Billy the Ex-Bethelite

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Posts by Billy the Ex-Bethelite

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  62

  Hello, just introducing myself

  by Miss Behaving in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've just signed up two days ago, but i've been lurking for about a year and a half.

  here's my story if you're interested:.

  my parents converted when they were in their first semester of college.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  Now THAT is an introduction! Welcome to the forum!
  

  Well, I guess that's all. Hope it was helpful for someone.

  I'm sure that's not ALL of it. Having been a devout JW myself, the dubs around me freaked when I went from elder to completely faded. I can only imagine the way the dubs around you FREAKED when you told them it isn't "the truth".

  I wish you the very best in your studies and moving ahead with a true and free life. I hope you're somewhere that you can use meetup or facebook to meet some of the other fine exJWs.

  And again, WELCOME!
  
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  29

  New arrangement from C.O.

  by Doctor Who in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i think most on here will be familiar with the caller hook up system that many congregations use.

  visit about 2 months ago.

  during our servant and elders meeting he was talking up the importance of meeting attendance and how we "gods spirit appointed men" must take the lead on making every meeting.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  We used to have an elder that taped paper over the mirrors in the womens rest room. He also had the speakers wired so the sound was cut off to the bathrooms during the meeting "to prevent loitering".

  Remember when they used to cover the mirrors in the ladies rooms at assemblies? That is where he got his "ideas".

  Ugh! They really should put MORE mirrors up, and full length ones, in the bathrooms so that these things don't happen:
  

  
  
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  160

  "The organisation is imperfect, but it doesn't affect my relationship with Jehovah"

  by Alive! in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i've noted active, devoted jw's state the above.. and, it's not a problem for me to remain trusting of god, i just don't trust religions or men.. recently, a member of this forum stated that he remains an active jw, in the family of god's people, wanting to encourage and do good - whilst recognising that the pastoral leaders (the gb) have shipwrecked the faith of many, being unsound scripturally etc, etc.. stop and think about this - the bible says to not follow after those who lie and hurt the faith of "little ones".. the pharisees were accused of traversing over lands and expending much energy to make a single convert - only for that convert to end up worse of than he started off with.. it's one thing to not believe this is the 'truth' and feeling the awful pressure of managing ones life, trying not to lose ones family.. it's quite another thing to declare oneself to be a christian believer of god's jw household, and somehow believe the god of love would use corrupt liars to parade as jesus' brothers in the urgency of last days.

  really?

  and, to then visibly promote faith in corrupt men, and try to bring converts into a place where the rulership is wrong.. some of us are dying from hurt here.......give me a break..

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  "The organization is imperfect..."

  It isn't just the organization. It's not just the corporate nature and ever-changing teachings that are imperfect. The GB is imperfect. Everyone in bethel, the branch committees, the DOs, the COs, and the translators are all imperfect. The elders and MSs are all imperfect. Everyone in the congregations are imperfect. And if you brought a beautiful, flawless, newborn baby into the hall, JWs will tell you that baby is an imperfect sinner because about 6000 years ago a naked lady chatted with a talking snake and then ate an apple.

  Obviously, the imperfection doesn't stop with the organization and people in it. The bible is clearly imperfect and crumbles under the slightest scrutiny. Deut 22: 28.29 explains that the punishment for rape was that the victim be sold to the rapist for the price of a slave. Is it any wonder that WT has a problem with child rapists when they worship a Bronze Age god whose "perfect law" made a raped virgin marry her rapist? And the bible has lots of stories that clearly aren't true: the flood, the building materials and sacrifices at Solomon's temple, etc.
  

  Obviously, jehovah is imperfect. Not only is his Big Book of Jewish Fables brimming with make-believe stories, it paints jehovah as a tyrant with serious anger management issues. And strangely, although he could slaughter thousands on a whim, he was powerless when confronted by chariots with iron scythes. (Judges 1:19) A Bronze Age deity just can't be 'perfect' anymore when the Iron Age starts.
  

  ... but it doesn't affect my relationship with Jehovah"

  Having a relationship with that Bronze Age god is the same as having a relationship with any other invisible sky-daddy:

  • "The organization is imperfect, but it doesn't affect my relationship with Zeus"
  • "The organization is imperfect, but it doesn't affect my relationship with Ahura Mazda"
  • "The organization is imperfect, but it doesn't affect my relationship with Santa" (Okay, I guess technically he is a Plastic Age deity.)
    
