The Bible Truths of the Watchtower Corporation were really a commercial fraud supporting the distribution of the organization's literature

by Finkelstein 33 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  Amelia Ashton

  Door to door salesman are virtually no longer used at all by double glazing salesman, insurance salesman, satellite TV salesman or men selling encyclopaedias and vacuum cleaners.

  They have become a thing of the past for a very good reason. No-one is home to buy their products. WT had no financial commitment to its salespersons so until recently never had to accept it was a fruitless search for finding new "buyers", plus it kept the sales peope it already had busy.

  Unfortunately for them as more and more people purchase items on-line with pages of reviews available and they are able to make a much better and more informed choice.

  Watchtower realised this fact and demonised the internet for so long because they wanted to avoid current members from learning what an insidious pack of lies they were spinning.

  Even if some-one is contacted at the door now most would immediately "search" jehovah's Witnesses and an array of possible anti- JW websites to peruse would pop up including wiki which has a criticism section. That would be my first stop if some-one tried to recruit me now.

  People evolve and selling practices have to as well. I think this is their first attempt at evolving the society into a more attractive package.
• 

  Finkelstein

  Religious organizations and corruption can go hand in hand sometimes and can appear more so than others.

  The WTS. publishing company has inherently a good portion of this corruption listed in its long history as a religious organization.

  Was this corruption developed out of that fact that this religious organization is centered around a publishing house ?

  I think so, the evidence to this can be seen in the organization's printed works, which most have been taken out of circulation.

  
• 

  Phizzy

  It is difficult to guage how long the WT can continue, though they are in reality nothing but a profit making Corporation, as they are posing as a religion, and thus have Charitable status, they pay no taxes.

  The model they have set up with volunteers paying for, and building, Kingdom Halls and Assembly Halls, and yet these properties all belong 100% to the WT is a very profitable one, no real costs to producing billions of $ worth of property on their portfolio.

  The same sucker volunteers and their companions and families donate for the upkeep of this property and also send donations to the WT.

  Unlike a true commercial organization they do not really get clobbered by a downturn in the general economy, they can stil turn over their properties at huge profit and still get over 7,000,000 people donating.

  The problem they have never had to bother with before is the people who leave, as previously new recruits were abundant enough to make up for those leaving, but now, at least in the richer nations, new recruits are just a trickle, those leaving are a steady stream, and those just waiting to leave will turn that stream in to a torrent.

  This gives the WT an ever increasing cash flow problem, O.K they can sell the odd K.H and even an Assembly Hall or two, but they cannot justify building more and more new ones with no one to fill them, so the future of the property scam looks bleak.

  They are without doubt a moribund organization who cannot adapt to the 21st century in any way that will assure their survival.

  It is an irony that a "religion" that heaped derision upon the Theory of Evolution, and doubt upon the concept of "Survival of the Fittest" is going eventually to become extinct because it could not evolve quick enough, and therefore was not fit to survive.
• 

  frankiespeakin

  Finkel,

  I think it all comes together and makes sense when you factor in they are a legal non profit corporation that makes profit off of grabbing peoples religious attention and later obiediance(after indoctrination satureration point has been reached thru fear and guilt). This is the prime factor that guide Governing Body CEOs in the dispencing of new and old light.

  And so the perfect candidate for membership into the Governing Body is that "he"(a male)can hold onto the the common delusion(without doubts and make decent business decision as to how they will use the bible to keep this process in tact and make the corporation prosper. If one would fail in this they would never make it to the office of Governing Body CEO.

  Basical to be a Governing Body CEO requires one be a control freak, that is a master at the art of manipulation while in a delusional state.

  Granted that the delusional state has its pitfalls due to willful ignorance and great amonts of shadow suppression which may or may not lead to other types of mental problem or psychosis, neurotic symptoms which I'm sure they are experiencing in this delusional state.
• 

  blondie

  You can see the "selling" aspect of the WT organization in the vocabulary of "colporteur" and later "publisher."

  "pioneers" were expected to live on the difference between the WTS price for publications and the price that the pioneer was charged. Later in time in the 60's, the Truth book was sold for 25 cents and pioneers paid 5 cents. It was meant to help defray the cost of gas. Special pioneers received their monthly allowance only if they met the WT goals in hours, publications, etc.

  I can remember trying to use this scripture to prove that we weren't selling publications.

  (2 Corinthians 2:17) . . .[We are;] for we are not peddlers of the word of God as many men are, but as out of sincerity, yes, as sent from God, under God’s view, in company with Christ, we are speaking.

