I received this Email from a friend,
Last month a letter went off to the Society from Charlotte, who was living with us at the time with her husband, Dave. (They were married in February for those of you who may not know. Actually, she has just moved out so we have a bit more elbow-room now and at last we have space to swing the cat!)
Her letter is quite interesting because she was never baptised, and yet 'shunning' is starting to manifest itself from some in the congregation. Also, she poses some quite "interesting" questions to the Society. They must be interesting because as of today (22nd May) she's had no answer!
What I wonder is... and perhaps someone out there has a comment on this... since the Society is a registered charity, are they required to answer letters, or at the very least acknowledge reasonable and valid written enquiries that are made of them?
Are they obliged to provide an enquirer with literature when this is asked for in writing? After all, this is supposed to be one of the main parts of the "charitable works" they engage in, isn't it? The distribution of literature - free of charge!
Also, apart from the legal issues of charity rules and regulations, what about the moral, ethical, and spiritual issues involved. By there own claims they are the "sole channel of divine truth", that only they can supply the vital "food at the proper time" to all mankind whose very lives are at stake and who are soon to be destroyed at Armageddon because the time is so short, and that everyone "outside the ark of safety" is doomed, and "where else is there to go" to survive anyway other than to "Jehovah's Victorious organisation" since "only Jehovah's witnesses are preaching the life saving message worldwide", and if they actually ignore requests from "honest hearted seekers of truth" they are - by their own definition - "bloodguilty" as an organisation since they still believe effectively in "community responsibility"... etc. etc. I could go on...!!!
What is the bottom line here? The reality is, they are claiming considerable tax benefits as a charity, and many people are becoming more and more puzzled at just precisely what their charity work comprises. Does anyone have a clear definition of their actual charitable work? Who actually are the beneficiaries of the charity if members of the public can't get a response?
Another question that occurs to me is, if a person who is unbaptised requests a bible-study, are they required to give them one? Again, this vital "bible education/teaching" work is what they are supposed to be all about, yet it is clearly evident that people who actually ask for discussions and studies are refused!
If some of you out there would like to ask them I would be interested to see what response you get (if any). Needless to say, none of our letters get answered. And it seems that Charlotte's isn't going to get a response either...!!
Bye for the time being.
( perhaps you could post this letter on a suitable chat forum for me. I would be interested to see if there is any response.)
E-mails to: [email protected]