actually, paying for kingdom halls is one of the most lucrative scams the WT has going!
They require the congregations to purchase the property outright, first. Then they "loan" the money for Kingdom Hall construction to the congregation, then take the money BACK and spend it on construction materials, etc, through the local building committee. As the final kicker, they then require that the hall be signed OVER to the Society. So the congregation winds up paying on a loan for a building that they don't even own!
Yep, that Jehovah, he sure know how to stick it to his people, don't he?
CZAR
This is 100% accurate. As a newbie elder working on a quick build for the congregation I was in, I was shocked at this. The local bank whom we had our checking and savings account with had a special offer for churchs and other non-profit organizations. When we as an elder body brought this up with the CO, holy shi* did he have a fit! So we finally bought the land, got the loan from the Society (they charged us interest) and worked with the regional building commitee to build a windowless piece of crap of a building. BTW, I guess the Society has caught some major grief for the "typical" interest it was charging congregations, so they have lowered it but they still charge interest. For some reason I just can't picture Jesus charging Peter interest if he need to borrow some money.
It reminds me of the priest, minister and rabbi discussing how much they got paid.
The priest said he got a fixed salary every month from the church, irrespective of how wealthy his parish was. The minister said he was allowed to keep 10% of what went into the collection plate.
"That's rubbish," said the rabbi. "After every sabbath I gather all the money that's been collected and I throw it all up into the air. As high as I can manage. I shout, "Lord, you take what you want, and I'll keep what falls back down!""
I remember when there was a second contribution box.. just to pay for a new kingdom hall.
I.T.......That was very funny. I must try that one with my 8 year olds allowance and see what kind of expression comes over his face. ..throw it all up in the air..
I got involved in a discussion on Beliefnet quite a few months ago (Jehovah's Witnesses Debate) on just this same subject. I was SO irritated over the "double dipping" of the WTS (when I discovered it) and it's still a sore point with me! I know how pressured I was (mother of five---and a nonJW hubby) with the "pledge" I was expected to honor when a new KH was to be built. So many times I was made to feel guilty for "not doing enough for Jehovah" moneywise and it used to tear me up.
My main gripe, was with the scripture that says, "You must not make your Brother pay interest, interest on money,interest on food,interest on anything on which one may claim interest. You may make a foreigner pay interest, but your brother you must not make pay interest....." Deuteronomy 23:19-20
You wouldn't BELIEVE all the horsehockey and weasel-words that the JWs would come up with (on the board's replies) to justify the WTS doing exactly that---charging interest to the brothers!
Just another case of a passage from the bible staring them right point-blank in the face, and the WTS supporters making sad excuses for WTS behavior! GRRRR!
Just in my experience in Bethel, I worked in the construction plumbing department we had millions of dollars worth of inventory which was used for mainly local projects like the Bossert Hotel, a new 13 story building that was being built (forgot the address), planning for the 30 story tower (forgot the name), etc. But at times we also shipped expensive, specialty parts to foreign branches, like electronic pumps and valves used in HVAC systems. We also had a extensive computerized inventory system for its time (1987-1988) was very expensive and advanced.
And this was just one department. I can only imagine the art, computer, and printing departments and the amount of money they would spent on the latest equipment.
