Chaserious

Joined

• started 12 topics
• posted 790 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by Chaserious

• 
  7

  It`s hard to comprehend most of my peers still beleive this religion is the truth

  by smiddy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have from time to time attempted to contact former" freinds" in the truth ,sometimes the initial contact was excellent ,great to hear from you / good to catch up etc.

  and even some who couldn`t even remember me .

  some of these people i would have thought had a greater iq than what i gave them credit for ,otherwise why would you stick to this religion .ok i appreciate some may want to hold on to family so keep their mouth shut , but i have opened up to them and they cut me off.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Chaserious

  We were all in the religion at one time... did we all have a tiny IQ? I second what leaving said.
• 
  17

  Circuit Assemblies - Do they make money? Convince Chas

  by Chaserious in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have seen a number of posts here stating that the wts turns a profit off cas (and das for that matter) as if it is an established fact.

  i tried searching for prior threads on this, in case maybe there is evidence i'm not aware of (such as inside sources), but the search function is not too advanced so i didn't find anything.

  in any event, about 4 years ago when i used to attend them it seemed that the expenses they would announce for a 2-day ca would be around $10k, and for a 1-day it would be $5k.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Chaserious

  Well, I still do think that all of the things in my OP do cost money, not just utilities and repairs. And I would guess just utilities cost somewhere from $50k-100k per year. I would imagine it costs $50k a year to support the caretaker couple, and I think that's legitimate to pass on. But I see now how the WTS skims some money off the top, so thanks to all for explaining how it works.
• 
  56

  Is The Book of Revelation All About Me & My Generation?

  by ClubSandwich in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  jws believe the book of revelation offers an account of what is to come in their lifetime.

  but the problem is that every generation for the last 1900 years has thought the same thing.

  and, every generation has been wrong, even though each new one thinks it will be about me and my generation this time.. most reputable bible scholars believe that revelation, also called the apocalypse of john, was not written to describe the future for people living today.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Chaserious

  Is The Book of Revelation All About Me & My Generation?

  Well, obviously the answer depends on what you mean by "generation." Do you mean the era including the people living when you were alive, overlapping with the last people who were alive at the same time, overlapping with the people before that, and so on back to the Apostle John? It's got to be for somebody in that generation, right?
• 
  17

  Circuit Assemblies - Do they make money? Convince Chas

  by Chaserious in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have seen a number of posts here stating that the wts turns a profit off cas (and das for that matter) as if it is an established fact.

  i tried searching for prior threads on this, in case maybe there is evidence i'm not aware of (such as inside sources), but the search function is not too advanced so i didn't find anything.

  in any event, about 4 years ago when i used to attend them it seemed that the expenses they would announce for a 2-day ca would be around $10k, and for a 1-day it would be $5k.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Chaserious

  Thanks St. George. They don't have publicly available information on non-profits available like that in the U.S. I did take a look at a few of the accounting statements in the UK. That is really interesting that you can see all of the accounting records for even the local congregations. It seems some of the Assembly Halls do quite well. So the Assembly Corporations then don't make a direct contribution to the WTS in the UK? I see that the only category where that might fit in would be "Cost of holding meetings" which would not be entirely accurate. In fact, in the U.S. I think it would be a violation of accounting standards to call a donation to a global nonprofit the "cost of holding meetings."
• 
  17

  Circuit Assemblies - Do they make money? Convince Chas

  by Chaserious in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have seen a number of posts here stating that the wts turns a profit off cas (and das for that matter) as if it is an established fact.

  i tried searching for prior threads on this, in case maybe there is evidence i'm not aware of (such as inside sources), but the search function is not too advanced so i didn't find anything.

  in any event, about 4 years ago when i used to attend them it seemed that the expenses they would announce for a 2-day ca would be around $10k, and for a 1-day it would be $5k.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Chaserious

  Interesting... when they have the elders' business meeting do they list the expenses in detail to the elders? Or just tell them the amount and get a vote? And who decides the amount? The assembly overseer, the CO? Or does the WTS suggest a certain donation?
• 
  17

