Posts by Billy the Ex-Bethelite

30

If I've been testy lately, here's why.

by cappytan in

jw
friends

my parents are visiting for not-thanksgiving.

dad started bringing up spiritual stuff and i almost screwed up my fade.. it's so hard to have a genuine discussion about the issues in the organization when you have become an atheist.

it feels icky and disgusting to have to pretend and nod your head at such platitudes as "you just need to have faith"..."trust in jehovah"..."jehovah will correct it"..."remember ray franz?

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

dad said Tony was a loose cannon and that if he doesn't straighten up, Jehovah will deal with him. He brought up Ray Franz as an example

Tony will continue to be a loose cannon and will never straighten up. That gives you a win-win situation:

Tony keeps saying stupid sh!t and Jehovah doesn't deal with him--Dad, you said Jehovah would get rid of that crazy but he keeps using his position as a soapbox to spew weird personal ideas. That's how the holy spirit works?
Tony somehow gets removed from the GB--Dad, it looks like these GB dudes aren't really channels to God because they get appointed with no real abilities, say dumb stuff, and get removed. That's how the holy spirit works?

12

a big problem i have always had when talking about anything related to jw teachings, is that i get aggravated and frustrated when logical black and white concepts/scriptures are not seen/interpreted in a logical way.

it really frustrates me having to hear '' oh no this does not apply here '' in every scripture that i bring to my parents attention.

starting from when i was 16 to about 20, my frustrations would lead to these anger fits.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

It sounds like you're growing and maturing... thinking and learning. But WT doesn't allow that. They want conformity and obedience.

And it will be very frustrating for you to try to combat the brain-washing that has been done to your family. Protect your own sanity first.

Ordinary JWs have been reduced to mindless drones drugged by the never-to-be-fulfilled-promise of eternal youth in a panda-petting paradise.

11

Kingdom Farm in S Lansing NY sold for 2.8 million in March, 2015 - news article

by dropoffyourkeylee in

this is probably old news and was commented about in early 2015, but the ithaca news reported on the 3/15 sale of kingdom farm in s lansing ny.

this is the property that was directly across the road from the old gilead site, which had sold a number of years ago.

but about 500 acres still was operated by the jws as kingdom farm.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

Sold for $2.8 mil.

I remember when they drew up plans to develop that site similar to Patterson. Since it was kinda midway between the downstate NY properties and the Canada branch, GB1.0 reasoned that it would be a good place to expand.

According to GB2.0, the way to expand is to $ell branch facilities and kick bethelites out to the congregations... and take the money away from the congregations, too.

11

Happy Thanksgiving!

by Oubliette in

jw
friends

happy thanksgiving everyone!

i know that we are an international group here and that thanksgiving is an american holiday (and not even all of us in the us celebrate it), but i thought it would be nice to have a thread dedicated to sharing the many things we have to be thankful for: .

i am thankful for: .

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

I'm thankful for:

grocery stores with abundant food from around the world
safe gas ovens and stoves
refrigerators
indoor plumbing
central heating
automobiles
television
Internet
my freedom from a cult
my siblings and their freedom

23

"Don't think too much...."

by Tornintwo in

jw
friends

a couple of middle aged jw sisters dropped round unannounced the other day, they were only being kind i suppose, after some awkward silences i voiced a couple of my issues with the religion, (the safe ones), sort of an explanation as to why i'm no longer attending, namely: everyone else will die, lack of support for young ones, mistreatment/judgementalism by prominent ones who get away with it because 'they're imperfect and we have to wait on jehovah' etc.

well, after sympathizing and telling me horror stories about awful elders and their own kids' issues in the past (how some left the truth, had bitter divorces from fellow witnesses etc) they then begged me to 'come back to jehovah', 'he misses me' apparently.

finally, the more pushy one summed it up with 'you're thinking too much, it's not good for you', 'some issues you just have to put in a drawer and forget about....'.. hmm nice reasoning sisters, theocratic school training at its finest!

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

I think you left off the last part of her quote:

the more pushy one summed it up with 'you're thinking too much, it's not good for you. It's better to mindlessly trust our caliphate leaders in Syria', 'some issues you just have to put in a drawer and forget about. Just strap on your bomb, walk into a crowd and blow yourself to heaven.'

