Another anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. Back in 1912, Pastor Russell and his IBSA were sure that there were only 2 years left before "the end". Today, WT Corporation is continuing with the teaching that the end is very near. The WT magazine has a long and rich history of false prophecy.
Billy the Ex-Bethelite
JoinedPosts by Billy the Ex-Bethelite
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A Titanic Thread
by Billy the Ex-Bethelite in14 april 1912: rms titanic struck an iceberg during her maiden voyage in the north atlantic.. 15 april 1912: after two hours and forty minutes, rms titanic sank, resulting in the deaths of 1,517 people.. according to watchtower, when armageddon strikes, it will be the equivalent deathtoll of 4,000,000 titanics sinking.. praise jah?.
b the x.
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How many here gave up having a family for the sake of the "truth"?
by stuckinarut2 inthis is a sensitive topic for many of us i know, but i am wondering how many here actually gave up the idea of having a family "in this system" for the sake of "kingdom activity or service"??.
start the count here with my wife and i.
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Billy the Ex-Bethelite
Were John and Eunice the young couple in the "Children" book that decided to go their separate ways in order to put the kingdumb first?
In the late 80s there was both a Discrap Crapvention talk and a Botchtower study farticle entitled "Responsible Childbearing in the Time of the End". And there was lots of encouragement to pursue the "gift of singleness".
Was I one of the few that paid attention to both the singleness and childlessness crap that WT spewed forth? Maybe all the mind-controlling talks we got in bethel poisoned me more.
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How do stop myself getting too Bitter?
by stuckinarut2 inyou know, i always maintained that during this fading process, and while learning ttatt, i would not let myself get "bitter twisted and angry".... but, in all honesty, if i examine myself, i have become quite bitter toward the org, toward the false friends and the gb.. i have become angry as i see the extent of damage i feel being raised in "the truth" has done.... i feel hurt towards the lost opportunities in life etc.... how do i not allow myself to get too swallowed up by such bitterness?.
i have always been a very happy, positive, selfless person.
i can put people at ease, i am someone people feel comfortable chatting to.
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Billy the Ex-Bethelite
When I feel the anger, bitterness, and frustration welling up inside of me, I like to go to my "happy place."
- I picture myself in a beautiful, peaceful, natural setting like the Swiss Alps. It's a beautiful, clear, warm day, with the rugged mountains, forests, and storybook Swiss houses covered with flowers providing a beautiful backdrop. I hear the sound of cowbells and chirping of birds. Swans and ducks swim by as I stand in a beautiful blue lake about chest-deep. And in my hands, I'm holding Stephen Lett under the water. After I see some bubbles come up, I pull his head up for a couple of breaths and then "splash" back under that paradisaic water he goes. Repeat until I'm content to leave my "happy place." Lett can be replaced by any member of the GB, COs, DOs, elders, etc.
- I picture myself in a beautiful, peaceful, natural setting like the Swiss Alps. It's a beautiful, clear, warm day, with the rugged mountains, forests, and storybook Swiss houses covered with flowers providing a beautiful backdrop. I hear the sound of cowbells and chirping of birds. Swans and ducks swim by as I stand in a beautiful blue lake about chest-deep. And in my hands, I'm holding Stephen Lett under the water. After I see some bubbles come up, I pull his head up for a couple of breaths and then "splash" back under that paradisaic water he goes. Repeat until I'm content to leave my "happy place." Lett can be replaced by any member of the GB, COs, DOs, elders, etc.
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How many here gave up having a family for the sake of the "truth"?
by stuckinarut2 inthis is a sensitive topic for many of us i know, but i am wondering how many here actually gave up the idea of having a family "in this system" for the sake of "kingdom activity or service"??.
start the count here with my wife and i.
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Billy the Ex-Bethelite
I was postponing both marriage and children until after the big A.
Little did I realize that "the big A" would be Apostasy!
So now I have to get serious and figure out if I've really got myself together and want to marry. Someone my age with or without children? Someone younger and start a family?
Since much of my family is similarly childless and painfully aware of the mistake of not having kids, seeing new growth on this aging family tree would be very, very interesting.
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Questions that were never answered for me
by WasOnceBlind ini have always been a very rational and thoughtful person.
there where always questions i had growing up regarding things i was taught.
of course asking questions while being a jw is a big no no!
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Billy the Ex-Bethelite
Here's some alternative answers to VI's
Why are we not allowed to have beards?
Because Santa has a beard.
Why no tattoos is mosaic law is over?
Because those tattoos are going to look terribly faded and saggy as you grow old and wrinkly waiting your entire life for armageddon to get here.
If god is love, why does he allow so much suffering? From what I remember their main answer was that it started in Eden when Satan challenged Gods right to rule. However, I refuse to believe that a God of Love would let billions thru history suffer and die just to prove a point!
It wasn't just about Satan. There was the naked lady, fruit, and a talking snake. Maybe you would understand the issue if a naked lady ate your lunch and told you that a talking snake told her to eat it!
