In light of the recent letter read to congregations, it would be good to review the article they have on financing religion. While Jehovah's Witnesses do not practice tithing, they sure do have a way of getting that proverbial plate round the congregations.
For those not familiar with the recent letter to congregations in the US, here is a snippet..
WTS Bills US JWs $8.4 million for Traveling Overseers
Being announced at Service Meetings this week at all US congregations:
A letter read during the announcements states that due to increased costs of health insurance and vehicles provided for traveling overseers (circuit and district overseers) the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society has determined the need to ask for a specific "contribution" for the "Traveling Overseer Assistance Arrangement".
Until this date expenses of this sort were paid from the Worldwide Work or general fund of contributions.
Now the WTS is 'asking' for an average of $8.50 per publisher to cover the cost of 617 traveling overseers in the US. This is an annual expense, so JWs can expect this charge every year now.
I quote the word 'asking' because immediately after the letter, each congregation is instructed to pass a resolution to pay the amount of $8.50 times the number of publishers. For example a congregation of 100 publishers would pay $850. The money is then immediately wired to the WTS. In this way the WTS gets exactly what it wants--it is a bill.
The April 2005 Kingdom Ministry states there are 990,365 publishers in the US. At $8.50 per publisher, the entire tab is $8,418,810.
Religion | |||||||||
| "YOU can call me a beggar; that doesn't bother me. I'm begging for Jesus." Those telling words of a Protestant minister underline the controversy that swirls around religious funding. Organized religion seems to be able to survive only with sizable financial support. Salaries need to be paid, temples need to be built and maintained, evangelizing campaigns need to be financed. How is the necessary money to be found? For many churches, the answer is the tithe.* "Tithing is God's way of financing His kingdom on the earth," claims evangelist Norman Robertson. "It is His system of economics which enables the Gospel to be preached." Not shy about reminding his followers of their responsibility to give, he emphatically states: 'Tithing isn't something you do because you can afford it. It is an act of obedience. Not tithing is a clear violation of God's commandments. It is embezzlement.'?Tithing?God's Financial Plan. Most likely you agree that giving should be part of Christian worship. However, do you find insistent appeals for money disturbing, perhaps even offensive? Brazilian theologian Inácio Strieder accuses churches of resorting to tithing to "solve their institutional problems" and labels such practices "illegitimate, abusive, and a theological aberration." The result, he observes, is that "unemployed people, widows, slum dwellers, and those who are incapable of critical thinking conclude that God has abandoned them and that they are obliged to give so much to 'the preacher' that their own families go hungry." You may wonder: 'Are churches that enforce tithing correctly applying Scripture? Or could some religions be invoking the fear of God to fleece the flock? Really, does God expect us to give until it hurts, as some would say?' * The tithe has been defined as 10 percent of a person's gross income. |