JWDaughter, in my native country which was after the fall of communism rather developing country, we build KH from our local funds. I used to donate every week. After JW went from illegality, we did not have KH, we had to rent various public spaces like school auditorium. We had collection box that was used to fund our first KH building. We put money every week into it so we can build our own first KH. This was done after several years in savings. I do not remember any monies from bethel that would fund the KH; it is possible they were donated, but I left JW around the time. I only remember that we got advise on the look and the size of the KH. The local congregation workforce, skills, and money built the building (or rather renovated the purchased ruin).
Posts by kaik
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111CONGREGATION FLEECING RESULTS?
by The Searcher inhow much did your congregation and its bank account get taken for?
share your horror story!.
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30
You Americans are the friendliest people I've met
by not bitter in........ well at least the ones i encountered on my recent holiday to orlando.
now i know that its a tourist destintion so everyone working in the hotels and parks are on their best behaviour.
but i have been to tourist towns here in the uk and europe but not one is on a par with you guys.. my husband and i haven't stopped talking about to anyone that wants to listen.
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kaik
Americans are generally friendlier than Europeans or East Asians, but there is also variations. I lived in NYC and did not find Newyorkers too friendly, yet I am married to one. People in the South are nice, but also I had observed selective friendliness. California is chapter on its own, where people can rude and friendly everywhere. In general everywhere in the world, people from large cities are not friendly and this is the same what I had observed from Los Angeles to New York, Montreal, Paris, Berlin, Prague, to Kiev. When I was in French countryside, people were very nice and helpfull. The same is valid for UK and Germany where people in small cities are very nice. I find the nicest people in USA in Pacific Northeast in Seattle and Midwest. The rudest and worst experience I had in former USSR and Yugoslavia. I do not think that Slavic people are generally friendly and nice to each other. The nicest people I had run into Europe were Italians.
Florida is beautifull for visit. I was there for week. I am not sure if I could live there although, I do not know anyone there. Been in Florida from Fernandina Beach to Key West and I love it. If anyone goes to Keys make visit to Fort Jefferson. It is worth it.
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Sign of the Time of the End ---> Armagaddon
by Waiting4TheKingdom infive events to come and to watch for:.
1 world leaders say peace and security!
- they "say" this but may not fully "achieve" this.
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kaik
Johnamos, what is your point? Where do you get that people on JWN do not read bible. 2/3 of humanity does not share a belief that bible is a word of God. Jews do not care what is written in NT, it is not part of their holy text. Jews do not believe that Jesus was/is Messiah. Whatever is written in Revelation is absolutely irrelevant to their faith and beliefs. Before you start to preach, please be also aware what Judaism say about Satan (and Gog/Magog), which is completely different from Christianity. You cites Joel, yet you use Christian beliefs invented by Catholic church centuries after the death of Jesus. Do you besides bible read anything else? It does not show it.
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111
CONGREGATION FLEECING RESULTS?
by The Searcher inhow much did your congregation and its bank account get taken for?
share your horror story!.
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kaik
My parents told me that they were asked to donate 30000 CZ crowns (1USD = 20CZK) per month to support their [closed] branch office. I do not talk to my cousins who are elders, but I can ask my siblings and aunts how much they were asked in their KH.
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46
The WT Isn't Going Away (sorry got long)
by LostGeneration ini've seen more threads and comments in the last week about the "demise of the wt" than in some time.
several were on threads about the donation arrangement and how its going to backfire in some way on the wt.
oh and the lone elder who was pissed in some sort of passive-aggresive manner about it when he presented the resolution.
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kaik
kneehigh, I did not say that they collect 2.2bl, but theoretically they could. Oubliette had good calculation on this topics two weeks ago. I was told by my parents and my siblings (both attending different KH) that their KH pledged 30000 CZ crowns per month (1 USD = 20 CZ). Their KH is long paid off since 1990's. Except utilities and some maintenance, which can be less than 1000 crowns per month, the rest of the money goes out into mother. Some people donate up to 100 dollars equivallent per month. If there is 250 congregation in Czech Republic, you can do the math. I will ask my relatives in Slovakia how much they donate in Euros. I only pointed out that Czech Republic is not rich nor poor country; it is in middle income bracket like Portugal or Greece. If WT is capable to get such money from these countries where average incomes are around 1000-1500 per month per individual, how much money they get from wealthier states like Germany, UK, or Canada.
