Billy the Ex-Bethelite

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Posts by Billy the Ex-Bethelite

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  38

  Humility test - I shall have it ready when JW knocking on my door.

  by Mr Fool in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  jw should put humility high on their list.

  therefore i will let them do this test after a small talk:.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  Woo hoo! When it comes to humility, I'm #1!

  And my modesty is exceeded only by my great handsomeness!
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  16

  I feel elated - with last semester's results.

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in my studies, i've settled into a routine of two units per semester, which gives me time to explore interesting side-roads, away from the assigned readings.

  this semester past, i attempted on study unit at macquarie u and one at sydney u.. macquarie results were released last friday, and for that study unit (rome's persian wars) my aggregated mark was 78 and so a distinction.. and, at sydney u, released yesterday, my aggregated mark for, japan in asia from 1840 to today, was 90, which meant a high distinction.. .

  i feel so pleased, not only am i acheiving my goal of understanding the historical processes that have formed modern asia, but i am mastering the process of critical thinking that is the basis of modern scholarship.. so for semester 2, i've enrolled in byzantium at macquarie, and which will give me a chance to explore the way the christian church became a theocratic government in the eastern empire's cities.. .

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  Congrats!
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  36

  I really need some help to get out of this religion

  by doughnutkitty in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  hi, i've been lurking on this site for quite a while after recently having doubts about the "truth".

  i've read a lot of posts about problems with the doctrines, mind control, the beliefs, brainwashing that jehovah's witnesses and their literature, as well as their history.

  now only being a sixteen year old born in who isn't baptized or unbaptized, i've come to find all this information incredibly overwhelming.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  Welcome!

  Great advice already. I'd recommend focusing on your education, and don't be afraid of math and science.
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  6

  Spiritual Weakness Detected

  by Kool Jo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as a result of attending my grandma's funeral, i saw some of the "old friends" from my home congregation where i grew up.

  i saw only one jw at the funeral, but others sent email/text as to why they couldn't attend (spiritual activities).

  this sister who attended, is considered spiritually weak (her comments are read directly from the watchtower, puts in a couple hours a month, has an unbeleiving mate but both are happy, never pioneers, doesn't show up for fs because the co is in town ect...), but she made the effort to come by and be with my family during our time of mourning.. with the brief encounter i had with some of the other jw's, they were all wondering if i'd come back to the khall to help and 'build' up the congregation.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  Some JWs really look for any bit of fresh gossip they can bring to the KH rumor mill. It brings excitement to their otherwise boring and meaningless lives.

  And you might be used by some for self-aggrandizing "at least I'm doing better than Kool Jo" remarks.

  How does the old saying go? Something like, "great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people." However the saying goes, most JWs easily fall into the "small minds" category.
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  10

  Wow did not see that coming.

  by msconcerned in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so for a while now i have had some doubts and i have slowly started and had conversations with my wife.

  she has kind of conceded very minor points in our conversations, but what i have been seeing is that she is starting to use her brain.

  im not insulting my wife, but she is starting to think critically.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  And it's good that she's comfortable sharing her observations with you.
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  30

  Magotan's Story

  by magotan in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  hi all, i've posted here in crisis a few weeks ago.

  i recently have finally taken the time to write out my entire story.

  i knew i had to come out to my parents and family about everything, my sexuality, and my issues with the jehovah's witnesses.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  "I love you so much I would be willing to give up anything and everything to make you happy."

  Watchtower Corporation has programmed your family's understanding of what love is. No doubt they have shed many tears over you, too. And they do love you, but Watchtower mandates that the loving thing to do is to insult you and treat you like garbage until you get back under the yoke of Watchtower slavery and conformity.

  Your brother's statement reveals plenty about his misunderstanding of human nature. Your happiness isn't something that gets generated by his sacrifices. Happiness comes from within. Your unhappiness isn't based on his failure to make you happy. You were unhappy because you couldn't be who you really were, speak what was on your mind, and live the life that would produce happiness for you.

  And when he said "I would be willing to give up anything and everything...", he didn't mean that he was willing to give up his slavery to WT's promises. He claims to have a friendship going with the Great Sky Daddy (only available through WT Corp and it's GB), yet his "friend" Jehovah couldn't or wouldn't protect him from ill health. What kind of a friend is that? A sh!tty friend! So your brother learns from Jehovah that the 'best kind of friend' is a 'sh!tty kind of friend'!

  JWs make poor friends, and are much better at back-stabbing and judging. But you already know that.
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  9

  Abram - change for change's sake?

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i notice in the new "imitate their faith" book that the watchtower writer has taken pedantically to referring to abraham as abram throughout.

  does this now aply to all new publications that refer to abraham?

  is there any particular reason for the change?

