Billy the Ex-Bethelite

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Posts by Billy the Ex-Bethelite

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  23

  JW Version Of Spring Cleaning

  by JW_Rogue in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  from the january study edition second study article paragraph 10:.

  we can use the memorial season as an opportunity to look through our wardrobe, our movie and music collections, perhaps even the material stored on our computers, smartphones, and tablets.if i were going to a place where jesus would be present, would i feel uncomfortable wearing this clothing?if i did wear it, would it be obvious to all that i am a follower of christ jesus?would jesus be entertained by watching this movie or by listening to this music?

  if he borrowed my cell phone or tablet, would i be embarrassed by what he saw there?as you consider the subject matter of a video game, ask yourself: would i find it difficult to explain to jesus why i enjoy playing it?

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  If I were going to a place where Jesus would be present, would I feel uncomfortable wearing this clothing?

  Please, Jesus always wore long dresses and sandals everywhere he went, and is typically portrayed with long hair and a full beard. I think my undercut haircut and slightly tight pants won't leave me feeling a bit uncomfortable if he happens to be present wearing 30CE Jewish attire, grooming, and lack of deodorant in the same restaurant or bar with me tomorrow. Pretty sure he'd feel uncomfortable with what he would be wearing.
  

  If he borrowed my cell phone or tablet, would I be embarrassed by what he saw there?

  What the hell? He's JESUS, why would he need to borrow my cell phone or tablet? Is the holy spirit not able to route a call or handle his online shopping needs such that he needs to borrow my electronic devices? I think he'd be the one embarrassed to ask me, "Hey Billy, can I borrow your smartphone so I can make a call to ToMo3 and give him crazy talk ideas and check the weather forecast online to see if I need to borrow your umbrella to keep my dress dry?"
  
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  37

  What did you have for Christmas dinner?

  by GrreatTeacher in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my inlaws are polish, though my husband is a 3rd generation american, but the food traditions have stuck around.. we have christmas eve dinner starting with red beet soup with sour cream, pierogies filled with mashed potatoes or saurkraut, ham, polish sausage sliced and cooked with saurkraut, turkey (that part is american), krischickies (likely spelled wrong) which are crispy pastries dipped in powdered sugar, and apple pie (also american.).

  there are goodnatured threats toward bad children who may need to get their dupa busted (butt spanked) and therefore santa will bring figismachen.

  i also love golabkis (ground beef and rice wrapped in cabbage leaves), but these were not served this time.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  Dinner was prime rib and beaujolais nouveau. Dessert was gingerbread and beaujolais nouveau.

  I can still type, I think I need more beaujolais nouveau.
  
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  48

  American accents, Bette Midler, Clinton, Rick Fearon, Strathclyde, Morningside

  by slimboyfat in

  1. social
  2. current

  i used to enjoy being able to distinguish different local accents, but for some reason i've got worse at it.

  i was thinking about this today when i was listening to bette midler on the scottish radio.

  i thought to myself i quite liked her accent and also that it reminded me of someone else.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  Midwestern here, of the rather generic TV American accent variety.

  It was explained to me in Bethel that the WT recordings and most "worldly" broadcasting is done using the midwestern accent and a lot of native Canadians, because their pronunciation is so readily understandable to all other English speakers. Most discernible is pronunciation of the Rs, th (both of them), d, ch, sh, wh, but also the vowel sounds. As BOC mentioned, we don't pronounce caught and cot the same. That's something more Southern, I think.

  Just my opinion, but I think the accent evolved in my area because more than a century ago it was settled by Americans moving in from the East and the South as well as new immigrants from Germany (lots of them), Netherlands, Scandanavia, and France to that rural area, and Irish, Italians, etc. in the nearby urban areas. The local accent evolved in such a way that these people could understand one another and absorb some of their previous speech patterns.

  And another opinion, I think religion has an impact as well. For example, when Baptists and Pentecostals get in religion mode, they seem to ratchet up the Southern sound. Others take on various self-righteous tones. I think the sound of Rutherford, Franz, and Knorr preaching was an effort to sound more like Russell than of anything "normal". I think I heard lots of brothers and newer GB that seemed to fake an accent to sound more like these dudes:
  

  Chuck Russell:

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5tgGpynaac
  

  Joe Boozerford:
  

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHkZ0RfvHQ0
  

  Freddy "The Oracle of Brooklyn" Franz:

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBwKX-5qXT0
  

  Nathan Snorr:

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjlCRwJ1IVw
  
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  10

  Bethel reassignments. A question.

  by freddo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  1. in january the first uk bethelites will be hitting the streets.

  are any coming to a circuit near you and what effect do you think they will have on the local congregation they are sent to?.

