Posts by OrphanCrow

71

Watchtower encouraging members to go and preach in Israel

by wannaexit in

jw
friends

an odd letter was read at last nights' meeting.

it was in regards to a special campaign for next year arranged by the governing body to go and preach in israel.

the call is going out to anybody that speaks hebrew and english.

OrphanCrow

I find this call for people to preach in Israel quite alarming.

Muddywaters, you said

In William Schnell's book, "30 Years a Watchtower Slave", he described how Rutherford would DELIBERATELY send in his "companies" (publishers/colporteurs) into areas of high resistance to stir up persecution, which he would then push through the court system to help the WT gain legitimacy, protection, legal status, publicity, sympathy, and whatever else they could gain from having his minions be beaten, thrown in jail, tarred & feathered, etc.

Yes. It was a deliberate campaign organized primarily by Hayden Covington.

Jennifer Jacobs Henderson, in her paper The Jehovah's Witnesses and their plan to expand first amendment freedoms, published in 2004, speaks of this very thing.

http://www.manitobaphotos.com/theolib/downloads/First_Amendment_Freedoms.pdf

The legal department was up and running when Hayden Covington joined the staff in 1939. At the
time of Covington's arrival, the Watchtower legal department consisted of the chief legal counsel,
several assistants, and a clerical staff. Many of the practices for gathering information from local
congregations and contacting attorneys had already been established. Booklets providing legal
instructions to Witnesses in the field had been distributed. The legal department was not proactive,
however, until Hayden Covington arrived. Covington's first task was to develop a legal strategy as
aggressive as Rutherford's spiritual one. The first step of his plan was to identify local communities
where Witnesses faced legal roadblocks to their ministry.

IDENTIFYING LOCATIONS

Covington would determine which communities were targeted for intensive fieldwork, and thus,
potential future litigation. Covington would "send people into areas they knew would be a problem,
especially if there was a large Catholic population," (29) "an active priest," (30) or "previous
opposition." (31) Covington would simply inform a certain congregation that they needed to preach in
a certain territory, often adding, "It hasn't been preached in awhile." (32) For example, in New Haven,
Connecticut, three Witnesses and two of their sons were canvassing Cassius Street with a new
Judge Rutherford recording attacking the Roman Catholic Church. About 90 percent of the residents
of Cassius Street were Roman Catholic. (33) While Covington never admitted to deliberately
provoking local residents or law enforcement agents, his tactics often produced the desired
outcome--arrest.

Identifying localities ripe for litigation was a long, often challenging process. When communities
initially targeted produced little response from law enforcement, Witnesses were sent on to the next
potential test site. Professor Jerry Bergman, a former Jehovah's Witness, explained, "They would
deliberately send them into this area and if there was no problem, send them into another area." (34)

Covington "probed in community after community," Historian Merlin Owen Newton wrote, "to
determine local limits." (35) Covington saw the process of cultivating arrests and appeal as a
"long-term struggle," one that would not end by "winning a case tomorrow." (36)

Witnesses were often sent into confrontational situations unaware of the danger, (37) but they did not
question Covington's plan. Even when they may have suspected trouble, Witnesses were taught not
to question decisions from the Watchtower leadership who claimed they had a direct line to God.
Also, Witnesses saw themselves as instruments of God, and "God was fighting this battle." (38)
Witnesses believed that they should be used in whatever way necessary to advance the cause.
Newton explained that Roscoe and Thelma Jones, whose case Jones v. Opelika would reach the
Supreme Court in 1942, believed "if their convictions could be used to further the larger cause ... then
their convictions must be part of Jehovah's divine plan." (39)

Many of the witnesses sent into these 'hotspots' were brutally treated. Some of the accounts are horrifying - one young boy was castrated. Because at the same time that Covington sent his army of witnesses into the field, the children were being tested on their allegiance to either the Theocratic Government/Watchtower Society or the Amercian flag and the American pledge of allegiance.

It was ugly at that time to be a Jehovah's Witness when you were being called upon to make changes in the American constitution.

15

Doctrine, Disfellowshipping and the IRS

by OrphanCrow in

i watched an episode of "lie to me" on netflix that piqued my curiosity.. .

in the episode truth or consequences, a cult leader is investigated by the irs to determine if his cult has tax exemption or not.. one of the criteria that has to be met in order to be a legitimate 'church' or 'religion' in the eyes of the irs is that the members have to display "genuine belief'.. here is the portion of the script that speaks of this:.

http://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=lie-to-me&episode=s02e02.

OrphanCrow

Just a little bit more information to add to the tax climate in the 1950s.

