Posts by rebel8

44

Canadian Appeal Court decision made the news: Judges can overturn unfair church edicts

by AndersonsInfo in

jw
friends

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/religion/alberta-appeal-court-rules-judges-can-overturn-unfair-church-edicts.

the other day, this court decision was posted on jwn along with a link to the court document, but few expected the media to pick up the story.

so to all involved, i understand it was a surprise to see the story in print.

rebel8

A part of me wants them to stay as crazy as possible, as a repellent.

The more mainstream they become, the more people will join.

7

Dating

by Holden Caufield in

who else as a result of being a jw has been cynical of relationships..

rebel8

LOL steve2!!!!

OP, heck yes, I am cynical about all homo sapiens. How I am married, I will never know.

53

The Real Reason why the WT predicted Armageddon in 1975

by OrphanCrow in

i am of the opinion that the wt doctrine is influenced more by external factors that it is by internal ones.

one of the doctrines that has puzzled me for some time is the armageddon prediction of 1975. why would the wts make this prediction?

what was their real purpose?.

rebel8

Is it right, that the tax involved was property tax in the state of New York?

Actually, I believe it was the City of NY that was attempting to revoke the exemption.

If they paid the tax from 1971 to 1974 is there public record?

But the city lost the case, so I don't think they would have had to pay?

I looked up 25 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, BBL 3-00204-0001/0, and came up with no payment history.

97 and 107 Columbia Heights are registered to WTS as a multi-unit dwelling and pay a $13 fee per year for each.

http://nycserv.nyc.gov/NYCServWeb/NYCSERVMain

None of the property I checked had records on this website dating back to the 1970s though. Just a random bit of info.

53

The Real Reason why the WT predicted Armageddon in 1975

by OrphanCrow in

i am of the opinion that the wt doctrine is influenced more by external factors that it is by internal ones.

one of the doctrines that has puzzled me for some time is the armageddon prediction of 1975. why would the wts make this prediction?

what was their real purpose?.

rebel8

http://law.justia.com/cases/new-york/court-of-appeals/1974/35-n-y-2d-92-0.html

Thus, in our view, to succeed in establishing the taxable status of real property owned by Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., under these provisions the taxing authority must prove not only that the corporate owner is organized exclusively for bible and tract purposes, but as well that it is not organized or conducted exclusively for religious purposes. It is on the latter branch of this requirement of proof that we conclude the taxing authorities have failed in this instance...The religious activity of Jehovah's Witnesses consists in major part of house-to-house preaching, an integral part of which is the attendant distribution of religious literature, the bible and religious books, magazines and booklets, all produced and published by the society. The great weight of judicial authority has uniformly held that the preaching activity of Jehovah's Witnesses from house to house is done as ministers of the gospel and it is held that it is religious preaching...We accordingly conclude that the respondent society is organized and conducted exclusively for religious purposes within the meaning of the statute and therefore is not subject to taxation...

There is an interesting bit after that about the fact that wts had rent-paying tenants. The court seems to be saying they weren't asked to rule on partial exemption, so they cannot.

53

The Real Reason why the WT predicted Armageddon in 1975

by OrphanCrow in

i am of the opinion that the wt doctrine is influenced more by external factors that it is by internal ones.

one of the doctrines that has puzzled me for some time is the armageddon prediction of 1975. why would the wts make this prediction?

what was their real purpose?.

rebel8

Page 958 of the Fordham article explains where Orphan Crow is getting her contention. Their victory is totally based upon the "house-to-house preaching method" being their primary activity, not publishing. The entire case hinged upon this, and them being the governing body of a religious denomination.*

The fact that 1975 was mentioned in their literature decades earlier is a fair point.

I am left wondering, though, if the escalation of 1975 as a significant doctrine that required much more door-to-door activity was fueled by the need to prove tax exemption. It is very plausible this could have occurred.

Think about it. Now they are slowing down this activity, amidst an extreme pro-religion conservatism movement in this country--at a time when loss of tax exemption for publishing Bibles would not be considered.

*Was there also an escalation of them calling themselves the governing body at this time, or extra assertions of their religious authority over jws? Of late, they have definitely de-emphasized this role--again, a time when their tax exempt status is not at risk.

53

The Real Reason why the WT predicted Armageddon in 1975

by OrphanCrow in

i am of the opinion that the wt doctrine is influenced more by external factors that it is by internal ones.

one of the doctrines that has puzzled me for some time is the armageddon prediction of 1975. why would the wts make this prediction?

what was their real purpose?.

rebel8

Orphan Crow, you continue to amaze me. How did you find out the wts lost their tax exempt status? How is it possible nobody found this out until now?

48

"Mother" Teresa—a Fraud?

by Saename in

i often comment in threads that interest me on this forum.

moreover, some of you may know that i study the history of early christianity.

i once wrote an extensive comment on the historicity of jesus' existence in one of the threads.

rebel8

If I wanted to study Hitler and the Nazis and their effect on the German people, I would ask a German, that were there, first. He would be able to tell it first hand.

Didn't Hitchens meet with her first hand? That is why the pope had him testify.

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