Posts by ABibleStudent

39

Petition to Revoke Scientology's Tax Exempt Status

by ABibleStudent in

fyi, if you feel that scientology's tax-exempt status should be revoked, you can sign a white house petition to revoke its tax-exempt status at https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/revoke-scientologys-tax-exempt-status.. i signed the petition even though i have mixed feelings about this petition.

i would prefer that dangerous cults like scientology be reformed by suspending its tax-exempt status until it makes needed changes and i do not like targeting a specific organization when the whole system should be changed.

on the other hand this type of action may help to promote debate about revising the tax codes in the us.. i do prefer revising the tax code like i wrote about in revise tax code to protect children from sexual abuse .. peace be with you and everyone, who you love,.

ABibleStudent

@ Village Idiot, Just because religions would oppose the bill doesn't mean I should give up.

I feel that most religions, not just fundamentalist would oppose the bill that I wrote because it would amend 26 U.S. Code § 6033 to require that all tax-exempt organizations, including religious organizations that are currently exempt, file annual reports and amend 26 U.S. Code § 6104 to require the Treasury to provide free access to applications for tax-exemption and annual reports through the internet

An organization would be required to describe its child protection policies in the annual report. I also plan to revise the current version to require that organizations shall be required to report legal expenses including child abuse lawsuit settlements as soon as members of Congress start asking for a copy of the bill. If an organization perjures itself in its annual reports then the IRS could penalize it for perjury in addition to suspending its tax exempt status for not providing adequate child protection.

@ William Penwell, What country are you a citizen of? Brits can petition Parliament. Brits can always create a more reasonable and balanced petition for Parliament to investigate and revise British charitable laws to encourage the Charities Commission to actively investigate charities with adequate funding and changes to the laws.

@ PokerPlayerPhil, How would you define "value for World governments or humanity"? Scientologists believe that Scientology has helped them just like a JW would defend the Watchtower.

The bill that I wrote does not judge whether an organization benefits society or not. It just requires tax-exempt organization to meet minimum requirements to protect children from sexual abuse and to prevent an organization from using or promoting undue influence on/to its members.

This petition now has greater than 19,000 signatures.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

39

Petition to Revoke Scientology's Tax Exempt Status

by ABibleStudent in

fyi, if you feel that scientology's tax-exempt status should be revoked, you can sign a white house petition to revoke its tax-exempt status at https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/revoke-scientologys-tax-exempt-status.. i signed the petition even though i have mixed feelings about this petition.

i would prefer that dangerous cults like scientology be reformed by suspending its tax-exempt status until it makes needed changes and i do not like targeting a specific organization when the whole system should be changed.

on the other hand this type of action may help to promote debate about revising the tax codes in the us.. i do prefer revising the tax code like i wrote about in revise tax code to protect children from sexual abuse .. peace be with you and everyone, who you love,.

ABibleStudent

This petition has obtained 18,500 signatures towards 100,000 total needed with 16 days to go.

If you sign this petition, please post your comments to this thread to keep it in the top of the active topics.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

15

still in .. wishing for a ttatt brother in the hall

by user100 in

the entire hall was invited to a party at a brothers house after the memorial.. actually had conversations with a few people.. two guys that were recently disfellowshipped and since re-instated... would love to see what they really think about the religion.. but have no idea how to bring it up.. .

my beliefs are quite in the open (i think), i am inactive and do not comment or give talks.. i dont sing, i dont close my eyes during prayers and i dont say amen... funny though.. we were having a conversation, one of the recently re-instated asked me which service group i belong to.. my reply after some thought was... "i have no idea" .. coz seriously.. i had no idea.

wonder how that went... they all laughed it off including the pioneer drone standing next to me... i am tempted to ask them if they value freedom of speech and if so do they think we have freedom of speech in the jw religion.....

ABibleStudent

Welcome user100, Since your wife still believes, how would your wife respond to you inviting JWs to get together and do some fun, time-consuming, and non-JW activities? Go surfing, go to the beach, go bike riding, learn to dance socially, go to a batting cage, go golfing, play tennis, go out to nice restaurants, etc. If you can invite/meet non-JWs, who your wife might like, at every opportunity.

When you are with JWs just ask simple questions about how JWs feel and maybe make comments that they look down, frustrated, etc. Don't every reveal your feelings except to say you believe in freedom of speech and that you are there for them to listen. Wait a long time to plant any seeds of doubt or attempting to overcome WTBTS thought-stopping platitudes.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

39

Petition to Revoke Scientology's Tax Exempt Status

by ABibleStudent in

fyi, if you feel that scientology's tax-exempt status should be revoked, you can sign a white house petition to revoke its tax-exempt status at https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/revoke-scientologys-tax-exempt-status.. i signed the petition even though i have mixed feelings about this petition.

i would prefer that dangerous cults like scientology be reformed by suspending its tax-exempt status until it makes needed changes and i do not like targeting a specific organization when the whole system should be changed.

on the other hand this type of action may help to promote debate about revising the tax codes in the us.. i do prefer revising the tax code like i wrote about in revise tax code to protect children from sexual abuse .. peace be with you and everyone, who you love,.

