Billy the Ex-Bethelite

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Posts by Billy the Ex-Bethelite

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  43

  Are people really happy at Bethel?

  by The Searcher in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  if they are this happy, why do they keep taking down this video?

  :).

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evulyocziz8&feature=youtu.be.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  People on here are saying the GB know about it or it was made with their consent. Does anyone actually know?

  HAVE ALL OF YOU FORGOTTEN WHAT IT'S LIKE IN WTLAND?!?!?

  COME ON PEOPLE, HAVE YOU LOST YOUR POWERS OF SPECULATION?!?!?!? In the absence of knowledge, there is all the room in the world for guesswork!
  

  This looks like something cheesy done for Bethel Family Night. But to JWs, this is fuel for speculation:

  • In a snooty, holier-than-thou JW voice, "This is something done by apostates to make JWs look worldly!"
  • In a weepy voice, "This is from the GB to remind us that JWs are real people that like to have fun."
  • In a fanatic voice, "I hear that Pharrell Williams is studying. Yeah, a sister in my Hall said that he said somewhere that he's learning about the Bible from Prince... or the Williams sisters... or the repentant ghost of Michael Jackson"

  Remember when an mp3 recording was being circulated that supposedly was George Benson and Celine Dion singing one of the Kingdumb Maladies? Lots of speculation, and some outright lies, circulated around that gem among the JWs!
  
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  41

  Counting service time in a creative way

  by nevaagain in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  couting time and, how to count time while doing as little service as possible is often a hot topic around witnesses.

  i even overheard pioneers discussing about it.

  they call it "creative time counting" (i translated that phrase from a different language so bear with me ;-).

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  What was the "pioneer spirit" that WT always talked about? Walking slow and rounding up.

  There were many times that I was very conscientious about only counting the time that really counted. Those times were generally during the first week of the month.

  Around the middle of the month when I was getting a little behind on my number of required hours, I was counting more of the travel time.

  By the end of the month it usually become "rounding up". For example, if somebody in the group hit the first "always NH" at 9:45, and at the last RV the sisters in the group got back in the car at 12:10, that was parts of 4 hours. Just like Jesus was in the grave for parts of 3 days and it counted as 3 days, same went for my time... 4 hours. Whew, and putting in 4 hours like that, you can't go running from door-to-door!
  
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  50

  Hello

  by Garrett in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hello forum,.

  i'm new here and not sure where to post.

  so, i'm 21 years old and currently a baptized witness, however, i'm slowly making my mind up to leave and here's why.. first, there are certain things that make no sense to me in the organization.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  Welcome!

  Plenty of things to do in France besides sit in a Salle!
  
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  27

  An interesting comment given by an older brother during the prayer yesterday.

  by My Name is of No Consequence in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have been a regular visitor to this site for several years now.

  i never really felt the need to set up an account and post...until now.

  at the close of yesterdays meeting, an older brother gave the prayer.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  Welcome Name is No Consequence!

  As already mentioned, this is a huge turnaround from previous directives. WT was okay with computers and technology for printing their litteratrash, but as far as the rank and file, computers were an unnecessary expense. Computer games, video games, and television were a waste of money. Books were all that was needed.

  When they finally started weakening that people needed computers and the Internet, including kids doing homework, then they said it had to be in a public area of the house and supervised. Plenty of talks and demonstrations where good dubs talked themselves out of getting such expensive "worldly" electronics.

  While the office workers in bethel had computers and internal email accounts, I don't think Ted Jaracz did. Teaching was hopelessly challenged technologically from everything I ever saw. But, Ted is dead now. If there's a hell, that's where that pompous a$$hole belongs. But I digress...

  Now it sounds from my parents that it's a status thing to have those electronic devices at the Kingdumb Haul... colorful, big, and bright displays to read from, and sing from! So it's switched from a 'no-no' to a 'must have'. And all those teenage boys in possession of ipads (formerly condemned as an acronym for Internet Pornography Access Device). And who am I kidding? It was lots of "old boys" that got their "privileges" removed for viewing porn. And now it's easier than ever! Very "handy" for "brothers" to "prepare for the WT" after their wives have fallen asleep.
  

  I agree that this move is to save money. But is it really? My parents and I don't talk about the cult much, but it comes closest when we talk about people and about their need to learn this new technology. And it's VERY frustrating for my parents and most of their "generation" at the Haul. The last time it came up, my dear mom said, "well, it's a move for the organization to save money."

  Then I said, "Well it sure hasn't saved you money! You could buy a lot of books and magazines for the money that you've spent on your devices and an expensive monthly fee for an Internet connection that you don't really use." And then I changed the subject...

