Bungi Bill mentions heavy drinking. Now that's something the Australian branch knows all about. Some 25 (?) years ago a member of the branch committee, named Dave Madzay and a small clique of other bethelites were really getting stuck into the slops at night. No criticism from the other members of the branch committee, until one night he drove somewhere and was picked up by the police and charged with driving under the influence. Now that friends, is a serious matter (looks bad) and Dave gets removed from his position and has to leave Bethel. Which all led to heavier drinking, and one cold winter night he mistakenly filled his kerosene heater with petrol instead of kerosene. He did not survive! Are we to asume then that going to Bethel can lead us to bad associations (grin)?
Right in the heart of Yahweh's spiritual paradise, many learned to do something harmful. And it was always so. Go back to 1940s to the time when the Australian branch was banned and although the Government allowed the Bethel family of the time to continue to live at Bethel, it was placed under Army occupation, with sentries controlling access. The Branch Servant was Bro. MacGillivray, and brother Mac as he was known, was out dining well one night and comes home late at night filled with his favourite spirit, and when challenged "Who goes there," by the sentry, makes a smartarse response. So the Sentry shot him, (but did not kill him) - Bet he thought carefully next time he got challenged.
In any case, it is not neccessarily the close bad associations with worldly people that troubles Yahweh, the WT god. Yahweh's problem is that at University you are taught to interrogate ideas. That is anathema to Yahweh and his Jesus sidekick. It leads to seeing the light and realising that Yahweh, Jesus and the whole construction is an illusion. That's their problem!
