Billy the Ex-Bethelite

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Posts by Billy the Ex-Bethelite

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  21

  Candace Conti: WTS Notified Re Opening Appellate Brief

  by DNCall in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  according to the docket, wts was notified that their opening brief has not been timely filed.

  their appeal will be dismissed if there is no further activity by february 22, 2013.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  They must have secret knowledge that the big A is coming before the end of this month!
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  50

  not ready to go over to the "dark side"

  by nowwhat? in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  after spending a lifetime in it, no one is as fed up with the wt as i am.

  [my golf game would have been a hell of alot better if i was'nt banging my head against the wall on saturdays!

  lol ] this forum has taught me alot more than i thought to confirm my suspicions.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  Not to attack you or your opening post, but there are still many JW "thought stoppers" that you need to overcome. These are things that I think most of us have had to examine on our way out of WT.

  "so for those of you that are sincere where else is there to go?"

  If you ask it that way, you need to go back and reread the gospels. Jesus never established a publishing corporation or even constructed a church. If you're saying, "I must have an 'organization', look back at how well the Jewish 'organization' didn't work out in gaining Jesus' approval.

  "Jehovah and Jesus expect his followers to live by righteous standards according to their best imperfect abilitites, [sorry gay guys]"

  You look around the world today and select "gay guys" as the one injustice and violation of "righteous standards" worth mentioning? You couldn't choose [sorry rapists], or [sorry guys who look covetously at women they aren't married to]? I mean, even if you don't think "gay guys" are okay, is homophobia your #1 criteria for selecting a new 'organization'? You look past the WT injustices of protecting pedophiles, demanding that people bleed to death based on WTs flawed interpretations of ancient Jewish dietary restrictions, disfellowshipping people for contradicting JW dogma etc., and call anything outside WT "dark side"? Watchtower is the "dark side" that you seem hesitant to leave. But you're certainly not alone on this thinking. Plenty of JWs, like my own parents, see the WT pedo problem as a terrible stain, yet respond with, "where else is there to go?" And it's easier to target gays as an example of unrighteousness, rather than to carefully consider the ways that we ourselves might somehow be unrighteous.

  And judging by your list of "basic Bible truths," shouldn't you be including preaching from door to door, using the name Jehovah, and unquestioningly following the "Faithful Slave Class"? LOL. Some "basic Bible truths" are easier to challenge and reject/defend than others.

  As often illustrated on here, the WT house you're living in is engulfed in flames, but you hesitate to escape from the burning wreckage until someone presents you with a newer and better house for you to live in that meets your particular requirements at this moment. Or if you're a diehard JW and need another illustration, the WT Titanic is sinking fast, but you're afraid to take to the water and float alone atop some debris because you think you'd rather wait for a cruise ship to rescue you? I know those illustrations pretty well describe the way that I wasted many of the last years I remained a JW.

  "for those of you that are sincere"

  Do you think that only people that believe the same way you do qualify as "sincere"? You think the rest of us really haven't thought about our beliefs and course of action and are somehow insincere?

  If you feel you must belong to a church, there are plenty of churches that don't demand conformation and emphasize Jesus teachings of "not judging others," "love your neighbor," etc. There are also plenty of churches that demand complete conformation and emphasize judging others and creating enemies to hate.

  Although you didn't mention it, this thought also comes up about the same time, "What's the point of living if JWs aren't "the truth"? Life seems hopeless without the promise of a panda-petting paradise." That's a JW indoctrinated self-destruct mechanism. You've been trained that life without the organization is not worth living and that if you leave, your life will spiral downward into drugs, disease, abuse, and suicide. It's all part of the cult programming. Don't fall victim to that.
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  19

  Fake money in contribution boxes

  by enigma1863 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  someone posted a great idea i felt should have its own discussion thread.

  i think it would be really cool if we could get people around the country or world to donate fake money in the contribution boxes that have thought provoking messages.

  kinda like money tracts.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  OTWO beat me to the Chuck Buck punch!
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  19

  Fake money in contribution boxes

  by enigma1863 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  someone posted a great idea i felt should have its own discussion thread.

  i think it would be really cool if we could get people around the country or world to donate fake money in the contribution boxes that have thought provoking messages.

  kinda like money tracts.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  Chuck Bucks!