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  Maybe they wanted to reduce their ink expense by using Abram instead of Abraham.
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  39

  How Do You Know If You Are "Marked"?

  by Thoughtless in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  yeah, this has been a question that has been on my mind for a while, but how do one know if he has been "marked" by the congregation?

  do they announce it?

  i have expressed doubt last year about the org, but i still have responsibilities within the kh.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  If the BoE had "marked" you, you wouldn't have any responsibilities in the congregation. You can only work behind the counter, handle the microphone, or do a demonstration if you're "in good standing".
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  22

  JW family trying to compensate for us being "spiritually weak" through increased activity

  by cedars in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi folks.

  one of the things that has been most frustrating for my wife and i since beginning our fade as been the way certain family members have responded by ramping up their own involvement in the organization seemingly in a bizarre attempt to compensate for our lack of activity.. close relatives who were once doing precious little study and weren't going out of their way to attend meetings or go on the ministry are now studying every morning and busting a gut to attend "theocratic" arrangements.. it makes no sense to me, because salvation is supposed to be based on the beliefs and actions of each individual, not on those of his or her loved ones.

  just what is the logic by which they think they can make things better by doing more themselves?.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  It it's anything like most of the cases I've seen, these surges of spiritual enthusiasm are a facade. Like one brother that would aux. pio. for a month, but then drop to 2-3 hrs the rest of the year. Of the brother that became so zealous... to hide the fact that he was banging his sister-in-law.
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  79

  JWStruggle post: Bethel Layoffs Reveal a Kingdom without Clothes

  by Londo111 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  http://www.jwstruggle.com/2013/07/bethel-layoffs-reveal-a-kingdom-without-clothes/.

  despite everything, i still have a lingering admiration toward those who serve or have served in bethel.

  it is not that i believe it is gods organization in any way, shape, or form.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  I don't think anyone has mentioned it yet, but it used to be a very important point stressed to us bethelites. We were a bethel FAMILY. Sydlik and others of GB 1.0 really knew how to stress that. When there were scandals in bethel, we were reminded that a family doesn't air its dirty laundry in public. And I vividly remember Sydlik telling us that bethel needs "lifers" and that it was a privilege for the bethel family to take care of its older members.

  That certainly changed as more of GB 1.0 died, leaving Jaracz as a late survivor, and the addition of GB 2.0. There were a few different things that brought Sydlik's promise of "taking care of family" to an end. Food and housing weren't huge expenses (particularly since the food was getting worse and bethel had no hesitation about cramming as many newboys in a room as would fit). However, one unavoidable statistic was that bethel would be facing a boom of retirement age bethelites. Previously, they only had a couple dozen elderly that needed attention. That could easily mushroom into hundreds needing attention. That leads to the second problem--healthcare expenses. The medical needs of the elderly were increasing, and I knew several in bethel that had to be treated for cancer. Bethel had to pay for often very expensive treatments. When a bethelite turned up with cancer, they couldn't just kick them to the curb. But I found that bethel would kick to the curb others with health problems they'd developed while in bethel. The third problem was liability. If you do a search on "Jordan Johnson" you'll find the case where WT had to pay $1.5M in a settlement involving a bethelite on the way to the meeting. Suddenly, GB 2.0 realized that all this "family" was now a big liability, expense, risk. Obviously, Jehovah wasn't powerful enough to fix cancer, prevent aging, or stop accidents.

  As already mentioned, members of the bethel "family" ranged from completely worthless jerks to some really wonderful people. But I should mention... DON'T CONFUSE BETHELITES WITH CIRCUIT OVERSEERS! Particularly when the travelling overseers came to Patterson for their "special" school, we realized what pathetic crybabies most of them were. At least in my experience, my bethel career had been all about sacrifice: hard work all day, everyday, often with overtime, duties that came after work and over weekends, a room that was to be ready for inspection at any moment, and much of our "time off" was to be used in "congregation activities." Then these COs, DOs and their wives come in and can barely stand to have to work a half day, expect to have special dietary needs met, etc. I met a few CO wives that were actually honest and admitted how easy they really had it: free car, expenses paid by congregations, plus allowance from branch, plus green handshakes, Mondays off, and at the School for Travelling Overseers they learned even more tricks for getting paperwork done faster, not answering their phones outside of "business hours," etc. If you haven't gotten the picture yet, most of us bethelites had a special disdain for lazy-assed travelling overseers.

  As also already mentioned, bethel is a cult inside a cult. I heavier dose of mind control goes on there. I somehow managed to ignore a lot of the dumb sh!t that happened there. But it was eye-opening for me to see "family" that had been in bethel over a decade that were put out, and this was before the real layoffs began. I realized that at least one of my friends that was sent out had marketable skills, but what about me? And when someone was leaving bethel, everyone gave them the story that Jehovah would bless them and they would do just great in their new congregation, etc. I knew some that did fine after they left, but I knew others that really had it tough. That reality was hard for me to ignore.

  When I left, I was needing medical treatment, but had no insurance, no unemployment benefits, and almost no money. Fortunately for me, at least I had family... a real family not a fake "bethel family" or "congregation family". Adjusting to the real world was tough in the sense that I had no "connections", was financially broke, had no real record of my experience and work history that bethel would confirm (other than that I was there). Despite the reassurances that Jehovah would take care of me, I had a rough journey coming to realize that the only one that would take care of me was me.