by foolsparadise 87 Replies latest jw friends
I was a witness for 20 years, on a personal and local level I saw very very little done to help the poor and under privelaged.
If you care to read the actuall reports they submit to the charities comission rather than the propaganda you hear down the hall Reniaa you'lll find they give very very little.
For example in 2004 they gave zero yes ZERO to help the poor, and very very little in subsequent years. If you care to read the reports I'll email them to you.
Pitiful, very pitiful
If a religious organisation is seen to be a money making racket, building great expansive buildings, buying up tax-free land, using volutary labour to further its means and offering very little back in terms of honest humanitarian value, then I say tax it and tax it higher than 60%.
If a small church is seen to be making itself available to the community for whatever needs the community may have, if it is financially supporting drug rehab, supporting single parents and other patently humanitarian deeds, then I say don't tax it; it's probably saving the tax payer money.
below is how the WT describes itself to the charities comission. I don't see anything about feeding or housing the poor.
Question 1 - The Charity's Aims
What are your charity's aims?
To advance the Christian religion as practiced by the body of Christian
persons known as Jehovah's Witnesses by:
1. Preaching the gospel of God's Kingdom under Jesus Christ to all
nations as a witness to the name, word and supremacy of the Almighty
God Jehovah;
2. Producing and distributing Bibles and other religious literature in any
medium and educating the public in respect thereof;
3. Promoting religious worship;
4. Promoting the Christian missionary work;
5. Advancing religious education
Question 2 - Who benefits?
Who benefits from the charities work?
Persons residing in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, both Jehovah's
Witnesses and the wider public.
How do you respond to their needs and how do they influence the charity's developments?
By printing and distributing, without charge, Bibles and Bible study aids
which offer practical advice on improving one's life spiritually, morally, and
socially. By supporting congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses in Britain,
and associations of Jehovah's Witnesses in developing countries, with
their spiritual and material welfare.
All charity volunteers are members of local congregations of Jehovah's
Witnesses and so have direct knowledge of the needs of those in their
local community. Input is also received from charitable associations of
Jehovah's Witnesses in other lands. This knowledge and information is
reflected in the content and nature of the Bible study aids and assistance
that are made available.
Question 3 - The Charity's Strategy
What are the key elements of your charity's medium to long term strategy?
1. To provide adequate facilities, and to update equipment, so as to
enable the efficient and effective printing and distribution of Bibles and
Bible study aids.
2. To reach more communities in the United Kingdom and the world by the
translation and printing in local languages of Bible study aids.
3. To promote the building of places of worship in local communities in
the United Kingdom and developing nations of the world.
How does your charity measure the success of the strategy?
By the way persons in local communities, both in the United Kingdom and
overseas, are helped spiritually, morally, mentally, and physically as a
result of the work of the charity.
Question 4 - The Charity's Objectives and Achievements
What were your charity's main annual objectives and were they achieved?
Objective Achievement
The printing and distribution, both in the United Kingdom and overseas, of Bibles and Bible-based literature in several languages. During the year 300 million Bible based publications were printed.
Literature in 72 languages was sent to 69 countries. The total value of literature donated overseas exceeded £3,270,000.
Promoting and funding the construction of places of worship in developing countries, thereby
assisting associations of Jehovah's Witnesses in these countries to promote the aims and activities of the charity.
Over £4,400,000 was sent to countries in developing areas of the world to
assist with the construction of places of worship, administration facilities, missionary activity, and disaster relief.
Supporting congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses and others in connection with their spiritual and
moral welfare in the United Kingdom and overseas.
Worldwide Jehovah's Witnesses spent over 1,488 million hours helping in the
community, over 20 million of whichwere devoted to helping others here in
the United Kingdom. This was made possible, in part, through the activities
of the charity.
From a brief review I have made of the 2 UK based 'charities' they are either 'buying' books of each other or sending money to Brooklyn
APPEAL
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE can someone rebut my 1 line summary above. I'm begging for a know it all to disprove my synopsis of WTS charity in the UK.
Please......
reniaa - JW organisation survives under the protection and organisation offered by the state - without it the JW's would be unable to print magazines or even walk door to door with any measure of safety. That safety is earned by the cumulative effort of the majority of society working together despite parasitic organisations that work against it. When property prices rise and the WTl profits, when people buy magazines (with currency provided by society), when JW's drive cars and fill the gas tank with fuel (largely drived from technology gleaned from war and oil supplies guaranteed by armed force) and so on - the WT proves how utterly dependanty they are on teh very society they can't be bothereed to rasie a finger to help.
If you think money goes to greedy politicians then try living your life without taxpayer funded health care when you are sick; taxpayer funded waste disposal when you have some rubbish to get rid off(those spare WT mags for example) ; taxpayer funded policing when you need to report the paedophile; taxpayer funded judicial services when you want to appeal your taxpayer funded 'rights'.
The WT society is a book publishing corporation (the bible specifically omits any instruction to print , distribute and charge for literature so arguably its not a christian practice but actually a mercantile one) that does no charity in the UK (unwanted, badly written ,factually inaccurate free literature is not charity it is environmental terrorism; disaster area help for members who then forward the insurance check to the society is also NOT charity it's actually theft from legitemate professional building firms who should be paid to do the job which is what the insurance money is for!)
Tax all parasitic organisations especially ones which make such an effort to undermine the very society which allows them to exist.
Tax all parasitic organisations especially ones which make such an effort to undermine the very society which allows them to exist.
This is a good point. The Watch Tower Society preaches and teaches the downfall of all human governments. They preach and teach a hatred towards all forms of human government.
As a Christian organisation, this is a questionable position considering this verse;
1 Tim 2: I therefore exhort, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, offerings of thanks, be made concerning all sorts of men, 2 concerning kings and all those who are in high station ; in order that we may go on leading a calm and quiet life with full godly devotion and seriousness.
hi password
Jw's follow Jesus's words of giving caesars things back to caesar even if caesar proves currupt. but then Jesus too got into trouble for pointing to God's kingdom rather than men's, JW's are just following his words in this. Are they wrong to follow Jesus pointing to God's kingdom as mankinds salvation?
Reniaa
Reniaa,
As a brainwashed captive to the WT of course you see JWs as 'just following Jesus'. But, no they do not. They follow what the GB tells them, printed in the WTs. They do not truly point to God's kingdom...they give it li[p service while pointing to the org for salvation.
Jw's follow Jesus's words of giving caesars things back to caesar even if caesar proves currupt. but then Jesus too got into trouble for pointing to God's kingdom rather than men's, JW's are just following his words in this. Are they wrong to follow Jesus pointing to God's kingdom as mankinds salvation?
Strawman.
Did Paul or did Paul not say that we should pray for the kings and those in authority? Do JWs ever do that at their public meetings? No. They preach a message of hate against all other religions and all governments, while at the same time admitted that these governments stand in their place according to Jehovah's will. They also cry foul when these same governments wish to extract what belongs to Caesar.
You can't have it both ways, can you?
Rick Fearon did make a great point evryone may want to try- tell someone (an outsider) about the WT and its being a dangerous cult. Tell a person you run into at Walmart or Home Depot. You may very well be innoculating one person at a time.
