Why don't JW's list THEIR invitation?

by Golden Girl 9 Replies latest jw friends

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  Golden Girl

  I always wondered why the JW religion doesn't list their location and invitation to their meetings in the local "Church and Worship places section of our paper?
  

  I was told when I was a JW that it is because they are no part of "Babylon the great". I settled for that.

  I just read a post where someone said in the beginning of their religion..they didn't want to be referred to as a religion..because it was linked to "Organized religion" and they were no part of that. (Bible is supposed to condemn organized religion..)

  My question is this...what happened?

  Seems to me they are taking every benefit of a religion..Government ..and tax wise..

  And how can they deny they are truly an "Organized Religion?"

  Snoozy...
• 

  MonkeyPrincess

  great question, i dont have an answer for you, but i have wondered that myself.
  I was always told the same as you, that they never wanted to be referred to as
  a religion.
  interested to see what others have to say.

  Then again, we are talking about the dubs, they can say and do whatever they
  want and not have a reason for it.

  MP
• 

  MidwichCuckoo

  It COSTS to place an advert in the paper...?!
• 

  aniron

  Here in Britain, you get the odd Kingdom Hall listed in phone book.

  I asked about it years ago. I was told that unlike other churches, which usually have an office or an official ministers house that can be called. JW congregation having a body of Elders, there is no one person who could be contacted. Presiding Overseers/Elders may change, so it would mean having to keep changing the phone numbers in the directory. So they saw no point in listing themselves in any directory. Sometimes you might get a local list of places which would give the address of a Kingdom Hall.
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  mineralogist

  Here in germany sometimes you see those invitations under "local churches". From time to time google news shows up with "Passauer Nachrichten" which is distributed near the german bethel.
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  greendawn

  It is transparently obvious that they are an organised religion, if there ever was one this is it.
  
  Everything including their members personal lives are tightly controlled with a myriad rules everywhere and elders use a special secret book full of rules and regulations, as for their hierarchy there are quite a few ranks in it from the humble ministerial servants to GB members.
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  crazyblondeb

  In Missouri where I grew up they were listed in the white pages under Jehovah's Witnesses. It gave the presiding overseers # and usually another elder's #.
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  blondie

  They are listed under CHURCHES in the phone book.

  Good question.
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  Elsewhere

  My question is this...what happened?
  

  Seems to me they are taking every benefit of a religion..Government ..and tax wise..

  Yup, the Watchtower Society stood FIRM on the stance that they are NOT a "religion" -- until they discovered there was money to be made by calling themselves a religion.

  Nothing so almighty as the almighty dollar.
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  garybuss

  Junior Brown says he has no objection to a Kingdom Hall being called a church. He is the spokesman for god's spokesman. The Witnesses have been a religion since, I believe, the early 1950's when their tax free status was in question. See Bill Centnar's work for that time line.