Posts by Billy the Ex-Bethelite

18

Can anyone explain this reasoning?

by Honesty in

jw
friends

when a jw goes from door to door on a daily basis, they are called pioneers and it is a good thing.. it is an act of love when they share their knowledge with householders.. .

however, if that pioneer learns more about the watchtower society's beliefs when compared with the bible and tries to share that knowledge with current members he is attacking his brothers and sisters and is mentally diseased.. when he shares his knowledge about the watchtower society's involvement with the un and other political entities with the brothers and sisters it is called an act of hate.. in both instances, we have similar actions and motivations but the watchtower society comes to completely different conclusions.. does it have anything to do with control or is it related to something else?.

.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

It's one of dozens of double-standards that JWs live down to.

43

Judicial Meeting

by Kool Jo in

so here you are...sitting with a couple of elders at judicial meeting, and you're asked the following question:.

"do you still believe that the fds is the channel that jehovah is using"?.

now is it possible to answer 'no' without being df, or how would you answer that question?.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

Welcome Island Man!

10years: And remember that telling them that you're still a believer isn't "lying", it's "untruthing"... something WT has been doing for over 100 years.

6

A gun with one bullet in case you survive armagedon!

by Witness 007 in

imagine a convention that never ended...living bethel style forever where your neighbours were the most pious arrogant self righteous judgemental people you can imagine...and its forever!

singing kingdom songs 3 times a day forever.

witnessing to the ressurected ones with the "whitewashed" version of the truth....dont mention 1925 or 1975 or the "generation.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

At least with the discrap crapventions, you leave the auditorium and go to a nice "worldly" restaurant, then return to your "worldly" motel and watch some pay-per-view porn. Post-armageddon, the world would resemble a miserable concentration camp.

54

Brothers told to pack an "Armagedon survival bag."...bid gossip in Aust!

by Witness 007 in

so my mum excitedly calls and tells me how the brothers are now told to pack a survival emergency bag, so the tribulation is coming!!!

talk about clutching at straws.

shes packed her bible of course and the some non essential stuff like food...he he.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

And the JWs can go running to the Mormons to buy their "Armageddon survival supplies".

29

'Great ROI'...successfully fading

by Skipper12 in

6 months or so ago, me and my wife decided we will never set foot again in a kingdom hall.

about 4 months earlier than that, i stumbled upon an article about the wts being associated with the un.

that got me into finding out ttat eventually.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

Welcome! And thanks for sharing your encouraging story. I think it should be read at every district convention.

43

Judicial Meeting

by Kool Jo in

so here you are...sitting with a couple of elders at judicial meeting, and you're asked the following question:.

"do you still believe that the fds is the channel that jehovah is using"?.

now is it possible to answer 'no' without being df, or how would you answer that question?.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

I got asked that in a "shepherding call". I analyzed and shredded the question in front of them without giving them a yes or no. I was in bethel long enough to learn how to shovel bullsh!t and make it look like billiance.

"By the FDS, do you mean all the anointed partakers? As in, do I think the young and unstable Br. Nibble-n-Sip is a spokesman for God? Am I supposed to answer "yes" to that? Do YOU do what that kid says?" ... "Do I think that what is written in the current WT is infallible and would never be replaced by 'new light' in just a matter of months?" ... "By 'channel' are you asking whether I believe they miraculously talk to the spirit world like with a crystal ball?"

Although the new light on the FDS has been published, I don't know whether that interpretation is binding until after the congregation is assigned to study it. It might be interesting to ask a JC that question.

77

I just informed the parents about me and the TTATT... heart wrenching

by sosoconfused in

well first i want to thank everyone here for the good points etc... i have received over the last few months.

you guys have really been helpful!.

so the other day my mother wrote me a 3 page letter telling me how she was so scared for me because she could tell my love for the truth was gone etc.. so i decided i wanted to totally rip the band-aid off and get this matter over and done with.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

Soso, I've had a few difficult conversations with my parents. Yes, it can be heart wrenching. The best that I could do afterward was to be genuine. I demonstrated that I wasn't carrying a grudge, uncomfortable, or avoiding them. They are elderly, so I make it a point to check on them, visit them often to help out, and just be a good son, without letting the religion get in the way.

It's been quite a while since we had any difficult conversation. I drew my lines very clearly. First of all, until WT clearly and publicly changes their policy to instruct the elders and everyone that the police should be called FIRST, and not the branch, I will not even talk about setting foot in a KH that will put protecting pedophiles before protecting children. And that's an issue that mom has trouble ignoring, that an organization claiming to speak for God is having to shell out millions and refuses to change their policies to protect children from perverts that can hide in the congregation.

We've also talked about "God has to have an organization, so it must be WT." I've pretty well poisoned the word "organization" for them since I reasoned with them on the history of organizations in the Bible. I got much more specific in different conversations with my dad. How about the organization of the Levitical priesthood and the kingdom of Judah... both massive failures of being "God's organization". The Bible makes it clear that it was the independent prophets that wrote most of the Bible and were used by God... NOT AN ORGANIZATION. Wasn't the temple and priesthood "God's Organization" in the first century? How dare this one man Jesus speak up against the commercialism, greed, and wickedness of "God's Organization"? The Jewish leaders of his day had plenty of insulting names to call Jesus, which is no different than the way WT would try to insultingly use the label "apostate" on anyone that would dare to even question their policies or point out the inconsistencies of their teachings and prophecies.

