by Terry 76 Replies latest watchtower bible
Religion in the US is big business is it not ?
I know others here have expressed the sense that the legal department is really running things behind the scenes.
Of course you can very well accept that their lawyers are a part of the GB,
which goes back to the biggest crooked lawyer in their history J. Rutherford.
I think nine eleven scared the holy crap out of the big boys at Bethel.
They quietly made their plans to move away from the neighborhood of ground zero.
All the real estate shuffling that's gone on in the last nine years has interesting implications.
I remember wondering about the real estate deals the Society was handling even in 1975--the VERY YEAR they were not supposed to need
to build anything!
Duplicity is duplicity, I suppose.
Are the Governing Body living in mansions?
We know where every living leader of any major denomination lives---EXCEPT the Governing Body members.
The more vague they are the more they become a floating Anti-concept which the mind must accept on faith.
Mystery lends enchantment.
Where DO the Governing Body severally live? What do they possess? Where does white go when the snow melts?
I don't know where they live now they're on the farm but I would certainly class the Towers as a mansion (where most of them seemed to live in Brooklyn).
Governing Body=Anti Concept
The purpose of a definition is to distinguish the things subsumed under a single concept from all other things in existence; and, therefore, their defining characteristic must always be that essential characteristic which distinguishes them from everything else.
So long as men use language, that is the way they will use it. There is no other way to communicate. And if a man accepts a term with a definition by non-essentials, his mind will substitute for it the essential characteristic of the objects he is trying to designate . . . . Thus the real meaning of the term will automatically replace the alleged meaning.
We end up defining the Governing Body by filling in imagined things such as where they live and what they don't spend money on!
You guys are really stretching it. Ask those here who were Bethelites. Sure the GB had apartments, Ray probably did also. That is not living in a mansion. You claim to speak the truth. Speak it then.
Re-read what I posted.
I'm describing an actual reality. Money comes in from all over the world by a very active organization which SELLS books and magazines day in and day out.
Here is what I said followed by what I've asked:
Look at the facts and follow the money.
Mainstream religion has to do something PUBLICLY with the money they raise like pay for air-time, pay for orphanages in Africa, pay for a new transmitter, pay for a new steeple or glass cathedral or theme park. Mainstream religion wears its charity on its sleeve. Mainstream religions build schools and colleges and hospitals with the money they receive and still have a fortune leftover to house the preacher in luxury and splendor!
WHERE IS THE MONEY?
Does that sound like a lie? Or, is it a call for clarity? Isn't it a plea for some real information? Details? Accounting?
What is Fraud? Fraud involves an indirect use of force: it consists of obtaining material values under false pretenses or false promises.
The Watchtower makes promises it cannot deliver in exchange for money and services. It threatens members with destruction at Armageddon or the loss of family and friends if they do not comply!
It hides behind the freedom written into law which exempts Religion from taxes and public disclosure.
We know what they DON'T spend the money on: charity, hospitals, schools, colleges, women's shelters, etc.
Men control the flow of revenue. What do the men do with the money?
We know what mainstream religion does with their money. The do all the things the Watchtower does NOT do (charity, hospitals, schools, colleges, etc.) and have plenty of money LEFT OVER for self-enrichement of the pastors and administrators.
WHAT DOES THE WATCHTOWER DO instead of charity, hospitals, schools, yadda yadda yadda?
That is what I'm saying and what I'm asking.
THE APPEARANCE of malfeasance is rather huge. You have to acknowledge that, at least.
Terry,
Many mainstream religions pass collection plates and tithe, Witnesses, though repeatedly encouraged to donate, are not required to. You avoided the question. Do the Governing Body members live in mansions? If they do then you're right of course and I will apologize. But if they don't then you're accusations are off the mark.
Where is the money? It's in building projects and other expenses that come with running a large organization. But the GB itself is not living as many other leaders of mainstream religion do.