  Billy:1
  WT Craporation: -1
  
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  72

  Last nights meeting...

  by DATA-DOG in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i know dubs are delusional.

  i know dubs don't reason well.

  i know dubs are a bit off, like many groups.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  Of course it's cartoonish, so there's no clarity of age. But judging by their sizes in the drawings, and certainly by the voices in the singing, they're all quite young. To me, it's as if it's for the youngest of kids to say, "hey, they're my age!"
  

  And I think it's pretty creepy that the "stumble" and "fall" that Jehovah "raises" these sinners from is knock down some oranges at a fruit stand. Really? These are such little kids that they have no concept of what lies ahead in the adult world, and the judicial committees they could be facing in the future. That's then followed by how no matter who else lets them down, their imaginary friend Jehovah is always there for them. In reality, WT and my imaginary sky-daddy have been the greatest to "fail me and proved to be untrue." Daydreaming about animals in paradise gets pretty old when you're wondering how you're going to pay the bills piling up around you.
  
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  21

  Mormon 'support' for gays, pressure on the WTS?

  by Simon in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the mormon / lds church has noticably changed it's stance toward homosexuality and instead of condemning it seems to be supporting protection for people's rights (of course they want to throw some protection for themselves in there as well).. how will this affect the wts?

  the lds is the more-successful counterpart to the wts, similar age and history and same non-mainstream appeal.. i have no doubt that the lds church is only changing because they know which way the wind is blowing and society has completely changes it's attitudes towards gay people.

  maybe they just want to stay ahead pf the curve before federal legislation enforces people's rights.. now, can we see the wts changing their views" will they be one of the last holdouts?

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  I would expect the Muslims to embrace the LGBT community before WT did.

  But then I never expected JWs to embrace the world wide web and be carrying around Internet Pornography Access Devices [IPADs].
  
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  72

  Last nights meeting...

  by DATA-DOG in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i know dubs are delusional.

  i know dubs don't reason well.

  i know dubs are a bit off, like many groups.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  If I recall correctly, ToMo3 had said that if a kid wasn't mature enough to be baptized, he wasn't mature enough to get his drivers license. Looks to me like they're backing it way down from 16 here!
  

  Maybe it's because they realized they needed to get them baptized even further ahead of puberty.

  Or maybe they're so desperate for MS and elders that they'll start appointing these preteen brothers to the elder body. In that case, the KM school will be all cartoons.
  
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  49

  Jehovah's Witnesses requesting financial transparency in Spain

  by JHK in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  two jehovah's witnesses requesting financial transparency in spain branch.

  one picture in the assembly hall and another on the bridge.. .

  http://johnhenrykurtz.blogspot.com.es/2015/01/transparencia-financiera-llegara-antes.html.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  all we should do is to shut up and keep donating.

  

  "My thoughts exactly!
  When you give to Jehovah, it's nobody's business what I do with all that cash!
  It's your job as JWs to shut-up and preach!"
  
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  49

  Jehovah's Witnesses requesting financial transparency in Spain

  by JHK in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  two jehovah's witnesses requesting financial transparency in spain branch.

  one picture in the assembly hall and another on the bridge.. .

  http://johnhenrykurtz.blogspot.com.es/2015/01/transparencia-financiera-llegara-antes.html.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  Nobody cares about any single piddly congregation with its $1000 checking account and $800 monthly expenses.

  Actually, when I was involved, I was surprised at how feverishly the CO cared about the congregation accounts and auditing. It wasn't just that the receipt totals needed to match the deposits, but that the deposits had to be made right away after each meeting, no matter how small the amount of money collected or the inconvenience about finding a way to get that last deposit in before the month ended. Most of these accounts servants were rather downtrodden MSs with crappy jobs working long hours, so their wives were helping... but had to find some young, snot-nosed, newly baptized kid to sign the receipts because women didn't qualify to sign things in those congregations.

  So there's transparency at the congregation level. There is much less transparency at the circuit level. And believe me, I've been in circuits where the CO has dipped into circuit funds like they were his personal piggybank. Above that? The money disappears into a black hole.
  
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  20

  Well folks it looks like September 23, 2017 will be the new date of Armageddon, the Rapture or whatever.

  by donny in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  well folks you had better get your act together because there is only about 2.5 years before you are held responsible for your way of life.

  according to "rapture watch", things are really going to start happening in 2017.. i am already asking the lord for leniency.

  http://www.rapturewatch.net/timelines.htm .

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  Yay! Another chance for death from above!

  ... but 2017? What the hell is wrong that they can't find a date sooner in 2015 or 2016? I think they're getting lazy if they can't keep things fresh every 6 months or so.