  2. if you know of bethel closures/reductions already - such as spain, italy, nz etc.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  When the earlier US bethel layoffs happened, they were followed with some of the "dearly departed" appearing at Circus Assemblies and Discrap Crapventions relating their "personal experiences" of how they were "helped" by the brothers to get settled and find work, and how they were "blessed" with the "privilege" of returning to the field and helping local congregations.

  Some of them seemed a little sincere. Some sounded like there was someone with a gun pointed at them behind the curtain.

  I had left shortly before those layoffs began. A few that I'd stayed in contact with admitted it was a terrible and fearful time that they would get booted with minimal notice. It's not just losing a job in 30 days, it's leaving your housing, no unemployment, no health insurance, no savings, no nothing. Although I'd made up my mind and tried to make plans before I left, the actual leaving and watching the doors and gates close behind you was rather terrifying.

  I used to be so brainwashed as to think, "I don't think I could survive outside this wonderful bethel home. This is the best place on earth. I want to stay here forever." Now I cringe when I think about those terrible, wasted years. And when I dream about still being in bethel, it's all a nightmare that I'm trying to escape from. I'm so happy to wake up in my small apartment... that is palatial compared to anything I had in bethel. Ugh, those tiny rooms that I had to share with at least one other roommate.

  Sorry freddo, my comments are wandering. I hope something in there answered some part of your question. If you happen to meet any of them, pass along this advice from me: Don't look back, stop attending meetings, go to university, and get an engineering or any other degree that will get you a good career. It worked for this ex-bethelite!
  
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  57

  Is zeal beginning to vanish?

  by Caupon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it has to be starting to fade somehow.

  the very last time i went out in field service, hardly any were out.

  maybe just about nine people were out and man if you could just see their faces.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  Going in serve-us was easier when you had a big collection of magazine route calls spread out all over a large rural county.

  Drive for 20+ minutes, talk to a lonely, elderly householder for 20+ minutes, visit that nice bakery off in the corner of the territory for 20+ minutes, there you have an hour+ "preaching" and you could do that twice each month with each pair of new ragazine issues. So that's an easy 2 hrs each month. That option is long gone.

  Now there are only minizines (or tractazines) every other month that are so thin and devoid of any content that it would be easier to just read them to the householder than to come up with a "presentation" for them. That old route call is reduced to maybe an hour every other month.
  
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  40

  2014-12-17-BOE-Children Give Up Your Pocket Money!

  by Atlantis in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  petra!

  2015-12-17-boe already, you dear brothers have done so well, sending gifts both large and small.

  for in-stance, two children, five and seven years old, sent their pocket money to help build our new bethel instead of going to the circus, writing, "this is much better than that!

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  An organization that has sold nearly a billion dollars worth of Brooklyn real estate alone, with millions of dollars more worth of branch properties sold worldwide, and around another billion dollars worth of Brooklyn real estate currently up for sale is begging for children's ice cream and circus money...

  
  
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  7

  Latest article about Warwick polution

  by ttdtt in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  http://www.recordonline.com/article/20151214/news/151219671/0/search

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  This is what happens with an organization that discourages "critical thinking".
  
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  7

  Warwick project "ahead of schedule?"

  by stillin in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  this is what a brother said at the meeting today.

  he has been working there as a volunteer.

  but my impression was that the toxic waste debacle set the project back seriously.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  ... and Armageddon is over 100 years behind schedule.
  
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  25

  Twelve Days of Evolution - A video a Day

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  from the guys and girls at "it's ok to be smart".. stay curious!.

  ....

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  Intelligence + Humor + "Much shorter than a talk at the Kingdumb Haul" = I love these videos
  
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  39

  Best Christmas Song?

  by snugglebunny in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a catchy little number this one!

  curiously, this little known christmas song by perry como was actually the theme tune to the odessa file movie back in the 70's.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5l1uddoh-yu.

  so what have you got?.

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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  littlerockguy beat me to posting Jordan's incredible performance, so I'll post Jeffery's:
  

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egRc4cjTWbk
  

  And we mustn't forget this Christmas melody that is very similar to a certain old Kingdumb malady:
  

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Dec9Jb_Ac4