  Circuit Assemblies - Do they make money? Convince Chas

  by Chaserious in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have seen a number of posts here stating that the wts turns a profit off cas (and das for that matter) as if it is an established fact.

  i tried searching for prior threads on this, in case maybe there is evidence i'm not aware of (such as inside sources), but the search function is not too advanced so i didn't find anything.

  in any event, about 4 years ago when i used to attend them it seemed that the expenses they would announce for a 2-day ca would be around $10k, and for a 1-day it would be $5k.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Chaserious

  I have seen a number of posts here stating that the WTS turns a profit off CAs (and DAs for that matter) as if it is an established fact. I tried searching for prior threads on this, in case maybe there is evidence I'm not aware of (such as inside sources), but the search function is not too advanced so I didn't find anything. In any event, about 4 years ago when I used to attend them it seemed that the expenses they would announce for a 2-day CA would be around $10k, and for a 1-day it would be $5k. So it seems safe to assume they are taking in about $10k per weekend. They don't have assemblies every weekend, at least where I attended, especially in the summer, when they had almost none. So I think it would be reasonable to figure they have assemblies 35/52 weeks of the year. This would be $10k x 35 = $350,000 per year. To me, it seems like it would cost about that much to maintain an assembly hall. I was wondering if others disagree. Among the costs would be:

  Utilities, and not for a house mind you. These are 100,000 square foot monstrosities, often with several outbuildings, that are being heated and have at least some other utilities running 7 days a week.

  Cost of the caretaker and his wife, including all of their living expenses, health care, home, etc.

  Landscaping - where I attended it was on multiple acres, with large garden/flower displays in the summer. It must cost a lot to keep up with that.

  Insurance

  Maintenance - Labor is free, but there are still materials, and it's often necessary to rent expensive equipment to do seemingly ordinary maintenance due to high ceilings and other unusual features. I know from experience. Also they do provide meals to volunteers doing maintenance and repair work.

  Am I overestimating that these things could cost $350k? I'm sure I'm forgetting some expenses incidental to maintaining such a big property. Are they charging more for expenses now? I'm not tied to my theory - I'd love to be wrong. But please, I'm interested in logic or evidence, not "The WT$$$ is greedy, of course they are making money." Thanks!

  -C
• 
  27

  They really do love their sign, don't they...

  by cedars in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52anhcjb89y.

  .

  cedars.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Chaserious

  Sorry about those blank posts... cat walking across the computer. =)

  If there is a way to erase, it'd be great to hear, but it doesn't appear so.
• 
  27

  They really do love their sign, don't they...

  by cedars in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52anhcjb89y.

  .

  cedars.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Chaserious
• 
  27

  They really do love their sign, don't they...

  by cedars in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52anhcjb89y.

  .

  cedars.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Chaserious
• 
  10

  Anyone from New Hampshire? Do JWs object to the license plate??

  by Chaserious in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i happened to come across this case today: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/wooley_v._maynard.

  "george maynard and his wife, followers of the jehovah's witnesses faith, viewed the motto as repugnant to their moral, religious, and political beliefs, and for this reason they covered up the motto [live free or die] on the license plates of their jointly owned family automobiles.".

  it appears this guy kept getting fined by the local cops for covering up the license plate motto!

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Chaserious

  Jgnat: I just hope Candace Conti's verdict is upheld! I don't think it could go to the U.S. Supreme Court on the issue because fiduciary duty is a state law doctrine, and the U.S. Supreme Court can only review issues involving the U.S. Constitution or federal law. For some cases, the state supreme court is the highest it can go. There is one constitutional issue in the case, which is the WTS's claim that punitive damages as applied here are unconstitutional, but it's really just an issue of whether the law was applied correctly here, not a novel issue that SCOTUS would want. There is also some WTS allegation about free exercise, which is a constitutional issue, but I think it's pretty baseless and just an add-on to see if it sticks.