Keep in mind that up to that point, it was the bragging rights of the Jehovah's Witnesses everywhere that "We are not a religion - we are a group of like minded people who study the Bible. The Watchtower Society is a '"Corporation". Or words to that effect - it has been a while and the mantra has slipped from my memory. However, don't take my word for it - there are many quotes of Rutherford's boast, both in Watchtower publications and in the public press. "We are not a religion" was said by a whole generation of Witnesses. And then it all changed. Sort of gradually in the rank and file - but at the top level, the move from Corporation to religion would have had major financial benefits for the Watchtower in 1950.

America was in war recovery - they, like every other country, had a huge war debt to consider. So they made some changes to the tax laws.

Revenue Act of 1950

Individual Income Tax. Eliminated portion of the individual income tax rate reductions from 1945 and 1948 acts.

Corporate Tax. Eliminated 53% corporate tax rate "bubble"; increased top corporate rate from 38% to 45%.

All of a sudden, claiming not to be a religion came with a huge financial cost.

Hence, the shift to a 'religion'.

And having to qualify as one meant having to establish 'genuine belief'.

Voila. Offical doctrine on disfellowshipping in 1952.

As far as 1914 doctrine goes. I am afraid that the above explanation makes sense to me.

More sense than anything the GB can pull out of their grey bible.

15

Doctrine, Disfellowshipping and the IRS

by OrphanCrow in

i watched an episode of "lie to me" on netflix that piqued my curiosity.. .

in the episode truth or consequences, a cult leader is investigated by the irs to determine if his cult has tax exemption or not.. one of the criteria that has to be met in order to be a legitimate 'church' or 'religion' in the eyes of the irs is that the members have to display "genuine belief'.. here is the portion of the script that speaks of this:.

http://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=lie-to-me&episode=s02e02.

OrphanCrow

Thank you for the advice, Vidot.

I totally understand what you are saying.

There is much disinformation out there.

28

New Zealand News: Jehovah's Witness dies after refusing blood transfusion

by AndersonsInfo in

jehovah's witness dies after refusing blood transfusion.

monday, october 20, 2014.

3 news - nzn.

OrphanCrow

I believe the woman was actually an ex-JW at the time of the surgery.

Blood-brainwashing has a long life span.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/10639363/Ex-Jehovahs-Witness-bled-to-death-after-surgery

Crazyguy - I don't think that bovine blood substitute is readily available for general use. There may be some clinical trials still in progress, but, several years ago when it was all the rage for JWs, it was only clinical trials being conducted. I believe most of those trials were in South Africa. Some (or all) of those trials had to be stopped because of high mortality rates in the trial groups (which, of course, were JWs).

15

Doctrine, Disfellowshipping and the IRS

by OrphanCrow in

i watched an episode of "lie to me" on netflix that piqued my curiosity.. .

in the episode truth or consequences, a cult leader is investigated by the irs to determine if his cult has tax exemption or not.. one of the criteria that has to be met in order to be a legitimate 'church' or 'religion' in the eyes of the irs is that the members have to display "genuine belief'.. here is the portion of the script that speaks of this:.

http://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=lie-to-me&episode=s02e02.

OrphanCrow

Getting a bureaucracy to become proactive takes a lot of effort, unless politicians pass laws to either fund it to be proactive or penalize it for draggin its feet.

Have you thought about contacting Congressional representatives to promote changing tax laws for non-profit organizations? Have you thought about becoming more politically active, like joining the Linkedin group Advocates for Protecting Children from Maltreatment

I understand what you are saying, BibleStudent, however, I am more interested in redemption than I am in making changes in tax laws.

Fighting tax laws are for those who think it can make a difference. The difference has to come from the WTS and unfortunately that will only happen once they have established their position as a recognized religion in all countries. Canada, for example, has a general time frame of 75 years for a religion to establish itself as legitimate before the shunning rules (which determine 'genuine belief') can be dropped. The irony is that the more a citizen protests the tax laws for churches the more that the IRS will demand these kinds of proofs of belief such as disfellowshipping.

The damage has already been done and I am more interested in making this information known to the exJW community and then, from there, to the JWs themselves. It is more important to raise awareness within those communities themselves so that terms of retribution can be determined for those whose lives have been destroyed for the only reason of increasing the WTS' coffers.

I wonder how many people who have lost loved ones to the disfellowshipping policy will feel once they find out that the only reason their loved ones have committed suicide or been ostracized as 'unclean' is entirely based upon the Watchtower Society's tax exemption status. I wonder how many current JWs will 'see the light' once they understand that salient point.

