Posts by Billy the Ex-Bethelite

17

Father's Day is tomorrow (in the US). Why is it wrong?

by leaving_quietly in

i did an examination of the one single article ever to address father's day since it's tomorrow here in the us.

the article covers both mother's day and father's day.

hope it's informative.. examination of “mother and father worship unscriptural”, the only article ever to address father’s day in any publication printed by the watchtower bible and tract society.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

I'm pretty sure that there were some Mother's and Father's Days celebrated in the Bible where people got their heads chopped off.

It's been a few years since I set foot in a Kingdumb Haul, but I think that's the way it went down in the Bronze Age.

51

My son is not sure about what he has been taught about the common ancestor

by KateWild in

this week my son expressed he is agnostic as he is not sure what to believe about evolution and the common ancestor.. i thought any jw hang ups were gone.

i told him that what they teach in school is trustworthy and he can be rest assured that there is evidence to support that the common ancestor was the real link to the evolution of humans.. he has got critical thinking skills.

and responded with "for hundreds of years schools have been teaching things and have changed their thoughts".

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

And responded with "for hundreds of years schools have been teaching things and have changed their thoughts". He gave me an example which I can't remember now.

Schools, that is to say "good schools", aren't the same as church where the students/laity sit silently and absorb the dogma handed down from on high and unchanged since the Bronze Age. Critical thinking means to listen and learn AND question, examine, prove, and improve. In my field of study, the very basics are only a few hundred years old. One of the textbooks we were using in class had a section that was already outdated by improved formulas. All of my professors were clear about the fact that there is much more to discover and we may find things that contradict what was previously understood. Embrace the change. Lead the change. Then when we're rich and/or famous, remember our alma mater!

Isaac Newton is famous for what he got right. But a lot of what he wrote was WRONG! Does that discredit all his work? Of course not. He wasn't writing a sacred bible that was a know-all, end-all. Others examined, corrected, and improved on the foundation he laid. And in the field of research into human evolution, the greatest discoveries are of recent origin with DNA research. SURPRISE! Neanderthals didn't just mysteriously die off. Some of us are carrying about 5% of their DNA in ours.

From a scientific point of view, there is much more to research and discover.

From the religious fundamentalist point of view, there's always just one answer:

I told him that what they teach in school is trustworthy and he can be rest assured that there is evidence to support that the common ancestor was the real link to the evolution of humans.... I don't care if my son believes in God or not. I just want him to know evolution is a fact.

Don't try to force a specific belief on him or make what is taught in school become a religious doctrine that he dare not question. Allow him to think critically. He's already said, correctly...

"for hundreds of years schools have been teaching things and have changed their thoughts".

Time for more critical thinking on this subject of educational evolution. Technically, "public education" has only been available for the last 200 years. Previous to that "schools" were only for the elite. If he is thinking that it's wrong for schools to evolve with the times, does he really want to go back to living the way they did hundreds of years ago? Sure, lots of rich white men were "successful" during those earlier centuries, but they often died young of tuberculosis, smallpox, cholera, typhus, measles, scarlet fever, etc. And if the diseases didn't kill you, the treatment by "medical professionals" of the time would easily kill you in horrible ways.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think it's a good thing that schools are now teaching doctors, as well as the general public that might get jobs in food service, the importance of hand-washing, for example. If your son prefers the "good old days" when people would bathe only when they fell in the river, well, I just don't know what to tell you. LOL

80

Islam is a religion of peace (2)

by Coded Logic in

in behalf of the horrific events of saturday night, i just wanted to take a moment to remind everyone that islam is a religion of peace.

it doesn’t matter that the quran explicitly says that homosexuals should be stoned to death (7:84) - it’s still a religion of peace.

and it doesn’t matter that the scriptures say that all gay men should be killed (sunan 1:152) - islam doesn’t in anyway condone violence.. it doesn’t matter that every mainstream imam calls homosexuality a sin "worse the adultery" - it’s not a religion of bigotry.. it doesn’t matter that 61% of muslims in the uk think gay acts should be made illegal - islam has nothing against the gay community.. it doesn’t matter that countries with sharia law actively persecute the lgbt community - islam is all about peace and love.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

I have a bunch of redneck 'merican Christians from high school among my facebook "friends". They don't just blame Muslims, they blame an insufficient amount of guns, and evidently they also blame atheists, judging by comments like these:

"The problem isn't guns. It's a godless society."

From what I've seen, they haven't posted any comments in support of the Orlando victims and their families. They've made it clear from their previous comments about LGBT issues how they feel about that. One of the most "Christian" of the Republican presidential candidates this time around (that got no traction) wrote this book:

"God" barely rated above "guns". From the part of 'merica that I come from Christianity=GUNS! Conservative Christians may be furious about Muslims coming to this country, but if they're coming here the conservatives are going to make sure that every one of those Muslims gets as many guns as they want as easily as they can.

