by Terry 76 Replies latest watchtower bible
Watchtower Publishing : franchises available we call these Kingdom Halls.
We have books, bibles, magazines, song books, CDs , cassettes and 7 million free working slaves to distribute to the public.
Huge profit potential, tax-free.
Free legal advise
Join a winning team that's god approved and certified
Howard Hughes ended up being drugged and controlled by his lawyers and bodyguards a virtual sick and reclusive billionaire. it is not hard to see the lawyers running the WT empire, either.
I'm a bit of a Howard Hughes buff....
It was his MORMON'S who took over his empire. Robert Mayhew in particular. Interesting.
Maybe Mormon's are running the Watchtower....
I feel the WTBTS is a mini government.
They want their followers to be no part of the government because they want all the money for themselves.
They take in money but where does it go?
When I read about the beggining of the Jehovah's Witnesses I got the same idea..
I knew someone was getting rich off of this scheme.
And it wasn't the "Sheep" class
Terry I think this is a excellent thread idea..
Snoozy
believingxjw talks about "the great parking lot scandal in Washington state" Please, what is that all about and where are the news rom what source?
Scott77
BXJW.
This thread is about the lack of financial transparency within the watchtower corp. No one(other than you) is suggesting that the governing body is hiding money under their pillows. No one(including you) knows where the money goes and that is the whole friggin point of this thread. Get it???
There are---what?---7 Million Jehovah's Witnesses?
Each JW perforce MUST be a door to door publisher. I don't know of any exemptions granted.
That means each of the 7 million JW's generates cash by exchanging a magazine or book for "donation."
What happens next?
The cash? Where does it go?
In your average mainstream Christendom-type church the revenue is generated by selling religious writings door to door. The revenue comes from the membership giving directly to the minister.
A church with 7 million members who expend ten hours per month has to generate some real hard cash.
I repeat:
Look at the facts and follow the money.
Mainstream religion has to do something PUBLICLY with the money they raise like pay for air-time, pay for orphanages in Africa, pay for a new transmitter, pay for a new steeple or glass cathedral or theme park. Mainstream religion wears its charity on its sleeve. Mainstream religions build schools and colleges and hospitals with the money they receive and still have a fortune leftover to house the preacher in luxury and splendor!
The Watchtower is self-contained in its expenses. It doesn't send off its publishing to outsiders whom they have to pay.
The "profit" margin on a book or magazine is substantial.
Are we prepared to say THERE IS NO EXCESS CASH in their system? It is ALL plowed back in? Are we really saying there is no account generating interest??
Terry, I'm feeling lazy... I copied and (hopefully) reposted one of your earlier posts so I could read it without having to flip up and down per sentence... Zid
07.06.06
Jehovah's Witness leaders work the worldly system for cash
Posted in Jehovah's Witnesses at 11:49 am by Rick Ross
Known for their persistent door-to-door missionary work and handout magazine called "The Watchtower," "Jehovah's Witnesses" have repeatedly predicted the "end of the world" with a sense of urgency to anyone willing to listen.
However, the sect seems to repeatedly fail regarding its dates, including a purported final judgment set for 1925 and another that never came some fifty years later.
According to the "Religious Tolerance" Web site, which is known for its frequent apologies rather than admonishments regarding groups called "cults," the Witnesses have actually made many more failed predictions. The theologically tolerant site without apology lists 1914, 1915, 1918, 1920 and 1994, as examples of additional Witness failures.
Much more religiously conservative Christian Web sites have longer lists of apparent blunders, such as a "Watchman Expositor," which examines the organization's supposedly "biblical" calculations.
Perhaps as a result of all these mistakes the Witnesses appear to have given up on the dating game. The group says now that the "end is fluid," which sounds more like "hedging a bet" than anything related to the bible.
However, an embarrassing fact still remains despite all the sect's calculations, recalculations and subsequent spin.
[OOOOH! OOOOOOoooo! I've got to Hilight this section, just for BelievingExJW's benefit...!! Zid ]
Jehovah's Witnesses historically bought a great deal of real estate over the years in what seems to be a very shrewd long-term investment effort.
But if they really expected the world to end so soon, why didn't the Witnesses just lease?
[Aaand these items, too...]
Well, the reasoning for buying up so much property becomes quite clear when looking at the group's recent penchant for selling off some of its valuable accumulated assets.
AsCultNews previously reported the Witnesses religious devotion apparently includes developing real estate in New York.
And the controversial organization that some have called an End Times "cult" has recently made millions selling off and/or developing its holdings in Brooklyn alone.
Where there was once a Watchtower magazine warehouse and distribution center near the East River, "swanky condominiums" are going up with a view of Manhattan.
And now the Witnesses have put more of their New York property up on the block reports Knowledge Plex.
For sale is a three-story residential building at 409 Central Park West between West 100th and 101st streets.
The Witnesses want $4.5 million for the "air rights" to this property and expect to stay on the first three floors, allowing a developer to build on top or adjacent to the property.
Jehovah's Witnesses also own a building at 960 E. 174th St. in the Bronx, which is currently used for worship.
However, the faithful will have to meet somewhere else, as this property is currently listed at $1.35 million, for development as affordable housing.
Knowledge Plex points out that many nonprofit organizations and other tax-exempted religious groups in New York are also taking advantage of recent real estate appreciation to sell off their properties for record prices.
But the leaders of Jehovah's Witnesses have always attempted to separate their organization from such worldly things.
Witnesses don't vote, participate in clubs, organized team sports or the military because to do so would somehow represent involvement with an earthly "system," which is ultimately influenced by Satan.
Witnesses claim that their organization is the only one today that is sanctioned by Jehovah on earth.
However, it seems when it comes to making money, Witness leaders can be very worldly indeed. And they have no problem cooperating with developers and making savvy business deals to work the worldly system for profit.
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Mainstream religion has to do something PUBLICLY with the money they raise like pay for air-time, pay for orphanages in Africa, pay for a new transmitter, pay for a new steeple or glass cathedral or theme park
Mainstream religions also typically encourage members to tithe, whereas JW don't. Your post assumes JWs bring in revenues comparable to "mainstream religions", but do they? Neither you nor I know the answer to that question since the WT books aren't open to public inspection, but I suspect WT revenues per capita are significantly lower than other religions because (1) their members are poorer on average than those of mainstream Christiandom and (2) JWs are not required to tithe.
Hell, on a good month I dropped $20 in the contribution box. I used to be the assistant account servant at my old Hall, and we would average well short of $1000 in contributions a month, this in a congregation that had over 100 publishers. Typically, we would recieve anywhere between $100 and $300 a month for the WT Worldwide Work fund.
You'd have a much stronger argument if the WT still charged for the literature as it did back in the 80s. Every JW I spoke with who was involved in the accounts at that time told me that there was a significant drop off in donations after the voluntary donation arrangement went into effect.
Terry... "Maybe Mormon's are running the Watchtower..." LOL!! That could explain a lot...
Oh, and this is for BelievingExJW...
Terry is joking... repeat after me - "Humor! Ar, Ar Ar!!"
Zid
i had wondered whether or not they pay the bethelites. i asked myself do the bethelites work part time and work a real paying job on the side or do they work full time and get paid by the hours.
