Glen T. Winstein
Glenster
GTJ Brooklyn 2
Winstein--2
A batch of basics
The big low end of the corporate ladder
There are about six and a half million JWs in the world with about one and a
third million of them in the U.S.A. as of Aug., 2006. (A report of that is
given at the 1st link below and annually in each Jan. 1 edition of The Watchtow-
er, a JWs leaders' tract.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah's_Witnesses#Demographics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Jehovah%27s_Witnesses
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Jehovah's+Witnesses&defid=1000686
Existing in something like their current form for most of a century, that's
grown to be just up under 1/10th of 1% of the population of the world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population
A majority of other Christians, and Jewish people who believe in the Tanach
(Old Testament to Christians), don't hold to the JWs leaders' set of recent min-
ority view distinctive rules the JWs leaders require for salvation. The JWs
leaders' rules about the medical use of blood and major blood products, like
some of the previous and current JWs leaders' interpretations of eschatology,
are distinctly recent JWs leaders' views.
(The JWs leaders' eschatology is a form of historicism that involves interpre-
tations of Dan.4:24,25, Num.14:34, Eze.4:6, and Rev.12:6,14, arbitrary numerolo-
gy and disputed interpretation used in getting from the view that Jerusalem fell
in 607 BC, not 587/586 BC, to the one that Jesus invisibly returned 2520 years/
"days" later in 1914 AD, beginning the end of the end times, and that he judged
in 1919 and since that the JWs leaders have the one religion true to the Bible. (See p.1a)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historicism_%28Christian_eschatology%29
(The JWs leaders have all claimed to be a part of a literal 144,000, Rev.14:3.
The current rendition has it that they're also "the faithful and wise servant"
of Matt. 25:45-47 who are part of "the anointed", Rev. 7:4, class of apostolic
age Christians and modern age JWs--the only 144,000 who will go to heaven, and
the earthly class--"the other sheep"--are apostolic age Christians and modern
age JWs who will be returned from death to live, or survive Armageddon to live,
on Earth.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah%27s_Witnesses:_Controversial_Issues
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eschatology_of_Jehovah%27s_Witnesses
http://www.jehovahsjudgment.co.uk/607/default.html
http://www.607v587.com/
http://www.jwfacts.com/index_files/1914.htm
http://www.towerwatch.com/articles/the_1914_doctrine.htm
http://www.docbob.org/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=13
http://www.freeminds.org/doctrine/prophecy/spiritual-food-at-the-proper-time-part-3-1914-1925.html
http://www.watchtower.cc/channel.htm
http://www.watchtowerinformationservice.org/index.php/doctrine-changes/myth
(The World Christian Encyclopedia estimates that by 100 AD there were already
1 million Christians in the Roman Empire out of a population of 181 million.)
http://www.towerwatch.com/Witnesses/statistics/partakers.htm
The small high end of the corporate ladder
JWs views must conform to those of their Governing Body, currently about elev-
en guys, the only ones of the 144,000 allowed to determine the rules for the
group. The current president is Don Alden Adams.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_A._Adams
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governing_Body_of_Jehovah%27s_Witnesses
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizational_structure_of_Jehovah%27s_Witnesses
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faithful_and_Discreet_Slave
"You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth," 1982, chap.23
"The Watchtower," Jan.15, 1983, pp.22,27, and Nov.1, 1991, pp.30,31
"In Search of Christian Freedom," Raymond Franz, 1991, pp.18-20,25,26,680, and
681
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Franz
The headquarters of the organization, called Bethal, is at 25 Columbia
Heights, Brooklyn, New York. (The nickname "Borg" stands for "Brooklyn organi-
zation.") An article about it by M. James Penton is at the next links.
