Giles Gray

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Posts by Giles Gray

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  52

  Gas or Electric Stove

  by just fine in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am getting new appliances.

  i have decided on black stainless for the finish.

  the house is stubbed for gas and electric for the range.

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  Giles Gray

  Gas... just in case the JWs come knocking and you get the urge to stick your head in the oven.
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  24

  Uninvited...again...

  by Anders Andersen in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so a week or so ago we received an invitation for a jw friend's wedding anniversary party in the mail.it was addressed to 'the andersen family' (and not just mrs. andersen & baby andersen) which was pleasant of course, but not a huge surprise given the type of person who said friend is.. however, i already prepared myself to be uninvited after all.

  some time ago, there was a congregation farewell party/get-together.to my surprise, i was invited too!

  an elder specifically came over to my house to tell me.then some weeks later, he visited again, being terribly sorry but the invitation was revoked as the congregation got concerned over my possible presence.. with that debacle in mind, i wasn't surprised to receive a message from my friend 'hey are you at home?

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  Giles Gray

  AA:- "I would have gone. JW rules do not apply to me and I will not have my decisions influenced by their bullshit manipulation and abuse."

  No wonder you were not invited. With that kind of attitude... It's just not cricket!

  AA:- " Other never-JW people will be at the party too. Apparently they are much better company than I am"

  Their loss is our gain. Spoilsports.

  Hope those points you made open your wife's mind just a little.
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  24

  Uninvited...again...

  by Anders Andersen in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so a week or so ago we received an invitation for a jw friend's wedding anniversary party in the mail.it was addressed to 'the andersen family' (and not just mrs. andersen & baby andersen) which was pleasant of course, but not a huge surprise given the type of person who said friend is.. however, i already prepared myself to be uninvited after all.

  some time ago, there was a congregation farewell party/get-together.to my surprise, i was invited too!

  an elder specifically came over to my house to tell me.then some weeks later, he visited again, being terribly sorry but the invitation was revoked as the congregation got concerned over my possible presence.. with that debacle in mind, i wasn't surprised to receive a message from my friend 'hey are you at home?

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  Giles Gray

  AA:- "I explained to him what a disgusting practice it is to try and force people into a religion by using emotional blackmail. That's it's very hypocritical to send letters to Putin demanding freedom of religion, yet refusing to allow others their freedom."

  Great point.

  Hope that got him and your other half thinking.

  I might have to ask the JWs that question.

  I'm dying to know... would you have gone if you were invited?
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  38

  Humourous reactions to beards worn at the kingdom Hall

  by UnshackleTheChains in

  1. social
  2. humour

  is this the reaction you get when you walk into a kingdom hall sporting your new beard 🙄.

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  Giles Gray

  DOC:- "old Sister Murphy who for years has had a beard that would embarrass most teenage guys"

  Reminds me of one day when I was at the book group. An elderly sister had a very endearing but cheeky child sitting on her knee, having a chit chat.

  All of a sudden the young boy looked her right in the face, and in a very stark but mischievous tone, pointed out to the sister that she had a moustache.

  One of the few times I was glad I attended the book study.
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  17

  No matter our beliefs, we can all benefit from some simple wisdom about "karma." 12 Laws of Karma That Will Change Your Life

  by kpop in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  whether atheist, such as myself, agnostic or a strong believer in a god, i'd like to share something with you all about karma.

  it relates back to my post about marcus aurelius and a quote often accredited to him on the best way to live.

  i think this will benefit those who are just waking up from the jw cult and wondering, what's next?.

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  Giles Gray

  kpop:- I'm going to be a cut-throat, vicious SOB and take whatever I can get from anyone.

  That's the spirit...

  In so many cases in life, this approach actually works better than being considerate and kind.
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  16

  JW Guide to Critical Thinking

  by Saename in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  just found this chart on reddit here: reddit.

  and here's a copy:.

  what i find scary is that... it's accurate.

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  Giles Gray

  So true.

  This strategy encourages Jehovah's Witnesses to make the claim they use critical thinking.

