by Bardamu 21 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
I grew up in the org and never got baptised, however i was wondering recently about how much money my family and old friends are wasting in all that.
I remember of course never talking in amounts, that it was important to give from what you can not what you have etc but i admit i have no clue how much the average witness gives (say in % of their income).
I'm sure it varies greatly, i'd love to hear what you guys have to say.
I was shocked to hear, that in this neck of the woods, the take is about $ 100.- per attendee per month. Counting out conscientious objectors like us, and the minors, that takes some serious sustaining. ( that January figure might include last minute year-end contributions for tax purposes)
Some Elders used to suggest 10% of your earnings as a good guide whenever anyone asked how much should we donate.
10% being the tithe the Israelites were required to give under the law.
I loved the scripture "Dont let your right hand know what your left hand is doing" so when I went to the meetings I put my money in my pocket on my left and I told my right hand not to worry about what my left hand was doing.
Somwhow or other most times I left the KH ,I had as much money as when I walked into the KH
It seems like my parents usually donate somewhere between $75.00-$125.00 a month.
I have seen elderly people donating 20s in the Worldwide Damnation Fund boxes as if they were nothing. And that was back in the late 1980s, when you could actually buy something with 20 toilet papers. These people were not even rich--but they had money to fund the global energy harvesting program to get us all microchipped, bar-coded, and enslaved or slaughtered. Which is even worse than the money they bash people as wasting on smoking, gambling, and worshiping the sun.
As a reference, back in those days, one could buy 4 ounces of silver with just one of those 20 toilet paper bills. At its fair value (which it will hit once the banks pull the rug out from under the people or they run out of room to manipulate the price of silver), this amounts to an estimated 960 to 7,000 toilet papers per ounce or upwards of 28,000 toilet papers for the 4 ounces. And, with everything as distorted as it is, when it returns to normal, one will be able to buy a nice house with a 5 ounce bar of silver. A nice house, not a tiny run-down slum--you will be able to get one of those homes featured on Home and Garden Network with a 5 ounce bar of silver. Since they are donating 80% of this each time they donate a 20 toilet paper bill (in 1990), you see the magnitude of what they are wasting every time they donate.
And, even today, with silver up to around 18 toilet papers an ounce, you can readily get 5 ounces (a house's worth) with 100 toilet papers including premium. That is not a house payment, that is a house that is paid for. Each and every month they donate 100 toilet papers, or each time they donate 100 toilet papers at the big or grand boasting session (and that doesn't even include the wasted gas and vehicle wear, and other expenses, that come with these things).
It has been a while that I did the administration. Automatic contributions would vary from 20 euro up to a weighty 180 euro (200 dollar) each month! A few years ago (while I was still in) one elder privately expressed his concern regarding the congregation's income if the old 180-euro-brother would die. I know this brother indeed has died very recently.
Of course there is always someone's will...don't know how much the WT will benefit from his death.
when I was young I was the accounts servant and assigned to deal with the deed of covenant tax arrangement when it was introduced. For non UK members, this is the arrangement whereby a charity can reclame the tax paid by donations on the sum that is pledged to the charity.
I thought I donated a " reasonable" amount myself. Not too much but not too miserly.
So I was surprised to find that in a congregation of 100, my personal pledge amounted to 10% of the total.
I was also surprised at the pledges, or lack of them, from certain personalities in the congrgation.
I sould say thank you to, them I suppose. It was one step closer to opening my eyes.
I used to donate about 100.00 per month.
Now I donate around around twenty times that amount as a Christian and never seem to miss it.
The last time I donated was in 1990
Local Congregation: $50.00 to $100.00 per month
Worldwide Work: $50.00 to $100.00 per month
Total: $100.00 to $200.00 per month
There is no accounting for stupidity.
