iamwhoiam

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Posts by iamwhoiam

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  33

  Alex lost his house playing the stock market

  by solomon in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  in the january 2013 study watchtower:.

  alex got caught up in trading in the stock market, thinking he could soon quit his job and enter the pioneer service.

  engrossed.

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  iamwhoiam

  I hope I don't step on any toes here...but I am a trader and family office manager myself. And from experience, it doesn't really matter what the WT invests in...heres the reason. The WT invested in a Hedgefund, the hedgefund takes that money and invests it in a basket of stocks. The WT is usually unaware of what exact companies that fund invests in until after its a matter of record...such as when the WT gets its monthly statement (as shown above in Outlaws Post). An equity hedgefund usually invests its capital in the strongest performing companies (relative strength) at the time, across the nine major sectors; its just how it works. Also, if the WT has deep pockets and the hedgefund purchases most of the offered shares of some company on its behalf, as in the video above, the WT by default owns the majority of the company which is how it is reported to the SEC. So whatever particular companies that particular hedgefund invests in at the time is irrelevent. If the WT got its monthly statement showing that thier money went into a tobacco company (FYI Phillip Morris companies owns more than just tobacco manufacturing), we might wonder, would it have bothered someone's conscience in the WT accounting department enough to report it and have those shares immediately sold on the open market? Its a slipery slope at best.

  A hedgefund's sole purpose is to hedge risk and make money. It is considered earned income and therefore must be reported to the IRS at the end of the year and taxes must be paid, unless, its in a retirement/pension/401k type account (which eventually has to be taxed anyway on monies withdrawn from that account). Either way...my question was, if the WT is a religious organization and is tax exempt (non-profit); then how can they get away with a profitable venture? Well, I did a little more research and found out that as long as that money goes into something that furthers charitable work, then taxes do not have to be paid on it. That's why the WT can also invest in real estate as long as its used in furthering its charitable work (e.g. housing workers, holding assemblies, selling it's buildings for cash).

  So now we just have to ask ourselves, is religion (in this case the WT) considered a charitable cause? Well, according to our government it is. However, it still does not change the fact that the members that make up the JW religion are ran by high control cult-like practices. And as long as people live under the illusion of what they believe freedom to be, there will always be a religion that takes advantage. In otherwards, if you want to make money and keep every penny you make under the protection of your nation's law, start your own religion.
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  Scholars at International Conf. in the Ukraine examine religions with American roots-JWs included

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  http://www.fulbright.org.ua/91_4_e.html.

  religion and "americanization": an international conference sponsored by fulbright.

  signs of ukraine's diverse religious landscape are everywhere in kyiv.

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  iamwhoiam

  in·ter·faith (ntr-fth) adj. Of, relating to, or involving persons of different religious faiths: an interfaith marriage; an interfaith forum.

  The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

• w10 6/1 p. 27

Our Readers Ask

. . .

How Do Jehovah’s Witnesses View Interfaith ?

? According to the World Christian Encyclopedia, there are some “10,000 distinct religions worldwide.” Because conflicts between them have led to untold hurt, the concept of interfaith brings hope to many worshippers. They believe that it can engender peace and unity in a divided world.

The Bible encourages unity. The apostle Paul likened the Christian congregation to a human body, each member being “harmoniously joined together and being made to cooperate.” (Ephesians 4:16) Similarly, the apostle Peter urged his fellow believers: “All of you be like-minded.”—1 Peter 3:8.

The early Christians lived in a multicultural and multireligious world. Yet, when writing about the mingling of different religions, Paul asked: “What portion does a faithful person have with an unbeliever?” Then he warned Christians to “get out from among them.” (2 Corinthians 6:15, 17) Clearly, Paul was speaking against interfaith . Why did he do so?

The apostle explained that spiritual fellowship between one who is a true Christian and one who is not would be an uneven yoke, a misfit. (2 Corinthians 6:14) It could result only in harm to the Christian’s faith. Paul’s concerns were like those of a father who knows that some children in his neighborhood behave badly. As a concerned parent, he wisely sets limits on whom his child should play with. His restrictions may be unpopular. Under the circumstances, however, being separate would protect his child from bad influences. Similarly, Paul knew that being separate from other religions would protect Christians against their harmful practices.

In taking that stand, Paul was imitating Jesus. While Jesus set the greatest example in promoting peace among people, he did not practice interfaith . Many religious groups, such as the Pharisees and the Sadducees, were active during Jesus’ earthly ministry. In fact, these religious factions joined forces to challenge Jesus, going as far as to plot his death. Jesus, on the other hand, directed his followers to “watch out . . . for the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”—Matthew 16:12.

What about today? Is the Bible’s warning against interfaith still valid? Yes, it is. This is because differing religious beliefs cannot bond through interfaith any more than oil and water can mix simply by putting them together in a pot. For instance, when people of different religions come together to pray for peace, which god is being petitioned? Christendom’s Trinitarian God? Hinduism’s Brahma? The Buddha? Or someone else?

The prophet Micah foretold that “in the final part of the days,” people from all nations would say: “Come, you people, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will instruct us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” (Micah 4:1-4) The result would be peace and unity on a worldwide scale, not because all faiths are somehow joined, but because all people accept the one true faith.