  

  Danny Haszard has that and some bogus checks posted on his site.

  http://www.dannyhaszard.com/pickets/WT$.htm

  Attention Creative Types Who Have Some Time:
  I'd like to see some fake WT checks made out to Candice Conti for $27M. I'd also like to see some Sparlock Bucks.
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  25

  Interesting moment on subway today & other thoughts

  by sd-7 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was heading home today, and i saw one woman reading a new world translation.

  we made eye contact, but i hope i didn't glare at her or anything... since i was already having a bout with depression today, it didn't help to see her.

  so then she gets off the train, right?

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  "Well, let me not derail this thread."

  Dude, it's your own thread! I think it's impossible by definition to derail your own thread in the opening post, particularly when you include "& other thoughts" in the title. But if anyone can derail their own thread, I think you could do it... and I think Shamus could derail his own threads.

  And just to share an observation, I think you're clever and funny. And I don't think it's uncommon for such types to get serious depression, although it seems out of character. As cheerful and comedic as I could be, I went through serious depths of depression, particularly the closer I was to the cult. Things that should have made me happy, and I seemed to be having a good time, all seemed to hollow, fake, disappointing, and ultimately depressing as my life went back to a miserable existance as another brick in the WT wall.

  "I wonder if having so little else as far as social interaction is wearing on me."

  I trust your judgment on the matter. Do you have any family that isn't drinking the Kool Aid? I'd probably be having a hard time if it weren't for my siblings. It was odd how we really weren't on the same page when we were "in". But now that we're faded, we spend lots of time together.

  "Anyway, hope you guys are doing well."

  Well enough. GPA isn't as high as I'd like, but I keep passing my classes. This semester will be a pain in the ass, but I'll survive... by the power of Sparlock. Oh, and I was elected vice president of the student branch of one of the professional engineering societies on campus. Yeah, I know that attending college, not attending the Kingdumb Haul, and winning elections makes Jehovah sad. And making the WT world depressed is truly happifying to me.
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  49

  Discussion with family member who is an Elder in our congregation

  by Newly Enlightened in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  so about a week ago, i showed my cousin & her husband [an elder in our congregation] the picture on pg 29 of our 4/15/2013 study wt and asked, "if jesus is head of the congregation then where is he?".

  after several minutes of searching, dead silence.. i then asked if they had heard the part on the 2012 summer district conv the part about "our spiritual mother, where the c.o said that "the bible by itself does not shine thru as life-giving truths just by itself.

  " they were shocked and said that i must have misheard it because that would be apostasy.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  God, Jesus, and the Bible, none of that stuff matters compared to whatever WT prints. That's their golden calf.
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  26

  Are you still on a self improvement quest?

  by Monsieur in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  on another thread i asked about this life being all there is.

  if so, what would you consider important to have done or accomplished before you die so that 'your time alive' would not have been a total waste?.

  if you haven't done it, or accomplished it, are you currently on a quest to do so?

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  I'm working on my degree, that's quest enough for now.
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  51

  Orangeburg Assembly Hall - designed to be sold as a future supermarket?

  by cedars in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've just been watching a youtube video that reveals the new assembly hall in orangeburg, sc.. two things struck me when watching it.... firstly, everything is attributed to jehovah, right down to deciding the location where the hall is to be built.

  "we examined over 300 properties," said one interviewee, "we were reminded that jehovah knew where the site was, we just had to keep looking and show him that we were persistent.

  " other workers interviewed throughout the video attribute everything to god, as though it is impossible to build anything without divine direction.. here is the video.... .

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  If the best Jehovah could do was build some obscure assembly hall in SC, I'm not impressed. I'd rather worship a god that could build something fantastic like Las Vegas out in the Nevada desert!
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  60

  what ever happened to the king of the north and king of south?

  by nowwhat? in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  after the daniel book came out, nothing has ben said about it in at least 10 years.

  did that prohecy get thrown out the window when the soviet union fell?.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  My Dad is still an active JW. He told me back around 2002 or so that there was a rumor going around that the new King of the North was going to be Islam.

  I heard speculation that it was going to be Iran or Iraq. Shows how bad JWs are at geography.

  Besides, we all know that the King of the North is Santa.

  I think the King of the South might be that Dos Equis dude.
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  41

  My wife is feeling uncomfortable about the NEW LIGHT

  by sosoconfused in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so my wife is aware that i am totally disillusioned and i am having problems with lots of things.

  one day she can see the crap(such as this past watchtower question from readers about ivf... what a pile of insanity.

  if someone carries me and my wifes baby i have committed porneia rofl!!!

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  They're not just 8 men. They're 8 men who sip wine and nibble crackers once a year.