I would be pretty PISSED myself!! Thankfully my last dime was given almost two years ago now!!!!!
Dwain
by DwainBowman 34 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Figure out how much of your hard-earned money you want to donate to charitable causes. Whichever org you give it to will have control of it. It's not yours anymore. If you want to have a say in how money is spent, keep it and spend it yourself.
Money flushed down the toilet will do as much good as money given to the WT, but it's not tax deductible.
These are facts which took my husband and me many years to learn. An expensive lesson, but really, are there any cheap lessons?
Marina
I can't understand the basis that people expect to have money they donated, returned. When you donate something you are saying "here's I'm giving this to you for you to use as you wish" (unless there is some condition attached).
The cynic in my thinks some people donate large amounts to their local KH for the kudos and respect it provides. How and why else would anyone else ever know about their contribution? And that explains why they want the money back if it's not going to be spent locally and provide them with their payback in the form of praise and thanks from the local members.
It's easy to forget though that while most of us know what the WTS is like and how they operate, for many this sort of thing will possibly be the first eye-opener that they are really just dealing with a large corporation that ultimately likes nothing more than getting it's hands on people's money.
Let's review: It's a cult! .... and a scam!
The sheer genius of the mind control is totally admirable.
If you think you should have control over how money should be spent, you are showing how spiritually weak you are, because you don't trust Jehovah's holy spirit-anointed guys to use the money right.
If you give a big amount and you don't keep it a secret, you're spiritually weak because you want respect in return for a large contribution.
If you give any amount on a regular basis, you're spiritually weak because it's not a bigger amount, which would show your trust in Jehovah's ability to sustain you even though you were not keeping enough of your wages to live on.
If you try to figure out what the right thing to do is, such as how much to give and how often, that shows you're spiritually weak because you actually think you are capable of doing anything right.
Just give all your pay to the WT every meeting and take your well-deserved lumps and quit trying to live as though you are a self-respecting, thinking, responsible, generous and loving human being. You are a good for nothing slave, and you can't ever be good enough to get by without being lectured, reproved, reproached, corrected, denigrated, insulted, rejected, ridiculed and/or ignored. YOU want to have an opinion about how your contribution should be allocated? Don't make Jehovah laugh! But don't forget how much he loves you.
Marina
I have to defend the friend of mine who want's his money back. He gave it for a stated project, with the understanding that was what it was to be used for, that project, not to be taken/stolen and sent away for others to decide what to do with it! I know this guys pretty well, he won't be giving anywhere as much as he always has to the local, or branch headquarters. His dad pretty much paid for the KH they are in now, 35+ years ago. And there is no telling how much more he would have given to the local project, once it got started! He said his legal people have told him, that he has a very good case!!
I agree that if you drop it in a donate box, with no strings, you have no right to be able to say how it is used!
Dwain
"I can't understand the basis that people expect to have money they donated, returned."
When substantial money is donated typically there is an intended use that compelled the donation. When use of the donated money is for something other than intended then hackles get raised because the person feels like they were misled and, basically, suckered for their money.
Otherwise I'm with you. If someone donates money to a cause without it being for something specific then they have little if any reason to complain about how it is used so long as it is used responsibly.
By the way, editing function like the quote feature are not working for me. I'm using IE 11.
I hope your friend prevails. I don't fault him for believing the lying promises. Seems like the way WT operates with money really has changed over the years and they have all these new money-grabbing policies.
Marina
people that donated money for new kingdom halls can be happy.. their money will be well spent. 14,000 Kingdom Halls will be built or renovated in the near future, even in countries were people have no money
it's more joyful to give than to receive. A true lover and worshipper of Jehovah would be happy that his money is being used for the worldwide brotherhood and building projects all over the world.