  It's enough to make you facepalm.
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  167

  Sudden General Election in UK to be held June 8th 2017

  by freddo in

  1. social
  2. current

  theresa may the british p.m. has called for an election.. the house of commons has to vote tomorrow and have a two-thirds majority to agree and the main opposition parties want it to happen too so it looks pretty certain to go ahead..

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  Giles Gray

  So Scotland will vote in the UK General Election.

  Then they hold a referendum and could vote to leave the UK.

  So if Scotland leaves and I don't like the result of the General Election can I protest to have another election after they have gone?

  What a mess.
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  20

  $25,000 for one-day assembly in our area

  by Bonnie_Clyde in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  they started out with a $3,500 carry-over but by the end of the day they were short $25,000.

  the speaker eloquently beseeched the audience to go the atm machines and give their generous contribution or at least their widow's mite.

  after the sessions were over, our friend who attended walked from one end of the assembly hall and then to the other end and noticed long lines up to both machines with people who couldn't wait to run up their credit cards.

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  Giles Gray

  Maybe a paedophile lawsuit happened during the interval.
  
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  21

  Are Children born crippled/diseased, uncared for, and dying prematurely proof that God does not exist?

  by anointed1 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  are children born crippled/diseased, uncared for, and dying prematurely proof that god does not exist?.

  1) what do children born healthy and well cared for prove?

  2) what do babies aborted (many of whom might have led a normal healthy life, and some of whom might have contributed much to the society like many scientists, doctors, engineers ....) prove?.

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  Giles Gray

  If we are talking about the god of the bible... it would make him a complete piece of shit, if it was believed that he does exist, being that he indulged in the slaughter of innocent infants.

  But on that one fact that bad things happen to children... no, it would not on its own prove god does not exist. It would just prove that a god is hopelessly incompetent.
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  49

  Infinity versus nothing

  by Fisherman in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  some people like to believe in something others believe in nothing; so in what location did the substance that expanded into the time/space universe exist before the big bang?

  where did the energy that caused the big band come from?

  how did the substance that became the big bang change from being inert and sterile and come to life to having the properties and drive that it does?

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  Giles Gray

  SBF- “Saying there is no God isn’t an answer either. Because even if you say there is no God, you still have the problem of why there is something rather than nothing.”

  This point stands up to logic. But this question is only problematic if there is such a thing as ‘nothing’. If there is no such thing as nothing, which physics is understanding more and more, then the possibility is that there has always been ‘something’, which is still a problem to solve, but doesn’t have to involve a God in order to have an answer.

  If we were to write off the problem of why there is no such thing as nothing, and attribute it to some God, it stifles any understanding that could prove otherwise.

  In this field of physics in the last few years, so much has been learnt that shows that there is no such thing as nothing. If you hit space hard enough, even though there is nothing in it, you can extract matter. So even empty space is ‘something’.

  SBF- “…if there is no greater intelligence, or being outside of being, then why should anything ever arise naturally from nothing?”

  Because there is no such thing as nothing. A difficult concept for human logic to understand, which we are far from understanding at the moment. But from what physics seems to be discovering, there is no such thing as nothing, which has a further knock on argument to the concept of a creator.

  SBF- “Or why has something always been?

  This is a great question, without an answer at the moment unfortunately. But this question highlights the lack of necessity of a God creating anything at all. An alternative question could be… if ‘something’ has always been in existence, how could God have created it?

  If energy and matter don’t ever go out of existence and expand into eternity by transformation or by morphing into alternative particles/forces etc, it means these forces are ‘immortal’. If they are immortal it means they were never ‘created’. If they were not created then a God could never have made them, because as you say in your question, ‘something’ has always been there.

  So when you look at this perspective from a completely alternative logic… it stands to reason that if there is no such thing as ‘nothing’, there always had to be ‘something’… which could never have been made. What that is and how it all works is being worked on right now.

  Coincidentally, last night I was privileged to attend a lecture in London by Lawrence Krauss, in celebration of Darwin Day. All of these questions have been worked on to a large extent and are covered in his new book.

  The lecture was an overview of his new book. I have not read it fully myself yet, but after yesterdays lecture and having a quick dip into his book, a lot of the questions that you have asked have been addressed. Might be worth a read. It is fascinating what they now know and have recently discovered which I’m sure you will find interesting.