Posts by Billy the Ex-Bethelite

13

The Man With a Secretary's Inkhorn - who he, and does he wear flip-flops?

by rory-ks in

at the agm this year geoffrey jackson identified the "man with a secretary's inkhorn," of ezekiel chapter 9 as being jesus christ.

this was declared an "adjustment" from the previous understanding that the organisation used to believe that this "man" was "the annointed.".

has the society always taught that the "man with the secretary's inkhorn" was someone other than jesus - or is this a situation where back in the mists of time the bible students understood him to be jesus, and then rutherford (or someone) identified him as "the annointed," and now they have reverted back to their initial belief?.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

Wouldn't "the man with the secretary's inkhorn" be... I dunno... THE SECRETARY !?!?!?!?!

Evidently, the secretary that does the marking is the composite Congregation Secretary Class. An elder in each congregation uses his "inkhorn" to fill out paperwork including Congregation Publishers Record Cards, letters of recommendation, forms for disfellowshipping, etc. Although this work is often kept secret, as if it is something invisible, the paperwork generated means life and death for a publisher and his prospect of eternal panda-petting paradise.

Whew! I think that nulite is better than anything Botchtower Corp could come up with.

32

Is my friend on the way out of the organisation?

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

when i left the watchtower i realised it was best to put friendships on hold.

however i mentioned to my best friend that i didn't agree with how they handled child abuse issues and that was one of the reasons i left.. anyway as i am fortunate and own two rental apartments and he is a plumber so we have kept in contact, in that i email him when i require his services and he sends me the invoice.

anyway i am now dissociated, but yesterday i emailed him about a pluming problem, and he replied.. " sorry we missed going to the indian ( this was a comment made about us having a meal together about 9 months ago, which i backed out of because i felt he was too indoctrinated and i had not disassociated myself) anyway his email continued:-.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

Even more importantly if someone had asked me who from my former indoctrinated friends i would consider least likely to defect, I would answer him.

Many would have considered me in that "least likely to defect" category. But my defection came at my own time and pace. With being a JW, it's not just about opening up to doubts, it's realizing all the consequences that come with opening up to TTATT.

If he's not really ready for that, the best you can do for him is be a good example. Be a happy, healthy, and productive member of the human family, and not a bitter, angry, or argumentative "apostate". Give him plenty of space and time, it's not like an "exJW armageddon" is coming tomorrow and he'll be destroyed if he's still in the cult.

25

Warwick to finish EARLY

by wifibandit in

ok, story time.. anon asks me via pm:.

just heard from a wallkill bethelite that warwick will finish early.

can you confirm?.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

I finished a bottle of whiskey ahead of schedule. It must be evidence of Jehovah's blessing!

32

London Bethelites Living on Their Nerves?

by The Searcher in

just got home and received information from a source regarding london bethel: .

a bethel couple told my source that they are getting rid of about 20/25 bethelites every week and that if they are to go, they will get called in on a friday and given their leaving date.everyone is "on edge" and hoping that if they get the boot, they've got time to make alternative plans.. perhaps bethelites everywhere should apply this scripture, by looking for a job and accommodation now - and then just resign from their "vow of poverty" without giving advance warning.

(proverbs 22:3) "the shrewd one sees the danger and conceals himself, but the inexperienced keep right on going and suffer the consequences.".

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

What a horrible employer the Watchtower is.

Cofty, it isn't just a Watchtower employer, it's the "bethel family".

The bethel family is the type of family where you have to do whatever "mother" asks. You don't say anything negative about the family to others. Working for the interests of this family is everything. And at any whim of mother, you can be kicked out of the family.

I used to be part of that family. But it was fake. A phony marketing scheme just like the "spiritual paradise", designed to snare and enslave. I'm sure there are still some good people--even future exJWs--that are slaving in that fake family today.

I'm so glad that I'm not any part of that dysfunctional family now!

25

Warwick to finish EARLY

by wifibandit in

ok, story time.. anon asks me via pm:.

just heard from a wallkill bethelite that warwick will finish early.

can you confirm?.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

The sooner it's finished, the sooner they can get those Brooklyn properties on the market!

And the sooner it's finished, the sooner they can give the pick slips to those construction workers.

And the sooner it's finished, the sooner the GB can move to their beautiful new toxic waste site.

