Posts by Billy the Ex-Bethelite

34

RELIGION AND MENTAL ILLNESS!!!

by ADJUSTMENTS in

jw
friends

i have have come to realize most "rank and file" jw's are mentally unstable-to-ill and here is why.... http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/mental-issues.php.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/religious_delusion.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/religion_and_schizophrenia.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

For me, I found that medication somewhat dulled the pain of cognitive dissonance. After I left bethel, the pain just got worse as I got to know lots of "worldly people"... very good and nice people that would never wish me any harm... yet my religion was teaching me that they all deserved to die horrible deaths so I could have a pet panda.

After I stopped attending meetings, that mental pain started to clear. Now that I have my degree and a great job, life is completely different.

I don't think I was medicated for a mental illness, it was all to dull the pain of the WT belief system.

82

Awake January 2015: How did life begin? - More misquotes

by Designer Stubble in

[quote]some might assume that a scientifically-minded person would pick evolution and that a religious person would pick creation.

but not always.. rama singh, professor of biology at canadas mcmaster university, says: the opposition to evolution goes beyond religious fundamentalism and includes a great many people from educated sections of the population.[/quote].

end-of-quote in awake.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

Now that the JWs are allowed to have Internet access devices, they're all a click away from finding out about WT's dishonesty.

44

Re: Art Skills Needed at Bethel

by suavojr in

jw
friends

all they want is some spiritually-qualified publishers blind individuals who believe they are god's mouthpiece on earth.

no wonder their artwork is so poor.. .

christian congregation of jehovahs witnesses2821 route 22, patterson, ny 12563-2237 phone: (845) 306-11001/8/15-e usjanuary 8, 2015to all congregations in the united states branch territoryre: art skills needed at betheldear brothers:the beautiful illustrations in our printed publications and on jw.org serve as teaching aidsthat emphasize spiritual truths from the bible.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

Like Cappy said, these wouldn't necessarily require a degree.

...learned them all on my own by buying books or on the job.

It will take more than reading books, right? I think that since they request resumes and portfolios, they are seeking JWs with work experience directly in these fields. And, of course, most of them require the type of talent that just isn't learned.

28

A Mind at War

by cappytan in

right now, i feel like my mind is at war with itself.. on the one side is reason, logic.. on the other is tradition, hope and fear.. reason and logic are challenging life-long beliefs.

they are telling me, "is this any more believable than the story of the lord of the rings?".

certain doctrines of my belief system are crumbling.. my mind still wants to hold on to the belief in a creator, his son jesus and the bible.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

Do I take that path? Or do I ignore my reason and thinking ability to preserve such things as family, friends and comfort?

I couldn't ignore my reasoning and thinking ability. During the years of my still attending meetings while learning more about TTATT were very painful. Once I was able to move away and stop attending meetings, my thinking cleared many hurdles.

Sometimes I missed the collection of friends, but that passed surprisingly quickly. It's only a very few JW relatives that I still have any conversation with.

I don't have the paradise fantasy. WT had that carrot of paradise, the resurrection of loved ones, and pet pandas. But the longer I was a JW, the more I saw all the strings attached to that carrot. And after slaving for years in bethel, the thought of the whole world being run like that was no paradise.

Once I got away, I don't have a codified belief system that is handed to me by some suits in Brooklyn. There are very many things I don't know, and it really doesn't bother me. Now I find it sad when I see so many people in the world that have made terrible life decisions based on the direction of the GB and other religious fanatics.

52

Billy's Comments You Won't Hear at the 01-26-2014 WT Study (Obey Jehovah's Shepherds))

by Billy the Ex-Bethelite in

fine.

holy spirit appointed overseers to shepherd?

6:1, 2; jude 22) are these not good reasons for being obedient to those who are taking the lead?read hebrews 13:17.. .

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

"HEY STUPID"

Name-calling? Really? Your childish accusations and attempt to shift the focus from what WT published in that article reveal the type of person you are.