http://www.culthelp.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=283&Itemid=8
http://www.caic.org.au/jws/organization/bethel_penton.htm
The 2008 Grand Theft Auto, "GTA IV," is set in Liberty City--a fictional New
York City. Broker represents Brooklyn. One area of Broker is BOABO (Beneath
the Offramp of the Algonquin Bridge Overpass), which is a fictional DUMBO (Down
Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, where the JWs leaders' headquarters is).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_City_(Grand_Theft_Auto)#Grand_Theft_Auto_IV_rendition
http://gta.wikia.com/wiki/BOABO
****
Big G's and little g's
The Super Mario Bros. Theme by mighty manualist Gerry Phillips.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0bKq3x74UE
The first Watch Tower president, Charles Taze Russell, began the procedure of
having unpaid followers sell his literature (p.1a), recently changed in some
countries to distributing Watchtower literature and suggesting a donation.
The JWs leaders' view of spreading the gospel involves persuading any dedi-
cated able-bodied member of the JWs to spend hours a week going consecutively
door to door to preach and sell/suggest donations for the weekly JWs leaders'
tracts (alternately "The "Watchtower" and "Awake!") and books. Someone who re-
ports this service time, "field service," is a "publisher." Becoming a baptized
publisher includes showing abidance to the JWs leaders' views. The JWs leaders
use the translation "from house to house" instead of "in private homes" at Acts
5:42 and 20:20 (although either translation is possible), and emphasize the JWs
leader's interpretation of it as referring to many consecutive houses.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_instruments_of_Jehovah%27s_Witnesses
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Watchtower
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awake%21
http://experts.about.com/q/Jehovah-s-Witness-1617/Preaching-Work.htm
http://www.jwfacts.com/index_files/statistics.htm
A pre-1990 Watchtower income report is at the next link:
http://www.exjehovahswitnesses.com/history/money.htm
Apparently due to a Jan.17, 1990 Supreme Court ruling on a Jimmy Swaggart case
that allows state taxation of religious literature sales, JWs in some countries
with stronger economies, such as the U.S.A., have been directed to consider us-
ing a contribution box to make a donation of an unspecified, if at times other-
wise suggested, amount for the literature they're to distribute. They're also
directed to mention the possibility to those they spread it to of making an un-
specified donation which, again, is nevertheless suggested at times.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controversies_regarding_Jehovah's_Witnesses#Pay
http://www.geocities.com/paulblizard/jimmy.html
http://www.jwfiles.com/donations.htm
A 1990 and onward Watchtower income report is at the next link:
http://www.reexamine.org/wtobserver/apps/pbcs.dll/articlef132.html?AID=/20040322/JWANDSOCIETY9/9999009
The money from both donations goes to the Governing Body's principal organiza-
tion, The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. Circuit and District overseers
get a small allowance. Congregations, which meet in Kingdom Halls, are part of
circuits which are part of districts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah's_Witnesses#Organizational_structure
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah%27s_Witnesses_and_governments
"Insight on the Scriptures," Vol. 2, 1988, pp.673,674
"In Search of Christian Freedom," Raymond Franz, 1991, chap.7, pp.580-583, 714
"Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Jehovah's Witnesses," Ron Rhodes,
1993, pp.46,47
"The Bethel Ministries Newsletter" (now "The Free Minds Journal"), edited by
Randall Watters, Box 3818, Manhattan Beach, CA, 90266, May-June, 1991, article
by Dave Brown, pp.7-10
http://www.freeminds.org/
The revenue of one major branch, the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New
York, was $914 million, among the top 40 in NYC, in 2001.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Watchtower_publications
http://www.watchtowernews.org/Top40NYCcorps.htm
http://www.watchtowerinformationservice.org/index.php/watchtower_quotes/do/finances/
http://www.guidestar.org/
http://www.watchtowernews.org/Top40NYCcorps.htm
According to the article at the next link, the Watchtower currently is a mul-
ti-billion dollar business.
http://www.pressbox.co.uk/detailed/Business/Jehovah_Witnesses_Conflicting_Environment.End_of_the_World_Near_Watchtower_Builds_Luxury_Properties_30805.html
