My guess is that this is a precaution due to law/politics in France, and not a pilot program. Unlike the U.S., U.K., and many other countries, religions have to be approved by the government, and they make government distinctions between religions and cults. They even have a parlimentary commission on Cults. By contrast, in the U.S. something that might be popularly considered a cult is due all of the free exercise protection of any religion. I am guessing that they are worried about assets being frozen or taxed in the event of a negative ruling or something similar. Note that he said global account. I'm guessing these are going to be held in some time of offshore account that the France branch has access to.
Chaserious
JoinedPosts by Chaserious
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France : no more local bank accounts for congregations
by fifth.column ini just joined a few days ago.
still in (physically, not mentally...) for family reasons... how many attendees at the kh in the same situation ?
currently living in france, wont say more on me for the moment.... .
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Why are the Jehovah's Witnesses not allowed to carry a weapon (for protection) during field service?
by I_love_Jeff inif jesus allowed peter to carry a sword for protection, why are the jehovah's witnesses against carry a weapon during their "fun" door-to-door adventuring?
it seems jesus did not mind that peter carried a sword if we read luke 22:36-38. is it another case of picking and choosing what works for their man-made doctrine?.
is defending oneself a violent act, according to the jehovah's witnesses?
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Chaserious
There are a ton of reasons
A) It could lead to legal liability. People who go into bad neighborhoods for their employment are routinely told by their employers that they are not allowed to have a weapon while working. I have personal experience with that in a former job.
B) There are lots of scriptures that go the other way too and counsel toward nonviolence. There's a shocker - different people applying the bible in contradictory manners.
C) If you look at this objectively, it's not very appealing for someone to present themselves as a minister of any faith knowing they are packing.
I could probably go all the way to Z, this seems so obvious to me.
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List Of Names Of Legal Dept at Bethel?
by frankiespeakin init would be nice to know any info would be helpful..
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Chaserious
Do you mean a more recent list, or additional info about the people listed? It appears in addition to those listed above (not all of whom are apparently working for the WTS), the following people have NY law licenses and a Patterson Watchtower address:
Andrea Y. Wang
Ronald L. Slater
Keturah Alegra Dunne
Gregory D. Olds
Francis J. McNamara
I didn't copy all of their additional info, but it looks like the most recent to graduate law school is 2000, so they don't appear to be existing Bethelites who were put through law school recently by the WTS.
I also ran a search of all attorneys who were counsel to the WTS in cases where the WTS was a party with a written opinion since 2005. Note that this will not capture attorneys who do not litigate, such as those who exclusively handle real estate issues or estate matters. It also won't capture cases where the WTS was not actually a named party, such as the Menlo Park land case. In addition to the others in my post, these include:
Gregory Allen
Calvin Rouse
Nora Vargas-Acosta (Admitted in Puerto Rico; appears to possibly be an ACLU attorney)
J. Jerome Miller (NC)
Jack R. Reiter, Gregory A. Victor, and Natalie J. Carlos (FL)
Donald E. Gardner and Brian J.S. Cullen (NH)
Eileen Smith (TN)
Please note that I am expressing no opinion as to whether the attorneys named here are Jehovah's Witnesses or employed by the Watchtower organization. I am merely reporting that they have entered appearances on behalf of the Watchtower Society or appeared on a brief for the WTS.
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What being cheap costs us.. Fatal accident involving bus full of JWs
by pubtruth inthis happened about last week here in florida.
a bus carrying 32 jehovah's witnesses driven by a hired bus driver got lost on the way to west palm beach and crashed at the entrance of miami int'l airport.
dozens were injured and 2 passed away.
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Chaserious
No one's saying the WT is directly responsible. But yes, it was pointed out by the OP that they closed and sold a closer assembly hall. Had their greed for the bottom line not been so great, perhaps this tragedy would have been avoided.
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What being cheap costs us.. Fatal accident involving bus full of JWs
by pubtruth inthis happened about last week here in florida.
a bus carrying 32 jehovah's witnesses driven by a hired bus driver got lost on the way to west palm beach and crashed at the entrance of miami int'l airport.
dozens were injured and 2 passed away.
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Chaserious
Chaserious, that's their WHOLE APPROACH now, have you missed this? With all the "simplified" literature. Have you seen the "Listen to Gawd" brochure? Why are you even bringing this up?
The simplified literature is kind of a tangent here, but I brought it because I think it's irresponsible to blame the WTS for these people's deaths. If my dog happens to choke on something and dies while I was at a meeting, I think half of this board would immediately call the WTS dog-killers because if I was home I could have taken him to the vet right away. Shit happens.
On the literature point, even as someone who hasn't been to a meeting for 3 years I immediately know what is being conveyed in that picture, and that no witness would reasonably interpret it as meaning you can't get into an accident. I must have heard time and unforeseen occurrence a million times. Unless they stopped using that, no one thinks they can't get into an accident.
in all seriousness this is not a tragedy.
Can you please explain? Does this mean the world is better off because we have two less JWs? Sure hope not...
