?me? I am not sure which country you are in, but in CZ they were generally asked to pledge equivallent $5 per week for publisher. People who do not put that amount are looked as a spiritually weak. My parents told me that one sister donated entire pension only to find out that the money were not used for local KH needs, but were sent away. Since both my parents are retired and on fixed incomes, they do not donate much, probably $5 per month instead per week.
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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19
C'mon Analysts- The game is on! Let's play.
by Hairtrigger inas has been established on this forum many times over, the wtbs/ gb /fds is aping the policies of the catholic church in almost every detail.
the catholic church owns prime property all around the world given its supreme standing in the dark ages and after.
does the wbts have a bigger game plan in mind ?
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kaik
I was posting on housing bubble around 2006. It was already well documented phenomenon as it was bursting before the outbreak of the Great Recession. Some states like FL were hit earlier, other not until 2008. The Great Recession started in IV. quarter in 2007, and it took 8 months to work into stock market and bank collapses in summer/fall 2008. I am sure Brooklyn knew that real estate market was crashing. They know selling real estate because market is rebounding. Prague Branch office was closed in 2008 and economy tanked in 2009. The buildings and properties are still in WT possession six years after the closure. They still did not sell them; however, I heard that they will be on sale again. Properties had recovered into pre-recession level and they may liquidate it. WT can fetch from the sale of the Prague branch easily $500K, and this is not only property they have there. Additonally, Czech government is returning all properties sized by communist regime after 1948 back to religious orders. Among handfull churches like Catholic, JW were the only among 7 religious organization that asked for property return into WT hands... 7-Days adventists refused to deal with long time gone properties.
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What if you were a JW during WWII? Would you give in to Hitler and fight?
by Brother Mike inso i pose this question to everyone.
if you were a jw and lived in germany in wwii, how would you deal with the harsh cruelity of hitler?
would you join his side so you may have a chance to live (meaning you'd serve in the miliatry and be on the front line) or would you keep on serving god and be executed?
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kaik
I knew JWs who were in concentration camp. I think it was there were my distant relatives encountered them and became drawn into the cult. Many JW went to camp to face martyrdom and wanted to die for the truth. I heard story from elderly JWs who were interrogated by gestapo in my hometown. Gestapo under the threat of death wanted them to renounce faith. People who did, were shot, but who stayed in were sent to camp. Interrogation happened behind the closed door and every interrogation ended with gunshot sound (into air or into head), while JWs were in the waiting room hearing the shots. Majority did not renounce faith because they were stron in it. Also I heard that some JWs were accused of colaboration and were DFs because they did such things like shaving gestapo and SS-men. The nazis trusted nobody, but allowed JW to work as barbers without fear getting their throats cuts. I had relatives in camps, so not only JWs sufferred.
Under communism in Czechoslovakia, JW split into two groups. One that pursued collaboration with the communist regime under exchange of non-inteference by the government and other hardliners who wanted to suffer martyrdom. The moderate wing in 1960's won and the hardliners were DFs. My elder was a guy who was during Stalin era sent to labor camp in the 1950's and tortured. After this experience, some JWs believed that communist government could read and censor WT that were printed underground in exchange of not persecution. Some JWs thought that communist tools of opporession, the individuals could be brought into truth. This had happened. After 1989 various JW groups were unified together under directive of Brooklyn.
Nazi and communist regimes were barbaric. However, martyrdom was something that made people drawn into the faith. They wanted to die for theri faith and suffer in exchange for promised eternal life.
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After JWs inherit the earth...
by Zoos in... will they destroy all great pieces of religious art?.
just finished watching monuments men.
great movie!
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kaik
neah, some member of the GB will collect all these artwork in his private residence.
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How many have stopped attending at YOUR Kingdumb Hell?
by hamsterbait inon a recent thread about the fleecing of the sheeples, one poster said their congo was down to 85 publishers from 102.. the last hall i attended had 80-odd publishers 20 years ago, now only 30.. how much of a decline at your kh?.
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kaik
In my congregation 22 years ago in Czech Republic had over 100 publishers. I have not stepped in KH for almost 20 years, but I heard from my parents that the number is down to 70 or so. When whe had district assemblies we could attract about 10,000 and last memorial I attended had more than 600 present.
