Stephanus "They could have simply continued to charge for everything and paid sales taxes as well; if they had, they'd still be riding high on the hog and wouldn't be making all these cost cutting changes that are simply driving more Dubs away. But the Tower has an almost psychotic aversion to rendering unto Caesar, that they'd sooner die than pay taxes. "
I certainly thought so at the time, especially since the percentage, whatever it was would simply have been passed on to the "spiritually-thirsty ones."
Nothing ruined the mood of a good Bible discussion like the anti-climactic panhandling for money "for the world-wide work."
Although a pioneer and elder during the years of all that "simplification", I never could bring myself to ask for a donation. It was absolutely against my nature. I simply featured the literature less, used tracts more to start studies, and if it went far enough, gave the householder a "gift" of the study book.
I think the new "donation arrangement" in light of the Swaggert court case was the beginnning of current financial decline for the Watchtower. It was a poorly thought out decision, which now has life-changing implications for thousands of Bethelites.
It put the current Watchtower leaders directly at odds with Charles Taze Russell who said "we will never beg for money."
tms
