Billy the Ex-Bethelite

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Posts by Billy the Ex-Bethelite

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  9

  Kingdom Hall science.

  by DATA-DOG in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my wife is listening in today.

  i hear the speaker talking about "godless" people.

  they have not made a thorough investigation about creationism vs evolution.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  When you hear dubs start talking science, do you cringe??

  Of course. The longer I was in, the more flaws I found in their reasoning.

  Did he use the watch analogy? I rewrote it in my mind this way...

  A creationist and an atheist are walking down the street and see a watch on the ground. The creationist seizes the opportunity to say, "As an atheist, you must believe that this watch had no designer and builder, It just came together as pure chance."

  The atheist responds, "No. It's clearly noted on the face of the watch that it came from the factory on the other side of town."

  "Ah ha! So you have to admit that just like that watch which was created in a factory, everything has to have a creator--God!"

  The atheist asks, "So God is just like that watch factory?"

  "Exactly!" replies the creationist.

  The atheist responds, "My father was part of a team that designed and constructed that watch factory."

  The creation responds, "LIAR! That watch factory has existed forever and ever and didn't ever need a creator!" The creationist runs away crying and covering his ears at the blasphemy!
  
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  112

  Why are JWs so afraid of apostates?

  by Magnum in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  why are jws so afraid of apostates?

  their view of apostates seems to be out of the realm of the ordinary, the natural.

  its as if the words of apostates are supernatual or spiritistic as if apostates are some kind of jedi knights who can slightly wave their hands or twitch their eyes and bring one under a spell.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  "Apostate" is used as a thought-stopper. It ignites an image of danger and fear, much like a child with the term "boogeyman". Tell them the boogeyman is coming and they run to their parents for protection.

  Once we get to be older, boogie doesn't seem so scary...

  

  
  
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  25

  Blondie's Comments on the 1-18-2015 WT Study (HOLY)

  by blondie in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  november 15, 2014 wt study issue.

  january 18, 2015 to be studied.

  opening comments.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  14 After considering a few spiritual treasures from Leviticus, you may bethinking, ‘I now have a better understanding of reasons why this book has been included in God’s inspired Word.’ (2 Timothy 3:16)You may now be more determined to prove yourself holy, not only because Jehovah requires it but because he deserves your earnest effort to please him. Perhaps what you have learned about Leviticus in these two articles has increased your desire to dig more deeply into the Scriptures in general.

  Indeed! Why don't we dig more deeply into Deuteronomy and learn about the holiness Jehovah requires?

  In light of the legal problems WT has been having, what is the proper, holy way to handle a situation where a man rapes a young girl? Deut. 22: 28, 29 gives clear insight into Jehovah's view of matters where it is written:

  28 “If a man happens to meet a virgin girl who is not engaged and he seizes her and lies down with her and they are discovered,+ 29 the man who lay down with her must give the girl’s father 50 silver shekels, and she will become his wife.+ Because he humiliated her, he will not be allowed to divorce her as long as he lives.

  Here, Jehovah's Law is very clear that if a man, who probably already has several wives, rapes a pre-teen girl, his punishment is that he now must purchase the girl as a slave... his own sex slave. This will be the only life this woman will ever know. Every day until either one of them dies, she will be his property and must call her rapist "my lord and husband".

  These are the things that WT calls "treasures".
  
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  20

  Q-tips and Coffee Filters helped me learn TTATT

  by RedPillPopper in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  well they didn't fully teach me ttatt but helped me on the way.............. first thing i do in the morning after waking up is grinding some nice coffee beans and getting the brew started while i take a hot shower.

  after the shower i like to clean out all the nasty wax out of my ears with a q-tip (or cotton swab for those not familiar with that term).. while cleaning out my ears i would think about how nice it is we have things like q-tips and coffee filters that make life more enjoyable but at the same time realize that somebody somewhere is in a factory making these.. i can't imagine a child saying "when i grow up i want to work in a factory making coffee filters".

  the people who end up really doing that as adults did not set that to be a life goal.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  In the New Order, you won't need Q-Tips because your ears will be perfectly waxless. In fact, you won't need to shower because perfect people will never get dirty or smelly, even in they spend all day rolling around in the bamboo forest with pandas. And you won't need coffee filters because perfect people won't need caffeine.

  Or...

  In the New Order, Q-Tips and coffee filters will grow on trees and we can go out and pick them fresh each morning.

  See? With a little imagination this stuff writes itself!
  
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  New to the forum

  by Gone and forgotten in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  first i want to say that i really appreciate this forum.

  most other places i've seen are nothing but filled with spite and hate.

  this site is reasonable and supportive...thank you for that!.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  Welcome!
  Merry Christmas!
  and Happy Birthday!
  

  I hope things continue to improve with your health. You now have A LOT to live for!
  
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  41

  YAWEHLAND - Imagine a country where Jehovah's Witnesses are the majority

  by EdenOne in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in 2018, cyprus goes bankrupt (again).

  many of its inhabitants, lacking jobs and prospectives of a better future, emigrate to more prosperous countries.

  cyprus' society is on the brink of collapse.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  If they took control of a small country, would they join the UN?

  As already mentioned, bethel is the closest to a JW nation. So what happened? Has the bethel network been growing and preparing to take over the world? Nope. They've sold off many of the branches, and are planning to sell out of Brooklyn and move to a much smaller remote compound.

  They can't afford to print much anymore, but it looks like they're wanting to get some volunteers to help them make more web videos. Does anyone think that Pixar or YouTube or the Catholic Church is afraid of the competition coming from JW TV?

  So it would be a shrinking country that is on the verge of only having a virtual, online existence.
  
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  34

  RELIGION AND MENTAL ILLNESS!!!

  by ADJUSTMENTS in

  1. jw
  2. 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.

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  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.
  
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  82

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

  by Designer Stubble in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  [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.

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  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.
  
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  44

  Re: Art Skills Needed at Bethel

  by suavojr in

  1. jw
  2. 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.

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  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.
  

  
  
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  28

  A Mind at War

  by cappytan in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  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.

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  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.