Why no birthdays? (their explanations are super shaky)
Remember that Jehovah gets really jealous. This isn't just about him getting torqued off because you have a special day. He gets torqued off because GOD DOESN'T HAVE A BIRTHDAY! Since he's from everlasting to everlasting, he's never had a birthday party, no birthday cake or presents for God. So it makes him sad when people have birthday parties and he'll never, ever, never, never, ever know that joy. So we need to be polite and not have birthday parties for ourselves or our friends.
Is earth is 6k years old, whats up with Dinosaurs? Cavemen?
Those are all things that Satan has stuck in the dirt to deceive you.
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Hi Everyone. Answer to prayer countdown...
by Stumpy ini've been lurking for about 3 months now and thought i'd better finally sign up.
you have all been an immense help to me as i have come to realize that this isn't the truth so i want to say a great big thank you!
what a crazy, emotional ride it is to finally face the truth about the doubts that i have carried for many years.
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Billy the Ex-Bethelite
Welcome!
So, you prayed for a sign to show you whether to stay with WT? ... Why settle for one sign, here's two that are answers to that prayer:
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Governing Body Sheep Fleecing - Official!
by The Searcher infellow witnesses - do you think the kingdom hall belongs to you, just because you all paid for it and personally finance its maintenance?
think again, sheep!
the "shepherds" have announced the fleecing in black & white for you, in case you decide to question them!.
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Billy the Ex-Bethelite
Therefore, it cannot rightly be said to belong to any individual or congregation
Then whoever it belongs to should pay the utilities, take care of the maintenance, cleaning, supplies, etc. If I claim that a house belongs to me, I would be paying the mortgage, utilities, and responsible for all those things. If someone came to visit me at my house as an invited guest, I wouldn't make them take care of all my responsibilities as a homeowner.
Could you imagine a wealthy friend inviting you to his house for dinner, and then as you're eating he reads an "accounts report" that there is a budget deficit and are informed that you need to pay his light and cable bill?
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Recycled WTS beliefs
by Simon inwe all know the wts abandons and invents beliefs faster than apple can churn out new shiny stuff.
but have they ever abandoned a belief and later picked it up again?.
i remember many years ago we had one of those post-district-assembly review parts (part of the service meeting) where they were discussing some "new light".. there was some confusion about which was the "new" and which was the "old" and a semi-discussion ensued with people commenting.
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Billy the Ex-Bethelite
They've gone back and forth about whether the anointed would all go to heaven before armageddon or whether some would still be on earth afterward. I think that was most often flip-flopped with studies of the Revelation--It's Bland Climax Still Ain't Happening book.
Back in the 80s, I think there were other debates about the sequence of events that would lead up to the panda-petting paradise. Since the 80s were Reagan, pope JP, and the Soviet Union, there was lots of excitement about how all those nutty prophecies would be fulfilled with the cry of peace and security, the king of the north, the destruction of babylon the great, etc.
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"jehovah loves all sorts of people"
by stuckinarut2 inok, so if you haven't as yet watched the new cartoon clip on the website, be prepared to throw up!.
it is called "jehovah loves all sorts of people", and features an awful song about how "jehovah loves everyone" even "different colors", etc....yep...they actually say that!.
huh??????.
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Billy the Ex-Bethelite
It's barely a minute long. I guess that sums up about how much love there is. -
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Last chance to make an impact! Help me please....
by Anon_SA1 inso tomorrow is going to be my last encounter with a jw friend of mine for various reasons on her side.
(long story).
i have spent a lot of time discussing various concerns about the jw teachings, but havent been able to make any progress in helping her to question or doubt the teachings.
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Billy the Ex-Bethelite
It's hard to know what, if anything, will get through to any one JW. Since you've already unsuccessfully tried to reason on JW history, doctrine, and false prophecies, those probably won't be any more successful in your next conversation.
I've never knowingly gone into a "last chance" conversation like you've described. But theoretically, the closest I've been, I would try to make the conversation as positive, true, personal as possible... and rather distanced from anything JW. If, for example, it were my cousin:
"We've certainly been through a lot together. We spent a lot of time together as kids. Remember when you asked me to explain to you what 'f**k' means? [other reminiscing goes here] Later we went in different directions. You moved away. I moved away to bethel. But whenever we got together, it was like we picked up where we left off. We're family, the ties that bind... and gag. LOL.
"One of my regrets is that I wasn't good about keeping in touch with you or most of the important people from my younger days while I was in bethel. When I finally left bethel, I tried to make the best of what my life had become. But I wasn't happy. And the harder I tried to be happy, the unhappier I became. I've told you enough of the reasons I wasn't happy and why my life had taken the direction that it has. Unfortunately, I now understand that those reasons that I mentioned to you, have made you unhappy and uncomfortable with me. I want you to be happy. So if that means that you will be happier by not talking to me and not seeing me, so be it. It doesn't make me happy to not be a part of your life, but I can't go back to living in the miserable shroud of unhappiness that I used to live in"
I'd have much more to say, of course, but I'm thinking I'd go for the non-cult persona if it's still alive in there somewhere to get them to laugh and cry. If they want to talk about beliefs, okay, I might go there, but not far. I already know what JWs believe and that they're programmed to question and attack what I would present as my beliefs. So I'd be more concerned about just trying to keep things open for future contact.
Not sure if that's any help, Anon. But good luck!