I don't know why so many immigrants keep wanting to move here or even visit here. This place is nucking futs. As if the guns and political climate aren't bad enough, we have tornadoes, floods, traffic, and the country is filled with loud, fat, and obnoxious Yankees like Mike Huckabee and my "Christian" high school classmates * sigh* and the atheist moderately liberal (or liberally moderate) me.

19

Just called into the Kingdom Hall, Speaker said he couldn't tell if anyone was listening to his talk... Well I was and what a joke

by Greybeard in

jw
friends

just called into the kingdom hall, speaker said he couldn't tell if anyone was listening to his talk now that everyone uses electronic devices and nobody laughed... well i did!.

he also mentioned when everyone used the bible he could hear the pages flipping and he knew they were following along.

this was really funny to me.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

Then he went off on Apostates, same old put downs, "they have nothing of value, all they have to offer us is distractions" he said.

Nonsense, apostates have higher education and birthday cake, among other things. I guess they think that things like medical care and happy children are just "distractions".

16

It is on sale the Assembly Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in Mallorca (Spain)

by JHK in

http://www.fotocasa.es/inmobiliarias/benialsa-gestion-inmobiliaria-9202753892339/oficina/palma-de-mallorca/aire-acondicionado-calefaccion-amueblado-joan-crespi-2-138200558.

it is on sale the assembly hall of jehovah's witnesses in mallorca (spain) .

the money from the sale will travel to the heavenly paradise .... http://johnhenrykurtz.blogspot.com.es/2016/05/profecia-cumplida-se-vende-el-salon-de.html.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

Rubber face Lett

It looks like he's getting ready to eat the sheet of paper he's holding.

16

It is on sale the Assembly Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in Mallorca (Spain)

by JHK in

http://www.fotocasa.es/inmobiliarias/benialsa-gestion-inmobiliaria-9202753892339/oficina/palma-de-mallorca/aire-acondicionado-calefaccion-amueblado-joan-crespi-2-138200558.

it is on sale the assembly hall of jehovah's witnesses in mallorca (spain) .

the money from the sale will travel to the heavenly paradise .... http://johnhenrykurtz.blogspot.com.es/2016/05/profecia-cumplida-se-vende-el-salon-de.html.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

"Hail the Theocracy and All Its Assets,
Wondrous Liquidation is Now Taking Place!"

20

I feel frustrated

by BlackWolf in

jw
friends

hello all, things for the most part have been somewhat better for me because my parents haven't talked about baptism or anything recently.

i got a scholarship to go to art camp for a few weeks which has been fun (since its free, my parents didn't refuse) but it has also been very nervewracking for me.

i haven't been around any non jws for more than a year and its like being in a different world, a world where people are actually real and genuine and not mindless drones.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

Remember that this situation is temporary. Your life will change with every passing year. So don't fret too much about your current situation. Use that energy to plan what you want for your future.

As far as having friends, don't spend too much time talking about JW stuff, as already mentioned by others. Enjoy what time you are able to spend with them. For many of us, after graduation we never saw most of those classmates again as we went our separate ways... until this Internet thingy came along. That gives you a big advantage. If you make friends now that you are only able to spend a little time with, you can keep in touch through the Internet and build a valuable network of friends.

48

From yesterday WT, don't have kids and if you do then don't see them often nor the grandkids either

by purrpurr in

unbelievable paragraph in yesterday's watchtower was "encouraging" the sheep to not have kids.

most of their growth comes from the born ins and they are still on about not having kids?.

then it went on to "encourage" those that do have kids or grandkids not to spend to much time with them and instead to spend their time serving kingdom interests!.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

Thousands of young Christian men and women are willingly sacrificing marriage or are not having children—at least for now—in order to serve Jehovah to the full.

I was one of those thousands. What a terrible choice.

32

In the paradise JWs will have a standard uniform

by RodrigoGuerreiro in

anyone else notice this on the last video of the regional convention 2016?.

frame stills:.

conclusion: it seems that the paradise will not be only the end of wickedness but also the end of the jws typical cheap polyester suits :-p.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

Nothing says "Party at Paradise Beach" like having your entire body encased in burlap clothing while you sit around a table looking at fruit and talking to the same people that you were previously in a bunker with for days/weeks/years!

18

Scary Dream

by freemamaof3 in

a little background- i faded in august 2015. ive got to small kids and one on the way.

i dont believe the jw cult nonsense anymore.. .

ok so last night i had the scariest dream.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

Like Sparky, I've had a lot of bethel-based dreams/nightmares. For me, it was always such a relief to wake up to my "present truth".

After a long weekend working overtime, I'm due for such a dream that will make me happy to get up early for work tomorrow. Otherwise, I have to wait until payday on Thursday when money is magically deposited in my bank account. Money is more happifying that waking from a bad dream.

When I was still "in", I had some terrific armageddon and demon attack nightmares. Those have all gone away.

Perhaps my worst nightmare was when I was in university and dreamed that I'd done a whole bunch of homework... but then woke up to realize that all that work was just a dream.

There was also that time that I dreamed I was a car muffler... I woke up exhausted.

And there was the time that I dreamed I ate a giant marshmallow. I woke up and couldn't find my pillow anywhere.