Posts by Billy the Ex-Bethelite

28

New KingDumb Song 139 released today.

by cappytan in

this is the fourth kingdumb song released since the annual meeting.

three were released back in october.

this one was released this week.. here's the link to the recording: http://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/sing-to-jehovah-new-songs/prayer-stand-firm-139/.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

The voice is strange. Are the rank and file singing about themselves in the third person? All the "they", "their", and "them" is as if it's everyone condescendingly talking down to more recent converts to the cult and how much they've done to pressure the newbies to stay in.

The use of past and present tense seems kinda creepy to me. Not sure exactly why, but verse 2 almost gives me the feeling that they're singing about people who have died. Maybe it reminds me of the way as JWs we'd talk about dead JWs in a sorta past/present/future kinda way.

And god seems like a loser in this song. God doesn't teach and care for these converts! Oh no, it's the others in the bOrg that do the teaching and caring. And as clearly indicated in the song, the bOrg has to constantly remind god to care for the new sheeple. Jehovah is so obviously absent-minded that unless these dubs keep pleading in prayer and singing, he's going to forget all about them.

Of course, god always seemed rather petty that he needed us to constantly pray to him, stroking his ego about how wonderful he is, and reminding him about his promises because he probably had forgotten. I dunno, maybe Jehovah was so busy taking note of who was masturbating or having impure thoughts that unless we constantly reminded him in prayer, god would forget to give the poor JWs their daily bread. And unless we pleaded with him, god might destroy us because of our falling-shorts.

33

Within one minute JW with trolley directs me to JW.org

by steve2 in

i live in relatively small seaside community (regional population around 45,000).

in my ten years here, i've had witnesses call on me perhaps twice (not special visits but during door-to-door).

whereas they once canvassed door-to-door much more frequently - and in larger size service groups - there is quite a decline in their door-knocking - at least in this region.. with the advent of the "trolley" work, their visibility has increased - but i'd estimate only marginally.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

I've seen JWs standing by their carts in my city. As others noted, the JWs' bodies are there, but their minds seem to be elsewhere. They don't approach others or make eye contact. Might be talking to each other or standing quietly.

It's certainly not an issue here that they can't approach people for legal reasons. Lots of other religious groups are out there enthusiastically trying to initiate conversations, carrying signs, passing out leaflets, preaching about hell using loudspeakers, driving around in vans plastered with signs and blaring some preacher. And with the myriad of street performers, those JWs would probably get lots more attention if they put out a tip jar and either stood really still like statues or did a drumming routine on their carts.

As the JWs are around here, they're completely ignorable. And since the vast majority of JWs I know would sooner leave the religion than go back to the type of theatrics that JWs used to do with street witnessing and sandwichboard campaigns, this is WT's solution. The GB is willing to dumb down the ministry so the dubs can fake it like this. And why fight it? The door-to-door preaching certainly isn't that productive, so just let them stand around and count their time.

9

Been a while!

by lambsbottom in

jw
friends

just wanted to say thank you to all of you for everything over the last 3.5 years.

i am completely faded now.

i no longer suffer from major anxiety/depression, well versed on cults and how to protect myself, continually searching and taking in knowledge regarding my own relationship with god.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

I no longer suffer from major anxiety/depression

Remember how WT told us that we were the happiest people on earth back when we were JWs? Ugh, I was so miserable, but pretending to be happy. I'm so much happier now.

One thing that would make me happier than having Christ destroy that wicked religion? I'd like to go and kick every GB member in the nuts several times, then Christ can destroy it all.

34

Quick introduction

by OzGirl in

jw
friends

only have a few minutes to spare so thought i would throw this together.. been in for about 30 years.

questions and doubts gathered over that time.

i have a keen interest in the legal and financial matters of the watchtower.. came across this site about 5 years ago.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

Welcome!

Obviously, you think more than WT wants you to. The GB would be much happier if you stand with a partner near a literature cart... and not think.

14

Faders: did local JWs give you a going away party?

by Open mind in

for those who choose to fade, leaving your old congregation is often a first step.

did you switch congos while stll in "good standing" (tm)?

if so, did the local jws try to give you a going away party?

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

At my going away party, we played hide and seek. I told them all to hide while I counted to 100. I counted to 25, got in my car, and drove 200 miles away to university.

39

Should I go to college or pioneer??? Hmmmm...

by ADJUSTMENTS in

jw
friends

hmmmmm... i can't decide???.

.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

That screenshot is so phony, it's laughable. It's clear that WT has no idea how scholarships work or what the paperwork involved should look like.

Art Department: Duh, let's just print "College Scholarship" on a blank piece of paper and put it in an ordinary envelope.

GB: It looks so real! The pioneer application looks so inviting!

For me, choosing the school and major was priority over any scholarships that came into the mix.

To make the picture more realistic, instead of putting the corny "scholarship" in there, they should have included a printout of something like this:

Or this:

To compare apples to apples, regular pioneering pays NOTHING! ZERO DOLLARS! And if you pioneer for 4 or 5 years, guess what? It still pays nothing! 20 years of regular pioneering and you still earn nothing. You have to have a real job to support the pio habit.

In my personal experience, the 4 or 5 years of university were expensive. But after getting a degree that's in demand, the education pays for itself. In just a few months of working after getting my degree, I'm chipping away at the loans and I'm living better than I ever did as a JW. Now, those years in university don't look expensive at all, it was a valuable investment.

Of course, WT would tell a kid, "money doesn't matter." Poor kids. Because we all know that when it's WT's money, then the corporation's money really matters!

So you JW kids, just remember that when you're slaving for hours every month as a pioneer, still living in your childhood bedroom, working for crap wages at a dead-end job in order to put gas in the tank and buy clothes for the assembly, when the brothers say the circuit has a deficit and new KHs need to be paid for, just remember "money doesn't matter."

11

Hello

by Laika in

jw
friends

hi all, i haven't posted here in a while, felt like a break and have been insanely busy, i don't think too much about jw stuff now, but wanted to pop in anyway.

have i missed anything recently?.

i am very happy, much to my surprise, i think it would be nice to go back to the end of 2013 and tell the depressed and lonely version of me that he can't even comprehend how good life could be.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

Sorry Laika, you've been irregular in posting here, so you've been marked as bad association. You can't tell from the fact that I'm posting or from the cheezy smile of my avatar, but I'm passively-aggressively ignoring you right now.

Just kidding.

Glad to hear that you're surprisingly happy and that your job is going great.

Things are going well for me. My JW family is puzzled that I'm no longer attending meetings and I'm happier than I've ever been before in my life.

33

New Apostate: Tempest in a Teacup

by Tempest in a Teacup in

jw
friends

first post on here.

i've been lurking for 3-4 years and i mean i've been a mega lurker, doing marathon reading sessions for months or weeks.. sometimes i proceed by researching specific topics, or posters; other times just reading current discussions.

i'm particularly fond of "old" post, i.e 10-12-15 years ago.. i have laughed, smiled, got mad, cried etc, just reading some threads here.. as you can see i suffer from some kind of "accute lurkitis".

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

I have 2 masters degrees (the anti-education pressure used to be a bit lower over here, well, until about 5 years ago...so I was almost through by then).

Given the current anti-education climate in WT, if any JWs ask you why you have 2 masters degrees, just reply, "I was planning to get a third, but I stopped at 2 in order to prove how extremely humble I am!"

And, WELCOME!

14