As I said, the word "organization" doesn't appear in the Bible. It doesn't. That is a fact. And if you think that fact is stupid, take it up with God.

The jews AND christians were not only organized, but show how to.

Read the Bible, that Jewish organization was REJECTED by Jesus, because it was organized to lead people away from God and toward worthless traditions. Jesus had apostles, by there was no leadership structure, no buildings, no corporations. That structure of the church was introduced later by Paul, and those elders, deacons, bishops, presbyters, etc. became the foundation of apostasy.

12

LuckyNun is back

by LuckyNun in

long time no see.. so, since i last posted on here, jws drove my sister to attempt suicide again (she failed, but it was close) and drove my close childhood friend to actually commit suicide.

i too kmy sister in and helped her recover.

i think she's going to pull through.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

Welcome back!

AND...

Yikes! Can you send a letter to the neighbors to warn them of the danger?

43

2015 Regional Convention Theme - unofficial-

by WatchTower87 in

news about 2015 regional convention theme?.

list of my preview:.

- the end is at hand.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

"We Won't Say Anything to Offend Muslems" Regional Convention

52

Why I like Jehovah's Witnesses

by undercover witness in

i keep reading that jehovah's witnesses are in effect monsters.

i keep reading that they kinda leave chaos and distrust in their wake.

so i simply wondered if anyone had anything nice to say about them?.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

Many statements in the OP are clearly based on ignorance, I'll just drop to the end.

So hats off to Witnesses because they mean goodness not harm.

The Bible says that the blood of dead animals should be poured out and not eaten. No clear punishment was expressed for violations. Offenders who were clearly stated as eating blood were not put to death. In the NT, the command to abstain from blood was placed alongside abstain from things sacrificed to idols--something Paul explained was a conscience (don't ask, don't tell) matter. The closest to any consequence of eating blood in the OT was that one should wash and be ceremonially unclean until the evening.

HOWEVER

Jehovah's Witnesses teach that one must die rather than accept medically transfused blood from a living donor. Many JWs, including minor children and new mothers, have died needlessly because they followed this misguided and unscriptural teaching of WT Corporation.

So if someone is impressed by how well-dressed JWs are and how well-behaved their children are, know that there is a deadly price that goes along with the WT belief system. I'm horrified to look back at the years that I was a JW and carried the "Death Card" in my wallet because I believed the lies of WT.

That is not "good". It is extremely "harmful".

35

New BOE letter: Re: Survey on Use of Printed Publications

by pixel in

to all bodies of elders in the united states branch territory re: survey on use of printed publications .

dear brothers: .

the branch office is working on arrangements for the 2015 regional conventions.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

The increased use of electronic publica- tions can result in substantial savings for the organization.

Obviously, the rank-and-file aren't part of that "organization." My elderly parents have spent hundreds of dollars on electronic devices and have to pay expensive monthly Internet access fees. They don't use these things for anything other than WT stuff... and they rarely use them because they just aren't tech savvy. Where they might have spent just a few dollars for printed copies, they are now in the range of hundreds of dollars. And the electronic devices will have to be updated with replacements long before they get close to breaking even.

So, this is only savings for the corporation.

And of course we've already seen that WT isn't saying, "we're passing the savings on to you!" Oh no! Now they're saying, "We need MORE money to pay for construction projects." Okay, so save more money by just broadcasting the prerecorded meetings on the web, sell the buildings, and give every JW a rebate!

52

New member, no longer just reader...

by freemindfade in

jw
friends

so i joined very recently and began posting and commenting without a formal intro.

been reading for a while, decided it was time to jump in.

mentally i am completely cleansed of this thing, but still have to maintain a minimal involvement for spouse and family.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

Welcome!

Perhaps part of the reason for the new members here is the new "songs" that were introduced to the sheeple at a recent meeting. That mess qualifies as 'ear abuse'.