Not sure how is the demographic world wide. In CZ based on the census from 2011 average age for JW is 38. The age would be much higher if the WT did not kick 1/6 of its members there in the 1990's due flip flopping doctrine on alternative military service. Between 1992-1996 majority of males who were avoiding draft and were not successfull to get into industry waving draft like mines could do civic service for two years in hospice or elsewhere. These people were kicked off in mass. It was actually the largest cleansing of JW in CZ republic, much larger than during A.H., Stalin showtrials in 1951, or JW split there in 1968.
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Anyone recall asemblies actually being fun?
by tim hooper inwhen i was a wee lad, there was a carnival atmosphere at assemblies as this old footage will show:.
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http://www.britishpathe.com/video/witnesses-baptised/query/jehovahs+witnesses.
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kaik
Strahov 1991 was fun into certain degree. It was also the most ethustiastic time for me in JW organization. However, it was too long, too hot, elders constantly monitored with whom we talked to and way. I got reprimented for taking my shirt off and was there in white t-short. I was sweating. Lines into WC were long, etc. One day event would be just fine. Three days sitting on stadium...it was painfull (at least to me).
Yeah and no beer served. But evening we used to go to pub to get some beer.
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MINIMUS - If You Could Tell A Jehovah's Witness One Thing?
by The Searcher ingood question, but i can't add a reply to your op.. my statement would be this - "if your governing body is god's direct channel of communication on earth, why did god use babylon the great to reveal a 'new light' to let you all know that the 'evil slave' isn't real, it's "hypothetical"?.
after which, the wtbts plagiarised the idea and presented it as a "new understanding/clarification" in their watchtower magazine.. please read the net bible at matthew 24:48, then read the footnote.
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kaik
With my relatives who still believe in that BS, they bring how the new light reveals hidden mysteries in bible and how WT is trully channel of God's communication. I am out for 20 years so the beliefs we had in the 1975-1990 are not the same as in 2014. So my question to them is when the old light was incorrect and indeed wrong, so who was the source of it? If God cannot lie than he could not be the source of the old light. This usually ends all conversation.
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The WT Isn't Going Away (sorry got long)
by LostGeneration ini've seen more threads and comments in the last week about the "demise of the wt" than in some time.
several were on threads about the donation arrangement and how its going to backfire in some way on the wt.
oh and the lone elder who was pissed in some sort of passive-aggresive manner about it when he presented the resolution.
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kaik
I agree with the LG that the WT will not go away in our lifetime. What would cause WT to cave in would be a split where 1/2 of members would secede and create own church independent from GB. But this will not happen becasue everyone who left the cult knows that it is faith build on BS without any deeper spiritual and social values. When it comes to income stream, it is huge, tax free, and probably worth hundreds of millions of dollars per year. I talked to my relatives in Europe that told me that every congregation is now donating about $1500 per month into organization on top of the other expenses they need to run and maintain their KH. If there is 250 KH is Czech Republic, they generate over 4.5 millions of dollars per year. And that is not all the money from assemblies and memorials. Consider much wealthier KH is Western Europe and Northern America, the mothers fleece their members by millions of dollars. If CZ is the medium in income world-wide and its applied across all the KHs, borg receives about 2.4 billions per year. Think about it, it is a huge business.
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New to The Jehovahs Witness Faith and need some help
by jnjburkett inhello there i am new to the faith and have been studying for about a month.
i am very excited and hungry for the truth and have not missed a meeting or study since the memorial.
we do about 2 bible studies a week.
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kaik
Also hairtrigger, I would like to add, more JW of your family are in, the higher status you have. My now deceased aunt produced several sons who later became elders and they had created more children so their KH is a place where everyone f..ck someone and is related by blood and marriage. My aunt was treated like princess (I told her that into her arrogant face), she got away with everything she had ever done. She felt to be invincible, routinely disrupted funerals of relatives, etc. She lied, was dishonest, but was well off financially, etc. My cousins believed the "A" was just about to happen and borrowed tons of money from banks with idea that they will never repay it. The had issue with law enforcement, tax agencies, banks, government and got away with it. They are still elders. The newcomers are treated like doormat. However, if she or he is a potential new addition to their extended family, than they are treated nicely.
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Could There Be Another Mass Exodus From This Cult?
by mrquik init's happened before.
how much crap can any rational human being take before they just snap & walk away disgusted?.
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kaik
I think the mass exodus (it would be mostly the sane) would leave the most crazy and mentally disturbed in the organization. The GB would feel that the mass exodus is a proof that the end is near and they fullfill the prophecies about apostasy. WT is so deep in its delusion that there is absolutely nothing that would awake them. The GB can still live comfortably with smaller membership.