"In Gods Love" bible study ch 15, wife convinced to send our kids to Bethel

by DS211 18 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  DS211

  After 6 weeks of hiatus from our home study we are finishing ch 15-See good for all your work.

  throughout the last part of the chapter it goes i er how to view secular work--keep it simple and ministry first before work. So the elder told me of a bro who went to a tech school for welding but got the real welding education with the siciety and is now 2nd in class welder at Either bethel or the farm. Another bro went to bethel for computers and is now makes a ton if money oart time and can pioneer (Jehovah made it all happen)...then elder we t into how 73% of kids cant get jobs after college and it isnt really an education but mostly partying. Anyways....

  Then the ball dropped....said we basically shoukd raise our kids with the opportunity to go to Bethel to be just as successful...the. He indirectly went into how u cant miss service or meetings ti secular things and kids should be brought up in ministry....and my wife agreed 100%...."shit" i thought. Her biggest dream is to send our kids to Bethel....thanks elder...thanks for planting that seed. Sad part is i felt that dissonance kick in and start to draw my interest back a little...theN irritation and reality hit and here i am....any advice? His conviction is absolutely astounding, articulate, and persuasive....like a master of speaking and luring one back to the org...
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  Bob_NC

  Take another 6 week hiatus. The first thing I did upon stopping attending meetings was to enroll in a community college and earned a degree in computer programming. Best thing I ever did for myself.

  Reality check. The elder gave two examples that he has heard of where things seem to have turned out well for the young persons. But what would these two young people say about their experience? We don't know.

  How many people toil at Bethel for 10 or 20 years, showing proper respect for Jehovah's theocratically appointed Bethel elders, only to be laid off aka dismissed from Bethel on short notice? How many Bethelites are reassigned to pioneer work in Podunk USA? How many Bethelites have been sent home after a few bouts of a recurring medical condition that cause them not to be able work for a while? How many bright talented Bethelites have as a work assignment to fold sheets, push the laundry cart, or repaint rusty handrails. That is all admirable work. This is just a reality check on the wonderful world of a Bethel career.
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  Abe Ostate

  The entire house of cards, Bethel being the card at the top, comes crashing down when you realize the stack is based on false promises, false prophecy, and empty hopes and dreams.
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  Defianttruth

  • DS211 I read your post about an hour ago and I can't sleep because of it. I have to tell you this. I had about 11 male friends in my home congregation. We grew up together like brothers. 4 of us went to Bethel. I did not. I went to college. Of the 4 who went to Bethel, all but one lives in a dumpy trailer now. (The one who doesn't lives with his parents at the young age of 40.) Two of us went to college. I have a post secondary education and I am a CEO with a medium sized company. The other one who went to college has a nice job with a major university. The others barely scrap by to feed their wife and kids. Please don't rob your children of the future they could have. I live comfortably. My job allows me so much time with my wife and kids. I don’t worry about what we will do for bills. If we want something, I buy it. Life is good. I would not have the opportunities I have now if I did not have an education.
  • My Brother has 4 children and makes about 30000/ year. I cringe at the life my nieces and nephews will have. They are poor and probably always will be. Why? Because my brother has no education or life skills.
  • I absolutely hate antidotal evidence. Ask the brother where he got his” 73% can’t find a job figure”. Tell him you would like to look it up and show it to a friend. I promise he will say, “I don’t remember where I heard it but I did.” The fact is if someone is hiring for a job he or she will pick a college grad over a ncg almost everytime.
  • As far as learning to weld at Bethel, don’t make me laugh. What is there to weld at Bethel? How will he prove what he can do in an interview? Does Bethel have a union which can provide a journey man’s card as proof of his accomplishments. No, he will have to look at a potential boss in the eye and say, “I learned to weld at my cult’s world headquarters.”
  • I live in what I believe to be a nice neighborhood. We have the best that life has to offer. Guess what. Not one Welder in my entire neighborhood. The guy to my left has 2 masters. The lady to my right has a MD. My neighbor across the street is an engineer with a masters and my neighbor behind me is a former NBA player with a masters. There is a computer programmer in the neighborhood but he has an MBA and is a regional supervisor for Cisco Systems.)
  • If your children have the ability to go to college and you don’t help and encourage, I think it is child abuse. If you love them, you won’t mess up their lives. As a father, it is your responsibility to help your children become the best they can be. Not throw away their life because of a fairy tale told by 8 mentally challenged people who run an evil corporation. Who gives a cares what your wife thinks? It’s YOUR KIDS!!!!!!!!! Grab the steering wheel and drive that ship like you stole it. Would you want to have to look back at your children’s lives and think about what could have been? shro
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  Skinnedsheep

