Imagine an ad for Viagra in Awake!
They used to advertise some sort of Electromagnetic healing contraption, I wonder if that was any good for impotence?
Swedish government declines to give JW financial support
by InquiryMan 56 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Quandry
If they want to be "no part of the world." why would they want to take money from "worldly" governments? They don't perhaps want to "partake of the table of demons" do they?
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Gayle
stating that the reason was that the JWs do not adhere to democratic values and standards and do not support mainstream values.
Does the Sweden government state 'specifics' of what the WT organization would have to change to get that money?
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Kenneson
Can you provide a link to the article? Thanks.
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besty
I do see that that the community benefits from the societys teaching illiterates to read, rebuild homes and helping in disaster although it is primarily their own, that frees labor to be used to help non-witnesses, some people (who have been drug addicts, criminals etc) do change their lives for the better, thus benefitting society at large. But: I do wish the organization of JWs would do more to help society as such, but that is not their agenda, believing the end of the world is imminent their activities are primarly directed at helping people to achieve spiritual goals (as seen by the WTS)..
to inquiryman:
So where do you see the balance of public benefit? If a charity is driving old people to and fro there is clear public benefit. However if it has such lax safety policies that other people are dying due to bad driving, poor maintenance etc what is the balance of public benefit?
I would argue that a religion that promotes policies protecting pedofiles, causing the deaths of thousands through an ill-informed blood policy, that has destroyed millions of families by disfellowshipping and shunning would have to have a lot on the positive side of the public benefit equation to merit taxpayer funds.
The WTS fails the public benefit test in my opinion.
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No Apologies
I hate to sound like a Watchtower advocate here, but keep in mind this is not government money that is going to the Watchtower, its money that individuals are paying in to the government to distribute to the religions. If X% of the money came from adherents of religion Y, then religion Y gets that percentage of the money.
If they are not going to give the Watchtower their share of the money, then JWs should not be required to pay the money into the government in the first place.
No Apologies (feels somehow unclean)
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besty
keep in mind this is not government money that is going to the Watchtower, its money that individuals are paying in to the government to distribute to the religions. If X% of the money came from adherents of religion Y, then religion Y gets that percentage of the money.
the State should butt out of religion. What mechanisms do the Swedish government have in place to distribute money to non-theistic organisations?
BTW No Apologies - you realize your post started with...erm...an apology...?
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InquiryMan
No apologies: you get it right... Feelings/opinions put aside, as long as the system is that registered belief communities could be provided with government support based on tax revenues being paid back, all organizations should be trated the same as long as they are registered...
Besty: in Norway, e.g. the Human Ethic Federation gets monetary support for their close to 70,000 members.. in line with religious belief communities.
Link is provided of the whole article:
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martinjw7
Hi, can anybody translate this article?
http://www.dagen.se/dagen/article.aspx?id=189234
Thanks!
To InquiryMan: What is DAGEN? Is it a serious newspaper or tabloid?
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cliff
Dagen is a daily newspaper in Sweden with the expressed purpose of being a Christian voice in the media noise. Its circulation is 18,400 (year 2006).
The first issue was published on November 1, 1945. Lewi Pethrus, the leader of the pentecostal movement in Sweden was its founder and its chief editor until his death in 1974.
(WIKI via Google)
Cliff