ABibleStudent

@ Gayle, Thank you for signing the petition. I hope that other people will sign it.

To answer your question, you can either read the Supreme Court decision REYNOLDS v. U.S., 98 U.S. 145 (1878) or take my word that Mr. Chief Justice Waite, delivering the opinion of the court, wrote, " . . . it may be accepted almost as an authoritative declaration of the scope and effect of the amendment thus secured. Congress was deprived of all legislative power over mere opinion, but was left free to reach actions which were in violation of social duties or subversive of good order."

In other words, Congress cannot pass laws about what an individual thinks but can pass laws about an individual's (and organization's) actions. Polygamy was against the laws in the territory of Utah in 1878, therefore Reynold's was guilty of polygamy.

@ rebel8, If you read the bill that I wrote, no organization's tax-exempt status would be revoked unless it committed perjury, making false statements to government agencies, or other crimes and the Secretary of the Treasury would be responsible for defining what was sufficient cause, For not protecting children from sexual abuse the worse that an organization would suffer would be suspension of their tax-exempt status until corrective actions were implemented that complied with IRS regulations.

The attorney, who reviewed the bill I wrote, thought that an organizations status should be automatically revoked, but also realized that it would be difficult to establish a standard of when to revoke its tax-exempt status.

@ Barbara, Thank you for signing the petition and adding your thoughts to this discussion. I agree with you that Scientology's tax-exempt status will not be revoked based on this petition, but it may cause politicians to realize that there is a problem with the Tax Code.

I hope that more than 100, 000 people will sign this petition before April 22, 2015 and that JWN members will add comments that they signed the petition to keep this thread in the top of active threads.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

39

Petition to Revoke Scientology's Tax Exempt Status

by ABibleStudent in

fyi, if you feel that scientology's tax-exempt status should be revoked, you can sign a white house petition to revoke its tax-exempt status at https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/revoke-scientologys-tax-exempt-status.. i signed the petition even though i have mixed feelings about this petition.

i would prefer that dangerous cults like scientology be reformed by suspending its tax-exempt status until it makes needed changes and i do not like targeting a specific organization when the whole system should be changed.

on the other hand this type of action may help to promote debate about revising the tax codes in the us.. i do prefer revising the tax code like i wrote about in revise tax code to protect children from sexual abuse .. peace be with you and everyone, who you love,.

ABibleStudent

Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Hi SonoftheTrinity, If this petition to revoke Scientology's tax-exempt status does obtain 100,000 signatures, I'm sure that the White House's response will have some statement of protecting 1st Amendment rights as an excuse to do nothing.

Have you read the 1st Amendment? I feel that when Congress created tax-exempt status for religions without prohibiting religions from infringing on the free exercise of members to leave a religion (i.e., using undue influence and shunning) that Congress inadvertently infringed on individuals rights under the Establishment and Free Exercise clauses of the 1st Amendment.

There are very few requirements for organizations to qualify for religious tax-exempt status, such as self-declare that an organization is a religion, that donations do not enure to the benefit of a few people, and that an organization is not declared a terrorist organization or helping to fund terrorism by Executive Order.

I feel that adding a few more more requirements to the Tax Code for all tax-exempt organizations that help protect children from sexual abuse and stop organizations from promoting and using undue influence on its members would not infringe on any 1st Amendment rights for individuals. Individuals can think and organizations cannot!

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

47

I'm at a loss at how to get thru to my parents. I fear they will die before they will stop shunning me.

by cognisonance in

all i want is this: for us to be a family, to spend time together enjoying life.

i don't wish to debate about their beliefs when together.

they can remain jws for all i care.

ABibleStudent

cognisonance -
"We can't keep doing this. We just can't"
"We love you so much, but you know we shouldn't be talking with you."
"We must trust that doing things Jehovah's way, no matter how much we don't want too or how much it hurts, will be the best course of action in the long run"

Hi cognisonance, Have you asked your parents questions about thier good-bye statements? Something like , "How can you love me so much, but don't want to talk with me? If you love me so much you would want to spend as much time with me as I want with you. Not talking with me and loving me unconditionally only convinces me that I made the right choice to critically think for myself instead of blindly following instructions from imperfect men."

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

39

Petition to Revoke Scientology's Tax Exempt Status

by ABibleStudent in

fyi, if you feel that scientology's tax-exempt status should be revoked, you can sign a white house petition to revoke its tax-exempt status at https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/revoke-scientologys-tax-exempt-status.. i signed the petition even though i have mixed feelings about this petition.

i would prefer that dangerous cults like scientology be reformed by suspending its tax-exempt status until it makes needed changes and i do not like targeting a specific organization when the whole system should be changed.

on the other hand this type of action may help to promote debate about revising the tax codes in the us.. i do prefer revising the tax code like i wrote about in revise tax code to protect children from sexual abuse .. peace be with you and everyone, who you love,.