  When the WTS started asking for donations to the "worldwide work" it was keyed to whether people took literature or not. I can remember a brother telling a man at the door that the publications were without cost; as the man took the magazines the brother went into the donation spiel. The man said "I thought you said there was no cost for the magazines." Awkward moment as the man gave the magazines back.

  1) no jw will donate for other religion's material but expect others to do so

  2) does the WTS tell their members to ask for donations if no literature is taken?

  But do not mention the "donation arrangement" on the phone because it might be seen as "commercial" as if it wouldn't seem commercial door to door.

  *** km 5/03 p. 7 Question Box ***

  When witnessing by telephone, should we explain the donation arrangement?

  When we give a witness in person, it may be possible to explain that the worldwide Bible educational work of Jehovah’s Witnesses is supported entirely by voluntary donations and that we are happy to accept such donations. However, no mention of donations or the donation arrangement should be made when witnessing by telephone, as this could be misinterpreted as a form of telephone solicitation. The ministry of Jehovah’s Witnesses is noncommercial in every way.—2 Cor. 2:17.

  Who is ultimately expected to pay........

  *** km 5/09 p. 3 par. 5 Make Good Use of Our Publications ***

  We strive to place our publications only with those who show genuine interest. Keep in mind that we are the ones primarily responsible for the financial coverage of these valuable tools in our ministry.
• 

  Finkelstein

  Good thoughts all

  But as I mentioned previously that the WTS. doctrines were intensionally devised to attract attention from the public,

  they were NOT expressively devised out of being truthfully accurate, other than that initial endeavoring intent.

  You either went along with these doctrines, are you were expelled, removed and accordingly demonised.

  This can be clearly recognized in how J Rutherford labeled people who were once apart of the IBSA, but weren't devoted and supportive

  to his own teachings, as they rather wanted to stick to C T Russell's teachings.

  This was the first time the organization used and labeled these people as the " Evil Slave ".
• 

  NeverKnew

  I read somewhere... maybe on this site not sure... that Russell owned the publishing house that printed his own publications!

  So, he set up a manufacturing plant that printed publications (he was part owner and this entity was separate from the Zion Watchtower blah blah blah company), created a religious theory and wrote publications to support said theories, sold the publications to interested parties and paid his own company for the production of said publications.

  Seweeeeet, huh?
• 

  Fed-up

  "pandered to the naive, the poorly educated, the insecure and coercively exploited these people to their own means..."

  and they need to keep people naive, poorly educated and insecure to keep the followers.
• 

  NeverKnew

  Found it! And, I can say with absolute certainty that in my research into cemetery ownership a couple of these companies listed on this site definitely existed.

  http://jwdivorces.bravehost.com/russell.html

  Edit: Here is the paragraph...

  In 1879 (PROCLAIMERS BOOK inaccurately says 1887) , right around the time that he started publishing ZION'S WATCH TOWER magazine, Charles Taze Russell formed TOWER PUBLISHING COMPANY, a sole proprietership, for the obvious purpose of publishing ZION'S WATCH TOWER magazine, tracts, future books, and other literature authored by himself. After the founding of Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society in 1881, all literature and other "products" distributed by ZWTTS were purchased from Tower Publishing Company . Charles Taze Russell, via his ownership of Tower Publishing Company , owned everything of financial consequence which most people assume belonged to ZWTTS -- including the Bible House headquarters building and all inventory. Literature was "distributed" in the name of ZWTTS , but ownership was nothing but a "paper transaction" . Whatever money ZWTTS received from sales or donations was paid to TPC for literature that was again sold or given away by ZWTTS . In 1891, Charles Taze Russell even stated, "The Society owns nothing, has nothing, pays no salaries, etc." In 1895, Russell published in the August ZWT that Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society was NOT formed as a "religious" organization, but rather was a "business association" , which had "no creed or confession" , whose main function was to receive donations from those who wanted to help Russell spread his version of the gospel, and then to spend those donations -- which was done by purchasing Russell's literature from Russell's Tower Publishing Company . One interesting point that should not be missed is the fact that, in practice, up until 1898, most if not all "donations" , at least the one's of significance, were being directed to Tower Publishing Company and ZION'S WATCH TOWER magazine, both of which were personal holdings of Charles Taze Russell, rather than ZWTTS . (There was no I.R.S. back then.)
• 

  Finkelstein

  Exactly Fed-up

  No wonder the WTS. ridiculed and down played education, they wanted people to become their sales representatives

  under their strictly enforced direction and control.

  Fear induced ignorant people are much more controllable that intelligent critical thinking educated people.

  They still do to this day. Just recently GB member Gerrit Lösch gave a talk stating that pursuing higher education is like putting

  a gun to your head, a purported act of Russian roulette.