Giles Gray

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Topics Started by Giles Gray

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  4

  Unbaptised Publishers

  by Giles Gray in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  does anyone know which year the organisation first counted unbaptised publishers as jehovah's witnesses?.

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  35

  An exchange with a JW about the blood doctrine.

  by Giles Gray in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i recently had an online exchange with an active jw about the blood issue.

  he originally wanted to talk about the potential dangers of transfusions but i pointed out that the risks of transfusions have nothing whatsoever to do with the reason that jws reject blood, and therefore i didn’t see any value in debating that topic.. not able to let it go, he then insisted that the blood mandate was a common theme throughout the bible, quoting acts 15:29.. it’s been a while since i looked into the subject, and i admit i’m now a little rusty when it comes to recalling where to find biblical quotes, but i remembered that there are passages in both the new and old testaments that, when read in the context of the time they were written, call into question the watchtower’s rendition of acts 15:29.. i offered to do some bible research and get back to the jw, suggesting that rather than letting our discussion become combative, we could have an informative and interesting exchange of ideas.

  i reassured him that i was not looking to undermine his convictions, in fact i was more than happy to be corrected if my thinking was wrong.

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  77

  A question about the contemporary generation teaching following a conversation with a JW apologist

  by Giles Gray in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i would like to ask the ex-jws on this site to put their ‘apologists hat’ back on for a moment, so that i can go through the overlapping generation teaching in an attempt to make sense of it.

  i apologise if these points have already been addressed on this site.a quick background for the reason for my request… having never confronted a jw apologist on the topic, i recently engaged with a jw regarding the official understanding of a ‘generation’ and unfortunately he didn’t have an answer to the points i was making.

  i was left a little confused as to what the official jw response would/should be.so i was hoping that my thoughts below might be considered from an apologist’s perspective.the point in question relates to this section of the watchtower article below from 2008, as well as the jw.org video explanation of the overlapping generation:---:w08 2/15[box on page 25] can we calculate the length of “this generation”?the word “generation” usually refers to people of various ages whose lives overlap during a particular time period or event.

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  JWs- “SCIENCE IS A DISTRACTION TO MY FAITH"

  by Giles Gray in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  “after our discussion last week i asked myself ‘do i need to go into the depth of science to make sure of what i believe’, and my answer was that i don’t need to go into science because science would be a distraction to what i already know with my faith…”the above is a quote from a conversation i had with two jws who called on me at the weekend.

  i knew that the standards of the jws had declined, but what i experienced the weekend really highlighted that fact and it was quite a surprised.amazingly they came back, but this time i had the presence of mind to record the entire visit which is really going to help me examine how these people think.they were coming back on the topic of the evidence of evolution and how this contradicts their interpretation of the bible.

  i had sent them an email that dealt with the topic of nature’s vestiges and i asked them to explain the biological atavisms that occur in whales and humans.

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  17

  Can't think how they will respond

  by Giles Gray in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i've been chatting to the jws the past couple of weeks.the last time they called they showed me a video about a scientist who claimed that she had once been an atheist, but after studying with the jws she had changed her mind and now believed in an intelligent creator.

  what had convinced her was the process that activates the functioning of the lungs just after a baby has been born.after we had watched the video, the jws said that there are many people who believe that creation indicates an intelligent designer.in reply i asked them what they thought about the 'unintelligent' aspects of creation and i went into a few examples.at first they tried to write things off to imperfection due to adamic sin, but as the conversation went on they slowly realised that arguing 'imperfection' wasn't an adequate explanation for the points i was making.to cut a long story short, i ended up sending them a video via email where professor dawkins comments on an autopsy that highlights the impracticality of the laryngeal nerve in giraffes.i also sent them evidence of vestigial limbs in whales and a short article about biological atavism.in addition, i sent them an article that coincidentally was on the bbc news a few days ago about a boy in india who had a 7 inch vestigial tail removed.

  here is the article i sent them:-http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3823461/the-teenager-7-inch-tail-18-year-old-finally-growth-removed-painful-sit-sleep.htmli'm really looking forward to seeing what they will come back with.

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  7

  Talking to the Mormons, then the JWs

  by Giles Gray in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i have been very lucky in the past month or so.

  i have had both the mormons and the jws call on me.. .

  the mormons called first.

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