15

Doctrine, Disfellowshipping and the IRS

by OrphanCrow in

i watched an episode of "lie to me" on netflix that piqued my curiosity.. .

in the episode truth or consequences, a cult leader is investigated by the irs to determine if his cult has tax exemption or not.. one of the criteria that has to be met in order to be a legitimate 'church' or 'religion' in the eyes of the irs is that the members have to display "genuine belief'.. here is the portion of the script that speaks of this:.

http://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=lie-to-me&episode=s02e02.

OrphanCrow

"I really have no doubts that the JWs qualify as a religion under the IRS Code as it stands now"

The point of this post is not whether or not the WTS qualifies a religion now.

I could care less whether it does or not but I do care that the disfellowshipping practise that has ruined and taken so many lives since it was put in place in 1952 was put in place to satisfy IRS demands and it had fuck all to do with biblical doctrine and was only put in place so that the WTS could claim that it didn't have to pay tax.

That is the concern - the people who killed themselves, the people who dealt with terrible consequences because of disfellowshipping and it was only because of money.

The point is that all that happened, not because of biblical principles, like the WTS claims, but so that the WTS could establish themselves as an entity that didn't have to pay tax.

People have died over the disfellowshipping doctrine.

15

Doctrine, Disfellowshipping and the IRS

by OrphanCrow in

i watched an episode of "lie to me" on netflix that piqued my curiosity.. .

in the episode truth or consequences, a cult leader is investigated by the irs to determine if his cult has tax exemption or not.. one of the criteria that has to be met in order to be a legitimate 'church' or 'religion' in the eyes of the irs is that the members have to display "genuine belief'.. here is the portion of the script that speaks of this:.

http://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=lie-to-me&episode=s02e02.

OrphanCrow

Thank you ,fftruther144.

Now that I have had time to think about this, I realize why there will never be support for the ex-jw community at the government level concerning the disfellowshipping practises of the Watchtower Society.

It was the government's demands that the Society prove they are not a cult that created the disfellowshipping rules to begin with.

15

Doctrine, Disfellowshipping and the IRS

by OrphanCrow in

i watched an episode of "lie to me" on netflix that piqued my curiosity.. .

in the episode truth or consequences, a cult leader is investigated by the irs to determine if his cult has tax exemption or not.. one of the criteria that has to be met in order to be a legitimate 'church' or 'religion' in the eyes of the irs is that the members have to display "genuine belief'.. here is the portion of the script that speaks of this:.

http://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=lie-to-me&episode=s02e02.

OrphanCrow

I watched an episode of "Lie to Me" on Netflix that piqued my curiosity.

In the episode Truth or Consequences, a cult leader is investigated by the IRS to determine if his cult has tax exemption or not.

One of the criteria that has to be met in order to be a legitimate 'church' or 'religion' in the eyes of the IRS is that the members have to display "genuine belief'.

Here is the portion of the script that speaks of this:

http://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=lie-to-me&episode=s02e02

"Here's a copy of the court order allowing us to visit your compound and conduct our research.
It gives us 3 days to observe and interview the members of your church, and we will come and go as quietly as we can.
So, how many disciples live on your compound? I share the property with about 150 other believers.
Well, the IRS has had difficulty determining an exact number.
The children born into your group don't get social security numbers.
They don't need one to know god.
Oh, and god-- would that be you? The supreme court is very clear.
- The IRS cannot judge any church's religious tenets.
- Yeah.
Only whether your followers' beliefs are sincere and genuine.
So that's where we come in."

I am not familar with American tax law....however,

.... if "whether your followers' beliefs are sincere and genuine" has been used as a litmus test by the IRA as criteria to follow in determining the legitimacy of a cult/church/religion, then it reasonably follows that the disfellowshipping rule that the Watchtower Society put in effect in 1952, is motivated by financial reasons and NOT for Biblical reasons. Disfellowshipping is an act that has been required by the Society to maintain and establish that they are not a cult and do not have to pay tax because they are able to make a claim that everyone who is a member of the JWs are genuine and sincere in their belief - shunning and removing from official record a person who expresses doubts about their belief is probably a direct consequence of the Society's relationship with the IRS.

And continuing along that line - that doctrine and organization of the Society is directly influenced by their need to maintain 'religious' status for tax laws- I came across a small article from 2001, that makes some claims concerning doctrine and the IRS.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/600502/posts

"It is now a fact that in order to get and keep the tax-exempt status a church must agree that all religions are equal. The new Application for Recognition of Exemption Form 1023 Schedule A for Churches (Rev. September 1998) demands a declaration to this effect with the following words at point #3: "Does the organization require prospective members to renounce other religious beliefs or their membership in other churches or religious orders to become members? Yes__ No__. If "Yes," describe.""