73

CO in midwest gets pink-slipped

by LevelThePlayingField in

i saw the coordinator heading for the stage and hit record on my ipad.

i was shocked but here it is.

here's my typed transcript of the letter he read:.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

I think that before these layoffs became common, a CO couple would have said that it was their choice to leave the work for health or family reasons. I don't think they would have said they were "fired" from the circuit work if this had happened 20 years go. It would have been personally embarrassing. It would have put the organization in a bad light. So they would have revised the story in order to avoid awkward conversations and questions.

But in this letter, the CO seems genuinely honest about what has happened. As others have noted, although he says things about trusting the org, the tone of the letter puts that trust into question. Since bethelites and special pioneers have been getting pink slips, it wouldn't be that embarrassing to say you've gotten one too.

I also have a gut feeling that he's circulated this letter in hopes that someone in the circuit will be able to help them get settled out in the real world.

41

Special Pioneer Sister-in-Law and Husband just got their letter.

by cappytan in

jw
friends

well, my sister-in-law and her husband, special pioneers for only a couple of years, just got their letter.. her comment was along the lines of, "they're having to do this because they forgave all those kingdom hall loans a few years ago and the brothers aren't donating anymore.".

when my wife told me, i laughed so hard i farted.

;).

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

Her comment was along the lines of, "They're having to do this because they forgave all those Kingdom Hall loans a few years ago and the brothers aren't donating anymore."

Who is the "They're" and "they" that she is referring to? Doesn't she mean "Jehovah is" and "he"?

Doesn't she believe that Jehovah is directing Watchtower Corporation and he made the decision to forgive the loans? Isn't this all part of His will and purpose?

Well, my sister-in-law and her husband, special pioneers for only a couple of years, just got their letter.

They've had their couple of years as special pioneers, so what do they have to show for it? Did they meet dozens of interested people while working d2d, study with them, and get them dunked? In a couple of years they should have a new congregation filled with new publishers that they brought into "da troof"!

Or maybe Jehovah didn't see that they were fruitful branches, so he lopped them off.

30

Pledge for Global Assistance Arrangement - $15 per publisher!

by nmthinker in

last night our congregation read a letter for the global assistance arrangement combined with the traveling overseer assistance arrangement.

the "recommended" amount was $15 per publisher, which was well over $1000 for our hall.. it seemed steep.

our congregation does not have this type of money.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

An elder, a CO, and a GB member were talking about how they decide to allocate their funds.

When asked, the elder explained that he and his wife take their whole income in $5 bills. They draw a circle on the floor. They throw all the money up in the air and whatever falls inside the circle is donated to the congregation and WWW.

The CO says that he and his wife do very similar with their reimbursements and green handshakes in $5 bills. They draw a circle on the floor. They throw all the money up in the air. But it's what falls outside the circle that gets donated to the society.

The GB member explained that the Governing Body does something very, very similar to these brothers. But they take the society's income in $100 bills. They also draw a circle on the floor. Then they throw all the money up in the air. And whatever Jehovah catches, he can keep!

45

It's official - JWs have least common sense of any religious group in US

by slimboyfat in

some fascinating results in the latest pew research.

(how did i miss this before?

) including that jws rely on their religion the most of any group to tell right from wrong and rely on common sense the least.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

From the stat for meeting attendance, it looks like 15% of these participants are inactive JWs. 5% said they are "living with a partner" as their marital status, so they would be dfd, very faded, or never baptized. I think that explains how there were 14% that use common sense.

53

JW Broadcasting—November 2015

by wifibandit in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i09wzqof4zi.

ha!

that is supposed to make people go back?!

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

Only clicked through to catch some scenes. Watching too much would have a laxative effect on me.

A video about making a video. Pretty lame. Looked more like JW donations used to pay for bethel tourists.
Preaching in the remotest part of the earth, eh? Try sending those vans of JWs into Syria and report how the desert god has blessed your work.
Some poor people that were so close to real freedom, but were still deceived by cult propaganda. It's sad when JWs realize something isn't right and begin drifting away, but then get love-bombed back into the cognitive dissonance of obedience to a Bronze Age god that is channeled by some old, fat men in Brooklyn. Unfortunately, some people are really impressed by a storybook about a god that couldn't conquer enemies with iron chariot wheels.

Caught this line late in the video about how the other bethel heavies will be trotted out to read the teleprompter on the boredcast:

"We are sure you will enjoy this new arrangement."

More like, "We are going to tell you the only way you are allowed to feel. You will unquestioningly pretend to enjoy whatever rubbish we keep putting out for you."