From the new brochure on page 13 comes this gem:
The Bible also says that Babylon the Great lives "in shameless luxuary". In ancient Babylon, the temple organization acquired extensive landholdings, and the priests became prominent in commercial activities. Today, in addition to places of worship, Babylon the Great has vast commercial holdings. Her teachings and her holidays bring great riches both to her and to others in the business world.
What does that mean? No proofs are offered so we are left without satisfaction. So we must make our own investigation.
Let us take the case of protestant churches in New South Wales in Australia and consider any benefit they gain from "worldly holidays". The holiday that might readily come to mind is Christmas. True, retailers gain a great deal from this increasingly secular holiday but is it any longer a Christian holiday? Very little of the trappings of Christmas are religious in nature, at least from a christian viewpoint, instead, as the WTS is wont to remind its readers, Christmas celebrations are secular or pagan in origin and practice. The sacred aspect of Christmas has no commercial value for the churches that I'm familiar with, so how does it "bring great riches" to my church and to others?
This statement in the brochure seems to be yet another of those broad statements that dubs are conditioned by but which are quite meaningless. Nevertheless such statements as this condition the dub mind to hate churches, clergy and anything connected with them.
If we now go back to an earlier part of the paragraph we are told that "Babylon the Great" (which they claim represents all religion which is not of the Watchtower Society) "has vast commercial holdings". This seems to be another hypocritical statement to add to those already highlighted in earlier threads.
It may surprise the R&F dubs to know that ministers of churches are quite bemused, not to say envious, to learn of the scope of the WTS' real estate and property holdings.
Also not mentioned in this paragraph is the enforcing of a levy (tithing???) on each Witness in the form of compulsory donations "to the World Wide Work". Yet the WTS has the gall to condemn the churches???!!! If a church has an offertory it's condemned and ridiculed by the WTS, yet the WTS itself has compulsory giving.
This paragraph is included as justifying God's condemnation of Babylon the Great for whom "'The Hour of Judgment' Has Arrived"
Does it stack up? No, lies again!
Cheers, Ozzie (freedom lovers class)