ABibleStudent

I checked the status of the revoke Scientology's tax-exemption petition. It has 15,000+ which is 5,000 more than a few days ago. 100,000 signatures are needed by April 22, 2015 to qualify for a White House response.

I hope that more people will sign this petition to force the White House to write a response on this issue. People can easily find the petition by googling "revoke Scientology's tax status".

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

16

The end

by Garrett in

jw
friends

oh...my...god.... i can't.. well, i am officially done trying to explain things to them.

they talk in circles, and their excuse for everything is "imperfect men".

imperfect men!.

ABibleStudent

Hi Garrett, Don't be soooo hard on yourself. You at least cared enough to try to help them.

Instead of discussing doctrine with JWs, what fun, time-consuming, non-JW activities would you enjoy doing with your JW friends? JWs might be JWs for social reasons more than for doctrine. Show JWs that life is more fun outside of the WTBTS so that they might hate being whipped to do more for the WTBTS.

From what you described it seems like your JW friend(s) had their shields up (i.e., saying imperfect men). Did you ask them a question, like, "What would ever make you want to disassociate/fade from the WTBTS?" If they say, "Nothing.", then they are not ready to critically think for themselves and should be victimized by the WTBTS.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

8

Well...I blew it

by Garrett in

jw
friends

(follow up to my last post).

i let it rip.

i can't take stupidity from people i thought were capable of using their brain.

ABibleStudent

Hi Garrett, Before you reverse witness to a JW, you need to be able to control your emotions and actions.

If your friend does start to shun, mark, or avoid you, you could ask her the following question: "How come you will blindly follow the instructions [15 Nov 2013, Watchtower (Study Edition), page 20, paragraph 17] of imperfect men to not report suspected child sexual abuse, and avoid me for saying report all abuse to local law enforcement or for promoting to critically think for yourself? At least I don't proclaim that I have the "Truth" and say follow me even though I'm imperfect."

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

39

Petition to Revoke Scientology's Tax Exempt Status

by ABibleStudent in

fyi, if you feel that scientology's tax-exempt status should be revoked, you can sign a white house petition to revoke its tax-exempt status at https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/revoke-scientologys-tax-exempt-status.. i signed the petition even though i have mixed feelings about this petition.

i would prefer that dangerous cults like scientology be reformed by suspending its tax-exempt status until it makes needed changes and i do not like targeting a specific organization when the whole system should be changed.

on the other hand this type of action may help to promote debate about revising the tax codes in the us.. i do prefer revising the tax code like i wrote about in revise tax code to protect children from sexual abuse .. peace be with you and everyone, who you love,.

ABibleStudent

Encase the revoke Scientology's tax-exempt petition obtains 90,000 signatures to qualify for a White House response, I sent President Obama the following comment.

I hope that more people will sign the petition to force debate on this issue. People can easily find the petition by googling "revoke Scientology's tax status".

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

Dear President Barack Obama:

I respectfully ask that you use your presidential influence to actively promote introducing a bill to the 114th Congress by the end of May 2015 to revise the Tax Code to require tax-exempt organizations to protect children from sexual abuse instead of protecting and enabling pedophiles.

Instead of singling out a specific organization to revoke its tax-exempt status as requested by the White House “We the People Petition” https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/revoke-scientologys-tax-exempt-status, why not fix the Tax Code instead?

If you are interested, a rough-draft copy of a bill (~ 85% finished) with the following provisions is available at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/lbrkte086omivtt/AADN7PQHNylsdKwbltjHxBUea?dl=0 :

* Insert a new sub-section in 26 U.S. Code § 501 to describe the criteria and process to suspend an organization's tax-exempt status, and would allow the IRS to charge all tax-exempt organizations a nominal annual fee (may be $10 to $50) to fund the effort. Applicable tax-exempt organizations would be required to ensure that applicable adults pass a criminal background check and complete sexual abuse awareness training, to promote to members and employees to report suspected violent felonies to local law enforcement, to prohibit using undue influence on members and employees, and to prohibit promoting bigotry, prejudice, and inciting hatred and civil unrest.

* Amend 26 U.S. Code § 6033 to require that all tax-exempt organizations, including religious organizations that are currently exempt, to file annual reports and adds additional requirements about what to include in the annual reports.

* Amend 26 U.S. Code § 6104 to require the Treasury to provide free access to applications for tax-exemption and annual reports through the internet. The Treasury would be prohibited from releasing personal contact information (not business contact information) through the internet.

* Create Section 520 to allow taxing of funds transferred from/to non-compliant organizations to reduce funding to such organizations.

After reading the draft bill you will better understand how it will protect children from sexual abuse, prohibit promoting prejudice, bigotry, and hate-speech, and increase transparency and accountability by all tax-exempt organizations.

Sincerely,

Robert