19

Yeah, my parents plan to will everything to this parasitic organization and forsake their seed

by Phaedra in

jw
friends

yeah, they'll leave it all, their home, savings, etc.. never mind helping out their struggling children who never had a chance.. fuck this organization and everything it stands for when its members think god will favor them more by willing everything to a corporation instead of their own struggling seed..

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

These are hard times for Bronze Age desert gods. Back in Jesus' day, he told his followers to give to the poor and Jesus didn't have an expensive home, watches, pinky rings, and closets full of suits. After generations of sacrificing at a temple, Christianity promised freedom from such burdens.

Now in WT's day, the sheeple are told to give their money to a corporation. A lot of their giving used to be toward local congregations, but now the corporation is trying to squeeze every buck for "mother". The leaders are building an expensive, new, rural retreat for themselves, have abundant jewelry and clothes that they flaunt on their internet evangelist broadcasts.

Stack the GBs expenses on top of the current lawsuits and expected future liabilities and what's a JW to do?

37

Did I imagine a brief thaw in the Watchtower injunction against going to university?

by slimboyfat in

okay i was talking to an elder and he said me going to university was a bad idea and i should have listened to the society and not gone.

but i said that when i went to university the watchtower was saying it might not be a bad idea to go to, as long as you do it for the "right reasons", don't associate with worldly people, and keep clear of "damaging ideas".

but basically they said it was okay, in this "changing world" and job market to go to university.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

Before I went to bethel, WT had established their anti-education policy. After I got to bethel, I saw how those with legal, medical, and engineering degrees got royal treatment. It was clear to me that it was wrong to pursue a degree, but if you're still a JW after you get one, they will be more than happy to "use" you. Yes, they did soften their stance on advanced education, although it was enforced to widely varying degrees by the JW clergy hierarchy. It was a loophole for those who could exploit it. By the time I left bethel, they had clamped down on it again.

Okay I was talking to an elder and he said me going to university was a bad idea and I should have listened to the society and not gone.

Going to bethel was a bad idea. After slaving there for years, I left with little more than memories. My degree and everything I learned in university is something of great value to me for the rest of my life.

I also slaved to qualify to be appointed an elder and never received financial benefit from my years in that position. I was removed at the whim of the others on the body of elders. My degree has tripled my earning potential and it can't be taken away at the whim of some elders in a windowless room.

20

We were shown how to google jw-org last night

by StarTrekAngel in

so last night i went to the meeting with my family.

had not gone in 2 weeks.

as usual i sat down reading the bible.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

So the elder, rather than showing people how to go to the address bar and type the website address, showed them how to run a google search on jw-org.

Why would anyone google a web address that they already know? As long as he's teaching them how to use google, it might empower more brothers to google words like "boobs".

It used to be that WT said noduby needed the dangers of the Internet in their homes. Then as more dubs needed it for work or homework, WT instructed that it should only be on a computer in a public area of the home so noduby would be tempted by porn and/or apostates. Now that WT has almost completely abandoned printing, everyduby needs to have Internet access on all kinds of portable devices. Suddenly, porn isn't such a danger for dubs, eh? WT has such a fantastic website that none of the JWs will wander away to other websites?

33

Building layoffs & JW calendar 2016 theme

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

the theme of the jw calendar 2016 is building, building, building.

all the calendar pictures are about building wts property with cheap labor witnesses.. and then, just before the year approaches the building has halted.. it seems a short term decision.

a strange correlation again.. gorby.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

On average, 1,187 additional Kingdom Halls are needed each year to keep up with current organizational growth.

The correct statement would be:

On average, 1,187 additional Kingdom Halls need to be sold each year to keep up with current organizational expenses.

12

Magazine money

by pepperheart in

from next year the borg will only be publishing the two magazines saving about $2 million dollars a month.

what do you think they will be spending the money on

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

I think they're in a no-win downward spiral. With the reduction in ragazines WT will have a reduction in monthly donations received. How many publishers can afford to keep donating the same amount for half as many magazines? Those publishers now have to spend more of their income to keep upgrading their tablets and data plans.