  Defianttruth that is the best post I have read in a year. Bravo it is nice to see someone else break the mold. We have similar experiences
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  DS211

  Yeah i agree thanks defiant! I think many understand how they pull u in...ill post what else we covered as soon as i can...
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  jgnat

  Here's the thing. Has anyone asked the children? What of their hopes, ambitions, dreams? I strongly believe it is the job of every parent to help their child reach their full potential. If full-time service can not fulfill that, then look elsewhere.

  The bible is full of examples of people doing satisfying, secular work while maintaining their spirituality. Heck, it includes Roman Centurions and tax collectors. Read the first few chapters of Ecclesiastes also, where the final conclusion by the wisest man on earth is to find satisfaction in your work.

  Proverbs 22:29

  New American Standard Bible (NASB)

  29 Do you see a man skilled in his work?
  He will stand before kings;
  He will not stand before obscure men
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  AuntBee

  Jgnat, I LOVE your statement -" Here's the thing. Has anyone asked the children? What of their hopes, ambitions, dreams? I strongly believe it is the job of every parent to help their child reach their full potential. " I personally also see this as one of our major responsibilities as parents, and of course we even make sacrifices to make it happen for each one!

  I remember talking to one of the JW teens my daughter was close to, at our house, while he was in high school. I always like to show enthusiasm/support for their dreams/plans, and he had wanted to be a band director, super talented in music! As i was asking him questions, and being excited over it, he just started mumbling and looking down at the ground, and seemed very sad/uncomfortable. -- His brother at their graduation, excitedly told me he would like to become an engineer.(smart enough to do it too!)

  Fast forward almost 5 years later. "engineer" brother is working as a lifeguard, a job kids around here do at age 16; he's pushing 23. He said he is taking classes to work in something related to what the dad does, which he also told me about 3 years ago, So obviously he is still not even qualified for that job. But he remarked it'll be good, because it's 'easy.' He told my daughter, who he was in love with for years, that he loves living at home, it's a sweet gig, and he hopes he can as long as possible!! -- Other brother we knew as a teen is almost 25, left college after a year or 2, lives at home, and i think has some kind of anxiety disorder, and doesn't seem to do much. Oldest brother recently moved back home, he must be around 30. So here we have FOUR GROWN MEN, not even close to being able to move out, marry, etc.!! As a parent, this just makes me SO MAD; i cannot even fathom this. I know ,i know it's the mind control ,etc.

  Several of us concerned parents outside of JW world have been concerned about them for years, and we all concur that the mother has some type of mental illness, so it is a double whammy for these sons. I wish there was a way to help them. :(

  I'm sure it will be so good for your kids DS211, to have one parent out of the WT, and looking at things differently, and trying to help them find their talents/passions and build a good future.
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  DS211

  Thanks. Jgnat and Bee...i will always support my kids in whatever they want to do with their lives except drugs and all that. But i will not force anything on my kids nor neglect their aspirations...What i do not like is the elder throwing it out there and giving my wife the thought lol. I love my kids and i will teach them to think independently and critically...i think what happens is many witnesses thnk "well it teaches them responsibility and keeps them out of trouble, being in the truth......" what they forget is it can make them self righteous, narcissistic, depressed, socially awkward, and narrow minded....If my kid decides to be a witness fine but i will do my damndest to make sure its with an OPEN mind and that they do not follow the destructive nature of that org. To me, to not do that, would mean im not guiding and providing for them...which according to the Bible would make me worse than one of those of the nations.
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  ?me?

  one of my relatives is at the age and his elder dad has groomed him to go to bethel since he was 8. fast forward to today, he is almost 18, did some college in high school, and is VERY intersted in a young sister. me and my wife have always told him that his goals are good, but sometimes GOALS CHANGE! she has encouraged him to put in about 6 months extra to get an associates degree, but he is not keen on that. unfortunately, his father is one of the lucky ones who worked at a place and was handed a nice paying job when another witness retired. so it worked out great for him (while he struggled for 20 yrs) i will work out for his son? right?

  i really don't want young people to struggle and worry when they can just put in a few years to set up the next 50 of their lives. that being said, i need to make a little more, but have a skill that pays pretty well and the wife's college has her earning a comfortable living..