As far as Jesus establishing an organization in the first century, how did that work out? It quickly led to a clergy and more wickedness. How can we expect an "organization" to be the answer to a relationship to God? Jesus is the only mediator. He destroyed the idea of an earthly kingship, human priests, or any other "organization". In Insight Vol. 2, under the heading "Synagogue", Watchtower proudly says that their "Governing Body" is modeled after the organization of the Jewish Sanhedrin. Really? They choose to model themselves after an organization that was not set up according to anything in the Mosaic Law? And they choose to model themselves after the court that condemned Jesus to death?

And was it prophetic on the part of WT to refer to the leading partakers in the organization as the Jehu class? Reread the Bible. Jehu started out full of enthusiasm for worshipping Jehovah and ending Baal worship. That didn't last long. As soon as he became king, Jehu didn't worship at the temple in Jerusalem, he worshipped the golden calf idols. Jehu was an opportunist that used the notion of worshipping Jehovah as a way to get power for himself. Why would WT have chosen to model themselves after him?

And as far as any debate about what teachings of WT I do or don't agree with, I left it with the question, "What's the point of discussing it? They change their teaching on 'generation' every year or so, and any other teaching can be changed in one brief statement in a WT paragraph. I don't want to make you try to defend a teaching that in a few months will become 'old light.'"

46

exJW Psychology 102--How to Ask a Question When Questions Aren't Allowed

by Billy the Ex-Bethelite in

jw
friends

now that enough time has passed and i've moved away, i think i'm overdue to share some of the stories from my fade.

i've mentioned some of this before, but i think it deserves its own thread.. we all would like to be able to freely ask questions about jw beliefs and get our family and friends to really think about certain questions.

however, when you're a baptized jw, you really can't ask any good questions or you'll get the "apostate" label slapped on you!

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

sd-7: I don't know if I'd call myself "clever" or "sly". At the risk of outting myself, I'll disclose that I refer to myself as a "sneaky sneaker."

trujw: Sorry to hear that you and your wife suffered at the hands of a bunch of idiots. There are lots as$hole elders appointed by WT that need to have their names on restraining orders. It's a good way to notify those jerks that YOU have disfellowshipped THEM!

Sapphy: That's when I use the line, "I know that 'God magic' is what we're supposed to believe, but that reply won't work with an atheist."

Resistance is Futile: Excellent response. I hope that "lady" was wearing her depends when you asked her that question.

Now for the "What is it we believe again?" Technique. This can get interesting when it's in a group and someone tries to make the conversation "spiritual". And it's hard to describe exactly how this will play out, since the conversation can make a lot of twists and turns. And it works best when there are two of us in the group that are "sneaky sneakers". I was always too "in the know" to talk like I didn't know what we were supposed to believe. But I sure knew how to make things interesting if someone else asked the questions.

For an example, I'll go back several years to when the brochures were released at the DC about proof of creation. When a group of us went out afterward, Br. Self-Righteous (*names have been changed) decided that the group should be discussing the program and new releases. Evidently cued by my severe eye-rolling to the point of injury, my sister brought in the question, "So, what is it we believe about mosquitoes? Did Jehovah make them to eat blood?" Then I came in with, "Well, that wasn't addressed in the talks or the brochures, but I had a CO say that the devil was responsible for mosquitoes. I don't know where he got that." After some speculation went around, I came back with, "I would guess that mosquitoes started biting for blood about the same time that the flesh-eating animals started eating meat." The Technique then reenters with, "When do we believe that animals started eating meat?" Of course the general agreement in the group is that it was right after the flood when God told Noah that they could eat meat, but then I come in with, "Well, it isn't quite that simple since they came out of the ark with so few animals. If the tigers and lions ate a gazelle a day as soon as they came out of the ark, there wouldn't have been any gazelle after two days. So it must have been sometime later, when there were enough animals around, that they could begin eating other animals." As the conversation became awash in more questions and lots of speculation, Br. Self-Righteous expressed that maybe we shouldn't be talking about these things. So, then we all looked at him and said, "What are you talking about, YOU were the one that started this conversation in the first place."

15

Finally ready

by independenthinker in

ok so i havent posted on here in over a year, i think i posted like a few times, then disappeared.. has anyone else like just shut it out?

like i joined here as soon as i found out, then after a month or two i just didnt want to think about it; i had my final exams, elders creeping about, my mom got crazier, i was starting college, other kinda issues, which made me just blot everything i learnt about my religion out.

well he hurt me too, oh i would give all my blood to you.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

Welcome back!

"i feel like i was shocked, then in a state of denial, and now im starting to accept it. Did anyone else go through those stages?"

I went through all the stages of grief, withdrawal, etc. Most of the stages I went through several times.

Maybe I should try writing music for therapy. I'd start with a song entitled, "The Beheadingless Birthday" or something like that.

41

Newbie: Well I've been lurking enough and thought I should say hello.

by Adventurousone in

i really like this site and some of the comments i've read.

i was in the organization for 31 years and now i'm free!.

recently left the organization and am trying to rebuild my life.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

Welcome!