Jw`s and Charities

zzaphod

Hi all, I left the WTS in the late `80s, I`ve not really given them a thought, until one sleepless night recently I was trawling the `tinterweb, and came across various videos on Youtube. Anyway`s, the reasons I left were many and varied, and one day I`ll sit down and relate them, but two things have always stuck in my mind, once I was asked "if someone could convince you that without a doubt "the truth" was wrong, would you believe them?", to which I answered "of course I would", - that was me marked. Another thing that was my personal gripe, and I argued about this many times, was the Witnesses not giving to charity. I know that many charities are money raising companies, but I always brought up the R.N.L.I., for those in the US the R.N.L.I. man the lifeboats around the UK, they are staffed by volunteers and take no money from the Government. I would say, "if you were at sea, would you accept their help?", they would answer that they would, but still refused to donate to them, even the odd Pound when on a day at the coast. Always (to me) a small but important sign of the hypocrisy of this sect. Anyway, it`s very interesting to read other peoples experiences with the witnesses, something I never knew about during my time with them. Paul UK

Mickey mouse

Hi Paul,

Many JWs are tight as a fishes backside when it comes to charitable giving but the RNLI is a very worthy charity, I know a few JWs who donate (maybe because of coastal connections).

Welcome to the board.

cantleave

Hey Paul, A warm Welcome from another Brit. I have always donated to the RNLI, I live on the South Coast and have I love of Boats and I know how important the work the RNLI is. I always thought more could be done by the witnesses to help charities but didn't ever really question it. I was hosck when I found out when they did rebuilding work after a disaster they ask people for their insurance cheques.

nugget

Hi Zzaphod,

The society views money given to a charity as money that should be given to them. As a family we always gave to RNLI for the same reasons as yourself but found that any charitable giving had to be justified. If a charity had connections to religion or politics they were a definite no. Anything that would be rectified in the new system was also a no.

In addition we were misled into believing that the organisation undertook charitable works and disaster relief with our contributions so were shocked to discover that whilst individuals may have been motivated to help out during a disaster the organisation did less than nothing.

How blind we were. We now give to many charities but choose not to give to JWs who follow the keep warm and well fed philosophy.

wobble

I too when I was in, gave to the RNLI, and still do, as well as other charities.

It gave me a sense of pleasure and freedom the other day to donate some to the Salvation Army, I don't care what tight-ass Dubs say, they do a wonderful work, even if I will never take "The Pledge"

Love

Wobble

zoiks

This has always bothered me. (I am from the states and am unfamiliar with the RNLI).

At one convention, there was only one grocery store within 20 miles of the convention site. All of the attendees went there immediately after the sessions. As I was entering the store with my family, I noticed a small stand set up by a local non-profit charitable organization. I walked past without making eye contact. Later, on my way out of the store, the person manning the small stand confronted me and asked me why not a single one of these nice, well-dressed Witnesses would give him a single dime. I gave him the lame excuse that most of these people had probably spent all of their money just getting to the convention site.

His reply was that if the giving had been less than average, he would have understood. But NOT ONE WITNESS gave a SINGLE PENNY to this charity. I was at a loss for words, and left. Without giving anything.

coffee_black

My Mom always gave the pat jw answer when asked why jws don't give to charity... all of our family's donations went to the world wide preaching work.

When my Dad was so ill, and on dialysis, all that wasn't covered for his treatment was picked up by the Kidney foundation. She became ashamed. Here people who never knew my Dad were donating to cover his treatment. The next charity that asked for her help got it. She canvassed the neighborhood for the Heart assoc. and others.

I learned the same lesson, and have passed it on to my kids and grandkids.

Coffee

aquagirl

I personaly heard the local elder say,fron the platform,that "we have no need for charity in the hall.just look around,everyone here seems well fed!"..I kid you not,thats what he said.People kinda chuckled.This same d.bag also said that going to college wasnt good for you and didnt make you happy....Scary..

crapola

I've wondered the same thing before. We had a tornado rip through our town last Feb, and the American Red cross and Salvation Army were here for weeks to keep food and clothing available for those who had lost everything. I saw first hand how much help they provide. And now I donate money when I can because I realise how helpful their services can be in a disaster and they have to have donations to keep the work going.

I also feel that if any Witnesses had been victims of the tornado they would not have turned down help from these charitable organizations.

aquagirl

Sure were a lot of JW's on public assistance when I lived up north.That didnt seem to bother their conscience a bit.

Jw`s and Charities

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