned. So when Mary analyzed all the facts available to her, she decided conscientiously that this was a time to "speak," not to "keep quiet."
Great posts Gentledawn. I will have to get a copy of Watchtower, September 1, 1987.
check it out ..the dubs are shown about 1 min 45 secs into the video.. notice the witness' fib in the written report ?
paragraph starting "i asked them.....".
i leave you to comment.... http://www.aljazeera.com/blogs/europe/2015/12/tired-cold-refugees-wait-head-unknown-151225082744366.html.
Others bring bottled water, food, medical care, shelter.
These so called Christians just bring their crappy magazines.
By the way, the video focuses on two signs put up by the witnesses. The first one is in Arabic and says (loose translation): "Here you will find material setting out God's promises for the future." The second sign is written in Farsi, and I don't know what it says.