by Driving Force 30 Replies latest watchtower scandals
I think too that since JW Broadcasting it has become obvious that the GB all have huge egos. They are hardly likely to welcome the total collapse and therefore exposure of the Scam that it is to all and sundry.
They want it to keep going in their lifetime, and beyond, so that the Rank and File JW's will worshipfully read an article about their lifetime of faithful service.
Bunch of cynical con-men.
After taking over all property and extra cash from all congregations on the whole planet, which amounts to at the very least US$ 50 billion
Care to justify this number? The absurdity of claims like this make the ex-JW community look like idiots.
Thanks for that link Driving Forceinteresting stuff,why would the WTS have to start up another Incorporation ?
Lost Generation dont mock too much , that number might be a bit high , but if the WTS has gradually taken over the property title and ownership of most Kingdom halls and Assembly Halls all over the world and the property value of all of its branches that it still holds, that number could perceivably reach over 10 billion.
@ Lostgeneration
I spent a long time on this, and this was something that helped me wake up.
There are 115,416 congregations in the world (yb2014). Not every congregation has its own kingdom hall admittedly.
About 70 000 of these congregations are in industrialized nations, where property is not so cheap. I have traveled through almost all European countries, Scandinavia, US and Canada. Certainly the properties are quite valuable in these lands where most of the assets are.
Take whatever average value you want per KH, take whatever percentage of congregations have their own KH and do the math yourself. You will come up with a large figure. The WT does not make any kind of financial statement, so any figure is speculation. We know that the buildings in NY alone are worth over 1 billion dollars.
How much cash did the Watchtower fleece from the congregations in addition to taking the buildings?
How much are all the branch offices worth?
How high is the investments in hedge funds and other investments?
What value does all the inventory in the branch offices have?
Using the same figures for congregations, what is the annual income for the building fund? Just take the figure from your own congregation or the last congregation you belonged to, (you know the brothers you can estimate), and multiply that up. Take into consideration that almost all labor is free for the organization, and that is a vast amount of money that will never be spent on KHs and maintenance.
My figure of US$50 billion, is only a calculated guess, but I did spend a long time considering this and the possible financial situation in the industrial lands. I do not think that one of the pathetic buildings the organization builds for the brothers in a poor African land is comparable to anything built for the brothers in the US.
If this figure disturbs you, it disturbs me as well. I will not make any excuse for an organization that took 28 years of my life.
Driving Force - "Does the GB really care if the organization collapses?"
Without the WTS, these men would have nothing. They would be nothing.
x
And paradoxically, I am also 100% certain that they would rather the Org crash and burn than be seen capitulating to "Satan's World" / "apostate" critics .
Fair enough Driving Force. My apologies coming on harshly there.
I'd estimate they maybe have 40,000 physical buildings. Estimating the market value per property is where its a crapshoot. They generally build in bad locations simply for cheaper land. Of course the X factor is how many congos are in 1st world countries vs the rest of the world.
That being said, that property is not liquid. Sure they can sell off based on orders from the CO and build in another area for whatever reason they pull out of their ass. But the GB isn't cash motivated, they are power hungry. As long as they have millions worshipping their every word they just need to keep the ship afloat til they die.
Let it be said that the GB members today are more concerned about keeping the organization sustainable and growing if possible. Reflectively thats why the organization set up CO's and DO's so they would move around and evaluate how well the congregations were doing in service or in WTS/JWS. language, spiritual strength.
The challenge the GB face today more so than the past, is they have to create doctrines that look honest and viable toward coercing the naive and gullible of the population, not only allure people but to keep them indoctrinated for exploitation in labor and money.
No appologies necessary, you were right in challenging my assumptions.
This shows that we are free to think for ourselves and no longer under the chains of thought control
@ Finkelstein
naive and gullible ... population
Over the past couple of months I have read a great deal about "undue influence", "thought control" and how cults operate.
Unless someone is aware as to how a cult operates and how they use "undue influence" and "thought control" it is very difficult to recognize that such methods are being used. What we have is a problem with society and the education system. Our children are taught many things in school and college, but they are never taught anything about "undue influence" and "thought control. Even if just a couple of hours are spent during the whole schooling on these topics, it would equip them to be aware of cults and to recognize these things.
But I do agree with you the population is naive and gullible.
They care. It is their identity and their life.This is also precisely why they go to the the lengths they do to protect the organization. They cannot exist without it. Plain and simple.
d4g