That might explain this quote form the Awake July 2009: "No one should be forced to worship in a way that he finds unacceptable or be made to choose between his beliefs and his family."

Tax laws may also explain why the Society is still holding to the 1914 doctrine. In the Society 1914 doctrine, Christ has already returned - invisibly.

In today's 'terrorist' climate, a "Christ yet to come" doctrine could create a problem and an invisible Christ poses no real threat. This would explain why the Society is so tied up into making sure this doctrine is prominent and portrayed 'correctly' by their r&f - the JWs can claim that Christ has already arrived.

From the same article http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/600502/posts:

US Government Through the IRS Outlaws Preaching on Second Coming of Christ

One of the reasons the IRS gave to Texe Marr's Living Truth Ministries for removing their tax exempt status is as follows: "Much of the material you disseminate promises to address possible conspiracies or threats, either from individuals, groups or various agencies, against Christianity, freedom or other rights. This is evident from a review of your newsletters and order forms. The titles and promotional materials are designed to sensationalize and grab the readers attention. They usually imply that the works will expose certain prominent groups, individuals, politicians or government agencies as being part of or linked to some threat or conspiracy." One of the titles that the IRS gave as an example included "Bible Prophecy and The Conspiracy."

Any grade school child in Sunday School knows that you can't teach or write on Bible prophecy without dealing with the second coming of Jesus Christ. But just as the Russian pastors under communism were forbidden to speak on this subject, we are now coming to the same place in our beloved land. It is obvious that if one believes in the literal return of the Lord Jesus Christ that they will be considered a domestic terrorist. In that the Lord Jesus will destroy wicked government upon His return in great glory and break the back of Gentile world rule, this message isn't popular with the in-for-hells and the high-heeled-belles that run our country today. Of course, they don't believe that He is coming, but they believe that we who do will be involved in what they call self-fulfilled prophecies and try to hasten His coming by blowing up everything in sight. Further evidence of this type of anti-Christ thinking surfaced recently when a brochure put out by the FBI in Phoenix, Arizona, named "potential domestic terrorists" that law enforcement should be aware of. One of those groups is "Doomsday/Cult-Type." Obviously, this would include all Bible believing preachers and churches in America. We not only believe that there will be a literal doomsday, we believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will bring the doom when He comes (Rev. 6:12-17). It won't do any good to claim that your church is not a "cult". The IRS definition fits the average Bible believing church to a tee.

Many have asked if we can actually show them this in the law. Our answer is no, we can't because you won't find a specific law that says that you can't preach on the Second Coming of Jesus Christ in America today. That's because they don't have to write a law to gain the same effect. All Congress has to do is to give an outlaw agency like the IRS a carte blanche privilege of making up their own so-called laws as they go along. The churches agreed to this when they signed their tax-exempt contract. They said that they would obey all laws, federal, state and local, presently and in the future. But they apparently didn't read the fine print. The new churches filing for tax exemption must agree to the following: "The Corporation or organization shall have no power to take any action that would be required for a tax exemption under Internal Revenue

Code Section 501(c)(3) and related regulations, rulings, and procedures." It is now the "procedure" of the IRS to refuse tax exempt status to those churches that will not agree that all religions are equal and who refuse to join through tax exemption, the world church. Also, preaching on Christ's coming is taboo.

11

What's Artwork Question

by JustVisting in

why does wt artwork always have one person that is looking at the reader when depicting a group of people?

whether it's the little girl in the sermon on the amount scene or the woman in the armagedon scene.

what is the psychological and/or subliminal effect of this one the reader?

OrphanCrow

Having a person in the scene look back at the viewer is a psychological device used to make the viewer part of the scene.

It is meant to increase the sense that the viewer is actually there and not just observing - the viewer participates.

65

Doctors and surgeons say no to blood transfusions

by Mr Negative in

my mum recently told me that even surgeons won't have blood transfusions, but the common people don't get told this.

i have also seen or heard others say that a bunch of doctors/health officials/surgeons were asked, at some point, if they would accept a blood transfusion and they all said no.

is this true?

OrphanCrow

Backformore, you must have done your nursing education in a school that wasn't an osteopathic one. Most of the doctors and surgeons that I have discovered that work in bloodless medicine are trained in the school of osteopathy.

Rebel, I understand that your story will be disturbing. I have read many disturbing things when researching bloodless surgery and the Watchtower Society's involvement in it. And I don't expect your story to be a pretty one. I will be reading your story as soon as I am able to.