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What being cheap costs us.. Fatal accident involving bus full of JWs
by pubtruth inthis happened about last week here in florida.
a bus carrying 32 jehovah's witnesses driven by a hired bus driver got lost on the way to west palm beach and crashed at the entrance of miami int'l airport.
dozens were injured and 2 passed away.
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Chaserious
"To me they are sending mixed messages when they say the words shown in Blondies comment above but then print pictures like this that are meant to give you the opposite impression. ..."
That is exactly the manipulation technique that they used leading up to the "1975" fiasco.
If anyone over the age of 6 interprets theology not from the words on the page but from a picture with fire breathing dragons and musclebound bearded dudes in the clouds, they are to blame and not the WTS. I'm not implying that the people on the bus are to blame - because I am questioning the implication that they felt invinicible. As Blondie pointed out, the literature clearly says otherwise. In 25 years growing up as a witness, I never heard anyone hint that they could not be killed in an accident while doing "Jehovah's will".
Although I will say, they do exploit examples when they go the other way, which is not being honest, like "one brother related that had he gone on a business trip for his employer instead of attending the District Convention, he would have been on the plane that crashed, killing all on board."
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What being cheap costs us.. Fatal accident involving bus full of JWs
by pubtruth inthis happened about last week here in florida.
a bus carrying 32 jehovah's witnesses driven by a hired bus driver got lost on the way to west palm beach and crashed at the entrance of miami int'l airport.
dozens were injured and 2 passed away.
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Chaserious
When people jump on a thread like this and blame the WTS for this tragedy, that is what makes ex-JWs look like bitter angry opposers with an axe to grind. Why not have a little more compassion for these victims and their families?
Had they not avoided college educations due to the Watchtower Society's false predictions of "Armageddon", they would probably have made enough money thru their lives so that they could have traveled in safer transportation
Come on, did you not see the video? Most of the people on the bus can't even speak english. It's highly unlikely that they would all be rich aerospace engineers if not for the WTS.
It is very sad news, especially with everyone so tight on money and so brainwashed, that they look for whatever they can to make "Jehovah" happy
People travel on cheap buses all the time - college kids, city dwellers with no car going home to visit family, immigrants, etc. I'm sure most of the people didn't get on the bus with some kind of resentful attitude.
Where were the angels that are supposed to protect those doing Jehovah's will?
You know they don't teach that and no JWs really think they are immune from auto accidents while travelling for "theocratic" purposes.
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Is it ethical to confess extramarital sex to your spouse
by Most Noble indurex's global sex survey has found that 44% of adults worldwide have had one-night extramarital sex and 22% have had an affair.according to a 2004 united states survey, 16% of married partners have had extramarital sex, nearly twice as many men as women, while an additional 30% have fantasized about extramarital sex.
there were also studies that have shown rates of extramarital sex as low as 2.5%.as many authors conclude, these kinds of estimates are probably understated because extramarital sex is commonly disapproved.. .
what do you think is it ethical to confess an extramarital affair?.
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Chaserious
"Durex's Global Sex Survey has found that 44% of adults worldwide have had one-night extramarital sex and 22% have had an affair.According to a 2004 United States survey, 16% of married partners have had extramarital sex"
Moral of this survey: Americans will lie to cover up their affairs 28% more often, even when the lie is told to the condom company representative conducting an anonymous survey.
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privilleges equals spirituality
by stillin inwhat a sad joke!
posters here talk about the "do more" pushiness in the organization and that is so true!
elders just assume that you want to carry microphones and work your way up the spiritual ladder to that blissful state of total immersion in "kingdom matters.
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Chaserious
I liked sitting in the back as an attendant and all. It's a good excuse to not really pay attention and get up and walk around every few minutes to check on the thermostat, seat latecomers, count people, and so on. Same thing with working at the conventions. This one Class A elder used to like me, and he always got a job running a cushy District Convention department like public relations or literature so he would always bring me on board. It was way better to walk around and do stuff or sit in a suite than sit out and have to listen or even take notes.
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Will the year 2034 be the end? Is the WT seeing a glimpse of "NEW LIGHT"?
by suavojr incedar mentioned this on another thread talking about 2014 and the wt.
ray also mentioned how easily it would be for the wt to apply the 1 day for a year rule and make 2034 a special year.. .
they already have a contingency plan enshrined in their literature that will see them through to 2034.. http://www.quotes-watchtower.co.uk/2034.html.
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Chaserious
It doesn't matter. If they will believe the current generation BS they will believe whatever new nonsense the WTS comes up with in 2034. I mean come on, by this logic my grandfather who is 95, is part of the U.S. Civil War generation because when he was a little boy there were still people alive who were soldiers in the civil war. I think by 2034 the publisher counts will have declined in currently developed countries and will have shifted to places where they are still growing now like subsaharan Africa and South America. I guess they can hope that if those countries are more prosperous in 20 years they can financially support the Borg and supplant the support they'll continue to lose in North America and Europe.