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I was "totally" stopped in my tracks by an "atheist" comment.
by booker-t ini must admit i can at times be a little "egotistical" when it comes to knowledge and the bible.
i have studied the bible for so long and have always had a passion for the bible as a jw and as an ex-jw.
i guess that is all i have left when it comes to religion and as humans we do tend to stroke our egos.
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kaik
There are thousands of fundamentalists who believe literal meaning of bible, know verses; yet they cannot apply logic and critical thinking skills into it. For thousands of years people asked for reason why we die, what is our purpsoe, why there is evil, and why bad things happen to good people. The think the bible has the answer, but cannot agree on it. People decided to put too much their hopes, answers, and expectations into the scrolls written thousands of years ago by men that became without proof are upheld as a word of God. Strory of Adam and Eve, Flood, Exodus are moral stories written by literate men recording stories discussed by elders at the camp fire.
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C'mon Analysts- The game is on! Let's play.
by Hairtrigger inas has been established on this forum many times over, the wtbs/ gb /fds is aping the policies of the catholic church in almost every detail.
the catholic church owns prime property all around the world given its supreme standing in the dark ages and after.
does the wbts have a bigger game plan in mind ?
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kaik
One advantate Catholic and Orthodox churches in medieval times had was their association with the rulling elite of the country and were an integral part of the government. This gave them a huge monopoly over religious lifes and with it an access to wealth of the nation. No christianity can be as successfull as the Catholic church. It also inherited structure from the Roman Empire and multiplied its wealth over the centuries. Neither the French Revolution or communism could put Roman Catholicism out of business. WT attempts to model themselves as the catholic church by diversifying its influences world wide. However, without access to national wealth like had medieval bishops and abbots, they will never achieve the same success.
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Were you surprised when you went in service for the first time....
by Muddy Waters inwere you surprised when you went in service for the first time (this question is prob for those who were not born-in) --.
when i first had the "privilege" of going in field service as an unbaptized publisher, i remember feeling so surprised at everybody's apparent slowness.
all the talks at the kh emphasized how we were in the last days, doing a life saving, critical, never to be repeated, work, etc., yet you get in the car group and ignore people walking right by or coming toward the car, and then slowly walk from house to house.
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kaik
I never went with parents, but with other elders. We usually did hiking tour through the countryside, talked about bible, and religious things. We had only handfull of WT publication and JW was in illegality. So we had to share. JW would sent elders into area that did not had any organization. There were cities which did not had anyone. We did not knock on the door, but usually chatted with people along the way. I heard horror stories of elders who were chased by gang of gypsies, got beaten up, were arrested by police for distributing illegal publications (they were looked upon as heroes), bitten by dogs..
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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
Crazyguy, you are probably correct on that one. I wonder where these letters were sent. If countries have convertible currency like Euros, franks, pounds, and dollars, the cash can be easily transferred into WT world fund. I do not recall we got money when we build our first KH 20 years ago. It was expected that we save money for it and we in the locality fund it. People were really donating and saved enough within four to five years. It is possible that branch office gave some money, but I am not aware of it. I do remember that the branch was selecting the site and gave advice on overall appearance of the KH. Unfortunatelly, I do not talk to anyone anymore in my old KH. I will ask my relatives when I will see them this summer.
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The dumest thing an elder ever said to me..
by new hope and happiness inconversation with an elder...i said " did you watch due south yesterday" and he said " ive got far more important things to do".
i mean that comment of his got me to thinking and wondering, and made me see he was missing out on living..and i think that comment was the straw that broke this boys faith, and started my i dont want to be a witness anymore.
kind of wierd how a simple question opened my eyes.. and now as i write this i am watching " the rebel" a 1950s western series, and its great and its even better my 9 year old is watching with me..and there is nothing more important than being happy.. .
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kaik
In the 1980's I was with an elder in the field service. When I walked back to his house, I noticed how ruined it was. The roof was caved in and leaking, the house was not repainted since WWI, yard was overgrown, etc. Next to his house was a young family that were just fixing their house. After breaf conversation, the homeowner mentioned he has some other improvement to do inside. My elder responded sarcastically that if he has enough time to do all that before Armageddon catches up with him. That was 30 years ago! Anyway, I was walking through the neighborhood last year, and saw the elder house- it was still a ruin. Poor guy is waiting for 30 years, probably hoping inheriting his neighbor house.