More Conditioning in Sunday's Watchtower

by Socrateswannabe 8 Replies latest watchtower scandals

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  Socrateswannabe

  Have you read the article, "This Is Our Place of Worship" in the July 15, 2015 study edition of the Watchtower? It is the study article for this coming Sunday. Note the brainwashing techniques they're using to condition the JWs to a total takeover of their Kingdom Halls, in the excerpts below. The highlighted words and phrases are the most telling in my opinion. Even though the individual congregations donated all of the money to build these halls and volunteered the labor, the WTS is now telling the R&F that they were "provided" to them. Provided by whom? The implication is that they are provided by the big O--the Organization/FDS/GB! Which leads them to draw the conclusion in the final paragraph, namely that these buildings do not BELONG to you anymore--they are the Organization's--to do with what they please.
  

  Para 9: Since November 1, 1999, more than 28,000 beautiful new centers of pure worship have been provided for congregations worldwide. That means that during the last 15 years, on average, five new Kingdom Halls have been provided every day of the year.

  Para 10: Efforts are being made to support the construction of Kingdom Halls wherever they are needed. This loving provision is based on the Scriptural principle that the surplus of some might offset the deficiency of others, in order that "there may be an equalizing. As a result, beautiful new centers of pure worship have been provided for congregations that would otherwise never have had the financial resources to build a Kingdom Hall for themselves.

  Para 12: Whether we can help out on a building site or not, all of us can have the privilege of supporting such projects through our donations.

  Para 19: A Kingdom Hall is a building dedicated to Jehovah. Therefore, it cannot rightly be said to belong to any individual or congregation, whatever its legal title may indicate.

  
  

  
  
  
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  WingCommander

  The fleecing of the Flock just rolls on. Everything belongs to THEM, the rank-n-file pee-on's have no say, own nothing, are worth NOTHING. The only value you have is what you put in the contribution box. That's it! You are a number, and a financial number at that. And if you aren't an asset to them, gracing THEIR monotonous box of a building with your butt and filling their bank accounts, then you're a liability and should be disposed of. The wheels of the real estate empire go 'round n 'round.........and will crush you if you dare to say, "No more."
  
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  Oubliette

  Socrates, great observations!
  
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  Beth Sarim

  Sunday's WT was probably one of the most hideous ones yet. The conditioning and mind control was just horrendous.
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  Bardamu

  5 years i had not read a WT.

  " donations donations donations "

  reading that crap today the propaganda and conditioning is just mind blowing to me in every single paragraph.
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  MrMonroe

  Don't mean to be a party pooper here, but as far as I was aware, congregations did not make decisions themselves to build Kingdom Halls and did not do the planning or construction work on their own. Decisions were obviously made at a branch level based on CO or DO recommendations; I don't know who applied for local authority planning permission, but the regional building committees then probably took over the task of funding and actually building the premises. Yes, they relied very heavily on volunteer labour and donations from local congregation members, but those local JWs had not actually caused the hall to come to be.

  In that context I don't think it's unfair or inaccurate to say the WTS "provided" the halls and I can understand why the WTS would feel some proprietory interest in them.
  
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  Magnum

  MrMonroe, the WTS provided virtually nothing. I've been involved with Kingdom Hall builds from the very earliest stages - before property was even bought. The local JWs bought the property, cleared it, got all permits, paid for the project, provided the labor and food for workers and overnight security. The WTS did nothing but say "yeah, you can build a Kingdom Hall". Sure the RBC was involved, but that, too, was just a bunch of local JWs who provided some direction to other local JWs.

  those local JWs had not actually caused the hall to come to be.

  Oh, yes they did. The hall could have come to be without the WTS, but it could not have come to be without the local JWs.
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  berrygerry

  Don't mean to be a party pooper here, but as far as I was aware, congregations did not make decisions themselves to build Kingdom Halls and did not do the planning or construction work on their own. Decisions were obviously made at a branch level based on CO or DO recommendations; I don't know who applied for local authority planning permission, but the regional building committees then probably took over the task of funding and actually building the premises. Yes, they relied very heavily on volunteer labour and donations from local congregation members, but those local JWs had not actually caused the hall to come to be.

  You're pretty late to the party.
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  Pistoff

  Who makes the damn donations? THEY own the hall, no matter who has the title.

  Bethel has been at this a long time, of course; they have slowly blurred the lines, providing plans from 'mother' to choose from, allowing the quick build program to grow and now crushing it, and finally to force changes on local congregations, right down to the awful decorating and commercial styling.

  This is not a religion any more; it is morphing into a real estate cult.