Bungi Bill

Joined

• started 21 topics
• posted 1,560 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by Bungi Bill

• 
  63

  Being a JW Used to Be Fun :-)

  by snowbird in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we found some people who were happy to welcome us into their homes, even offering us food and drink.. sometimes, they would flag us down and ask for the magazines, walk miles to the kh meetings, come to our defense if someone got ugly or rude.. now, jw's are either routinely ignored or outright vilified.. no one respects them anymore.. sad.. .

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Bungi Bill

  None of it was ever exactly my idea of fun - more like incarceration!

  Bill.
• 
  14

  When did the JW adopt the "GB" practice?

  by BlackSwan of Memphis in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  im discussing things online with people and i keep forgetting that they havent' always had the gb and that there was a time that it was just a president or whatever.

  .

  when did that change?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Bungi Bill

  The Governing Body actually met for the first time in October of 1971. I well recall the 1973 "Divine Victory" International Assembly, during which some of the talks were given by Leo Greenlees - who was definitely introduced as "a member of the Governing Body". (Whether spelled with a capital G and a capital B or not I don't recall, and don't particularly care!)

  However, until 1976, the Governing Body was nothing much more than an advisory panel. Nathan still ruled supreme until then!

  Bill.
• 
  28

  Am I a judgmental bastard or just one of the last sane persons on this planet?

  by skeeter1 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  so, i happened to see a young lady.

  she's about 13 or 14, can't be more than 16 years old.

  fresh faced, rosy cheeks, and a little pudgy.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Bungi Bill

  "Asserting their independence" - yeah, there is also such a thing as cutting off ones nose just to spite the face, though!

  Bill.
• 
  44

  Another Shooting Massacre

  by whathehadas in

  1. social
  2. current

  http://abcnews.go.com/us/santa-barbara-shooting-suspect-calls-loneliness-darkest-hell/story?id=23855994&ts=true.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Bungi Bill

  Then we might as well not even bother locking up our homes!

  After all, if an intruder really wants to get inside, they will find a way somehow:

  - no matter how many locks or bars placed in their path.

  It's all about making things as difficult as possible for firearms to get into the wrong hands, and any system that allows a mentally ill person to legally obtain a firearm is a disaster waiting for a time to happen.

  In this part of the world, a firearms licence is issued only after the applicant is carefully vetted for such things as mental illness and substance abuse problems. (Learned the hard way, after a massacre back in 1996, at a place called Port Arthur).

  As a licensed firearm owner myself (smallbore shooting being one of my hobbies), I have no problem with that.

  Sorry not at all for expressing these sentiments!

  Bill.

  PS: I would also take issue with any suggestions that mental illness does not play a significant role in mass killings. Of the six mass slayings that I am familiar with (including Port Arthur), in at least three of these, the perpetrator was mentally ill.
• 
  17

  LONGEVITY IS A HALLMARK OF STUPID RELIGIONS

  by steve2 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we credit religious believers with far too much interest in and/or ability to engage in reasoning.

  we overlook two hugely compelling factors that drive and revive "faith": emotional need for religious meaning, including to be consoled over awful events, and being born into the religion.

  raised from day one to recite stupidity, it is then hard to assess stupidity for what it is.. that is why there is no shortage of stupid religions who turn date-speculation into a near-art form.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Bungi Bill

  Steve2,

  Sadly, I believe that you are right on the money there!

  Bill.
• 
  44

  Another Shooting Massacre

  by whathehadas in

  1. social
  2. current

  http://abcnews.go.com/us/santa-barbara-shooting-suspect-calls-loneliness-darkest-hell/story?id=23855994&ts=true.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Bungi Bill

  The example of Switzerland does require some further discussion when it comes to firearm violence.

  With a firearm possession rate of 45.7 guns per 100 people, it does have one of the higher rates of firearm ownership in the world. (Although in the case of Switzerland, the term "ownership" is rather elastic. At least 420 000 of these firearms are the SG 550 assault rifles on issue to Switzerland's citizen soldiers, and which each militia member is required to store at home - albiet, though, without the ammunition).

  It is frequently stated, that, despite these facts, Switzerland has a low rate of firearm violence. In actual fact, its rate of 0.77 firearm-caused homicides per 100 000 of the population is rather high for a developed country. Furthermore, the other developed country that has a similar rate of firearms ownership to Switzerland, i.e. Finland, has also a similar rate of firearms-caused homicides.

  Bill
• 
  56

  Anyone recall asemblies actually being fun?

  by tim hooper in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when i was a wee lad, there was a carnival atmosphere at assemblies as this old footage will show:.

  .

  http://www.britishpathe.com/video/witnesses-baptised/query/jehovahs+witnesses.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Bungi Bill

  They never, ever, were my idea of fun!

  Bill.
• 
  43

  How Many Had Chronic fatigue syndrome?

  by OnTheWayOut in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  chronic fatigue syndrome refers to severe, continued tiredness that is not relieved by rest and is not directly caused by other medical conditions.. did you have many congregation members, particularly pioneers, that said they had " chronic fatigue syndrome" ?.

  that's their "get-out-of-jail-free card.

  " they were free to cancel anything at anytime and it was their legitimate reason for not doing anything that didn't involve field recruiting.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Bungi Bill

  At one stage, both my wife and two teenage daughters were all diagnosed as having CFS (then referred to as ME, and earlier than that as "Tapanui Flu")

  Their illness was genuine, too - my wife, in particular, would have dearly wished that she was merely faking it! As a consequence, I am less than kindly disposed towards those who hold that CFS is a bogus illness.

  Around the same time as this was going on, it was estimated that at least 5% of the publishers in our circuit were afflicted with the same complaint.

  Significantly, in the now 20 years since I broke with the JWs, I have not known even one person who is suffering from this illness. During the eighties, ME was often described as the "Yuppie disease." A better description might be the "Dubbie disease."

  Bill
• 
  84

  One thing about this site that bothers me

  by keyser soze in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the constant references to 'window washers' as something derogatory.. i understand the context of it-that most jws are uneducated, and unqualified to do much more.

  but sometimes the references seem snobbish, almost mean-spirited.

  one poster, on another thread, essentially referred to window washers as 'losers'.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Bungi Bill

  The jantor in a college works harder

  than the professors, but at 55 or 65 the professor can retire with a large income from his pension

  while the janitor labors on.

  Well put!

  Back when I left school, popular JW mythology had it that "you got paid more for unskilled work for than skilled work." (This was at a time when the borg was even stopping kids from entering into an apprenticeship, because "The End was too close"). However, it did not take me too long to observe thet, around the work place, skilled workers were pulling almost double the money I was getting, and expending about half the energy!

  Bill.
• 
  76

  What is the biggest regret or source of resentment because of being a Jehovahs Witness?

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i'm sure we could all write long paragraphs about this question, but in a few words, what is your biggest regret, or frustration in life due to being a witness?.

  what missed opportunities did it cost you?

  .

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Bungi Bill

  That is an easy one to answer:

  - being currently about halfway through an Advanced Diploma course in electrical engineering, and very much what is now described as a "Mature Age Student."

  (At the same age as I am now, my father was counting off the last few months until his retirement).

  So, yes, for their anti education stance alone, I curse the WTS / GB (or whatever else you want to call them) all the way to bloody hell - and then back again!

  I would also add to this my regrets that the religion of the JWs is very family unfriendly - not JUST the shunning policy, although that certainly plays a part. I now cringe when I recall the things I made my children endure, out of blind obedience to that a of twerps in New York, and their imagined direct telephone line to God.

  Bill