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  24

  I SAT THROUGH TODAYS WT STUDY WITH A CHEEZER! !

  by brandnew in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  may 10th, the whole study was about covering up their mistakes, and putting it off on "recent refinements of understandings".. you could just look at the elder on stage and know he was not feelin this study.. when a neewbie answered and said" lots of unexpected changes are happening" i about fell outta my seat !

  !

  !.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  < So, this is a cheezer?
  
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  21

  Mother's day according to Joseph Rutherford

  by opusdei1972 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this is what the second president of the watchtower society, the channel of god appointed in 1919, wrote about the mother's day:.

  satan would turn the people away from this beautiful symbol, and therefore from god, and cause them to disregard the word of the lord.

  this he does in a very subtle way by organizing what in england and in america, the chief countries of christendom, is called "mother's day".

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  JWs don't need one day on the calendar for mother! Every day is Mothers Day for JWs! Right?

  And by "Mothers Day", I mean a day where door-to-door preaching and literatrash carts are the mother of all time-wasters.
  

  

  "Hi, could you take one of these publications and throw it in the trash around the corner for us so we can finally go home once it's all gone? Thanks!"
  
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  42

  Why doe New light tick me off???? Next 2 weeks WT Studies

  by zophar in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if you have been a jw for 20+ years you may remember that the wt went into great detail on different illustrations that jesus used and the "type/anti-type" ridiculous explanations.

  remember the revelation book and how those obscure jw conventions of the past pictured big things in heaven and the opening of seals?

  anyway, the wt lessons for the next two weeks do two big things for me.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  Paragraph 9 in tomorrow's lesson says: "For many years, God's people found this approach to Bible accounts faith strengthening."

  Yes, nothing is as faith strengthening as having teachings and prophecies completely change every few years.

  That and using the fallacies of appeal to authority and bandwagon. "We're (the GB appointed by Jeezus) telling you it was faith strengthening. And Andre said, 'Evolution of my beliefs is faith strengthening.'"
  
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  172

  May tv.jw.org program

  by zophar in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the may broadcast on tv.jw.org.

  we need money!.

  http://tv.jw.org/#video/vodstudio/pub-jwb_201505_1_video.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  And let's not forget that just a couple of months ago, ToMo3 was on the broadcast condemning "higher education". And what was one of the reasons it was so bad? Because people were doing it in an effort to earn more money. How worldly! Such materialism is unacceptable!
  

  So earning more money is bad. Don't go to college. Simplify. Make less money. Rely on jehovah because the end is so near.
  

  But Watchtower needs more money. If they go begging to the rank and file for more money, where are the sheeple supposed to get that money?
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  20

  Prayer with my son before lunch. Your advice / experiences needed!

  by Daniel1555 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  dear friends,.

  i would like to hear your comments or suggestions on the following:.

  a little background info.. i managed to fade completely.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  I like this particular Bart Simpson prayer... it's what I've thought my entire life:
  

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWXYESqTgTc
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  172

  May tv.jw.org program

  by zophar in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the may broadcast on tv.jw.org.

  we need money!.

  http://tv.jw.org/#video/vodstudio/pub-jwb_201505_1_video.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  Frankly, I've just never understood why god, supposedly the creator of all things constantly needs to beg money from humans. What would we call a rich man that takes an elderly woman's egg money with the empty promise that he'll pay her back "very soon now"?

  Instead of all their talk about how much they need money for "projects", why don't they let the real numbers do the talking? Why not open the books for everyone to audit? If they are so careful with "Jehovah's money", why do they insist on audits and reports for every penny on the local level, yet up in the GB executive suite hundreds of millions of dollars come and go with no audits or reports to the rank and file? It's all a recipe for corruption.
  
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  8

  Today's text--Jehovah, the 'Impartial' God

  by sd-7 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  "jehovah your god...treats none with partiality."--deut.

  10:17.. "impartiality is one of jehovah's endearing qualities.

  " <--yes, between that and his tendency towards genocidal warfare, i don't know what makes me love him more.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  God is not partial. All humankind are deserving of death... because a naked lady listened to a talking snake and ate an apple.