Can a JW be disfellowshipped because of "Materialism"?

by JH 26 Replies latest jw friends

  • troubled mind
    troubled mind

    Do elders get tax breaks because of being considered "clergy" ? I wonder how they afford the nice cars , great vacations and big homes.Or is it because they own their own businesses , and baby business is good !

  • Think
    Think

    Scully, you made the point ! 950 bilion ! And they like to squeze every penny from the poor brothers and use on themselves. No help for the poor. I can say that I NEVER received a penny from the Borg. Is anybody here who received any financial help from the Borg? Not from the brothers in person, but from the organization ???

  • Thirdson
    Thirdson

    There is a difference (at least in JW land) between being rich and being materialistic. Even the poorest person can be "materialistic."

    Usually, the better elders were moderately well-off. The poorest ones liked the position and looked down on you because they were elders and had the power.. The rich ones looked down on you because they had more money and had power. But defining "materialism" is very hard and elders don't tend to examine the financial well-being of the average Joe Dub. Its hard to prove that you miss meetings because you need to work to make ends meet as opposed to "you need to work to keep up with Brother Dick Rich."

    My own father called me "materialistic" because I have a well-paying job and a better house than him. I admit to being well paid, I admit to living in a nice neighborhood (average home for area) but I am where I am because of where I was born, because I have certain skills and have an ethic instilled in me from my own Dad. However, in comparison to the 95% of the world's population and like most middle-income Americans I have huge material wealth. In some ways I am materialistic but no more so than than most JWs and not many of them are being DF'd.

    I knew of no JWs DF'd for drunkeness, though I knew of one elder DF'd for being an alcoholic which is not the same. I never knew anyone DF'd for being a glutton either. Most DF'ing had to do with what went on in the bedroom or other horizontal activities. Still, money helped and the more you have the less likely you are to be kicked out.

    3rd

  • TallTexan
    TallTexan

    Guess I must've gone to the wrong congs. Most of the elders I knew were very middle-class. Granted, if there were brothers who were 'well-off', they tended to be elders, but by no means were all the elders well-off. I do know of some areas of Houston and Dallas where money is more of a factor, but typically most of the people in those congs were doing better than the average bear.

    I always have wondered how they reconciled the counsel to give as much as you can when they obviously weren't.....

    Interesting comments on alcoholics too. I knew a fair number of servants who would over-indulge regularly and openly and behave VERRRY un-JW like when they were loaded, and nothing happened to them....

  • wombat
    wombat

    Scully..........

    US$950,000,000,000.....That really blows me away.

    Man, they could afford to pay all the compensation claims resulting from the BIG NEWS and still have cash over for a round of drinks or two.

    If you've got the time sometime, can you point me in a direction where I can research this?

    Wombat

  • Scully
    Scully

    wombat:

    This will likely cost you a fair bit of money to do the research. About 10 yrs ago the poster known as DocBob pulled up a Dunn & Bradstreet record on the WTS. I don't remember if it was free to do the search at the time, but now, each record will ¢o$t a fair bit. If you go to their website: www.dnb.com and put Watchtower in the search criteria, you'll see just how many corporations are owned by the WTS. Here's the results for the New York state alone:

    WATCHTOWER317 Auburn Rd, Lansing, NY
    WATCHTOWER900 Red Mills Rd, Wallkill, NY
    HQWATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK, INC25 Columbia Hts, Brooklyn, NY
    HQJEHOVAH'S WITNESSES WATCHTOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY500 Southside Pkwy, Buffalo, NY
    HQMOUNTAINBROOK LTD PARTNERSHIP
    Also Trades As: WATCHTOWER EDUC CTR
    100 Watchtower Dr, Patterson, NY
    WATCHTOWER ASSOCIATES LTD147 Holiday Drive, Woodbury, NY
    WATCHTOWER INVESTIGATIONS INC26 Court St Ste 1910, Brooklyn, NY
    WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY THE121 N Willow St, Oneida, NY
    GOD'S WATCHTOWER OF PRAYER INC369 New Lots Ave, Brooklyn, NY
    WATCHES4 W 47th St Ste 93, New York, NY
    WATCHIT INC1282 E 27th St, Brooklyn, NY
    WATCHTOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK INC
    Also Trades As: WATCHTOWER HEALTH CARE SUP
    25 Columbia Hts, Brooklyn, NY
    WATCHA LLC1185 6th Ave Fl 19, New York, NY
    BRWATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK, INC117 Adams St, Brooklyn, NY
    BRJEHOVAH'S WITNESSES WATCHTOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY303 8th St, Brooklyn, NY
    BRWATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK, INC
    Also Trades As: WATCHTOWER FARMS
    800 Red Mills Rd, Wallkill, NY
    Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc25 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, NY
    WATCHTOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK INC25 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, NY
    WATCHTOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK INC
    Also Trades As: WATCHTOWER SOCIETY OF NEW YORK
    100 Watchtower Dr, Patterson, NY
    Kingdom Hall Jehovah's Witnesses
    Also Trades As: (Formerly: Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Inc)
    W River Rd N Route 85, Fulton, NY
    WATCHTOWER BIBLE16100 Riv Ave, Bronx, NY
    BRWatchtower Bible And Tract Society Of New York, Inc.86 Montague St # 98, Brooklyn, NY
    < PreviousPage 1Next >

    Pennsylvania:

    WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF NE1630 Spring Run Road Ext, Coraopolis, PA
    WATCHTOWER BIBLE TRACT OF PENNSALVANIA2653 Woodglen Rd, Buck Run, PA
    WATCH CO1625 Chestnut St Ste 110, Philadelphia, PA
    WATCH WORLD INTERNATIONAL INC
    Also Trades As: WATCH COMPANY
    1625 Chestnut St # 108, Philadelphia, PA
    BRWATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK, INC118 Pinebrook Rd, Milford, PA
    BRWATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK, INC2701 N Charles St, Pittsburgh, PA
    BRWATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK, INC4842 Wexford Run Rd, Bradfordwoods, PA
    BRJEHOVAH'S WITNESSES WATCHTOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY400 Arnold Ave, Clearfield, PA
    BRWATCO COMPANIES, INC1200 Midland Ave, Midland, PA
    WATCHTOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY4100 Bigelow Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA
    WATCHTOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK INC163 Conestoga Rd, Wayne, PA
    Watco IncRd 1 Rt 190, Millville, PA

    New Jersey:

    SINGH, SARWAN
    Also Trades As: WATCH TOWER
    83 Wayne Hills Mall, Wayne, NJ
    Mountain Farm Inc
    Also Trades As: Watch Tower
    40 Pleasant Grove Rd, Port Murray, NJ
    WATCHTOWER ENTERTAINMENT484 Essex St, Hackensack, NJ
    WATCH INC THEAddress Unknown, Totowa, NJ
    JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES KINGDOM HALL
    Also Trades As: WATCHTOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY
    236 Central Ave, Metuchen, NJ
    MENISCUS LLC
    Also Trades As: WATCH CO
    616 State Rd, Princeton, NJ
    Watchit49 Greensward Lane, Cherry Hill, NJ
  • Scully
    Scully

    Here is a post from DocBob [not exactly what you are looking for, but it does give some insight as to the inner workings of the money machine]

    Re: Where is the MONEY REALLY GOING? -- Special Assembly Days, etc

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