Religious Donation

Donation for organizational operation

Hi all

It seems that the WTS is going to grab an ice-cream penny from children.

It is their way to induce kids to give up their penny rather than directly ask them for their penny.

It goes like this.

A mother put a donation in front of her kid and said that the WTS needs money.

In this manner the kid received a so called right pressure from a parent in how to use his or her penny.

If the kid ignore what is expected by his or her parent, he or she would somewhat suffer a guilt feeling for failing to do so called right thing. In order to avoid such an unnecessary stress, the kid would put his or her penny into the contribution box.

This is a technique to control people with peer pressure and little gilt feeling.

Peer pressure or a right model and a little guilt feeling for failure are used to cause people to do what is expected.

The WTS is always using this method to indoctrinate JWs.

They use exemplary people for their purpose and put pressure upon believers to follow the example set by the WTS.

As to the the gifts of mercy, as Jesus taught, we should not let our left hand know what our right is doing.

Mt 6:3-4
3 But you, when making gifts of mercy, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, 4 that your gifts of mercy may be in secret; then your Father who is looking on in secret will repay you.


Considering Jesus' advice here, the parents should guide their kids little more discreetly. I don't think it is education to make children to do things they don't fully understand like donation, baptism, etc.

Children can understand a necessity to give something only to someone they can see like their parents, brothers, sisters, friends and the like. They also can know by intuition that some help is needed for poor or people who are in need whom they can see.

But responding to the needs of a organization that they do not understand would be another story.

Even adults become cautious in giving money to a stranger. When it comes to company or institution, people whom we entrust our money become unknown. If they are our acquaintances or living in the same town, we can know them and can ask them how our money has been used, but if it is an international organization, it becomes impossible to trace our money.

The same can be said of the WTS. We can't know how our donations have been used, when, and for what or for whom. The majority of believers who are trusting the WTS are giving a donation on a regular basis to the WTS without knowing how they are using the donation, because they have been indoctrinated that the WTS is the only channel of the truth.

Is tithing really necessary for Christians to support a religious organization, as it was in ancient Israel?

donation in Jewish religious system

There were treasury chests in the temple of Jerusalem. These were for the temple arrangements. Jewish religious system was supported by the contribution of people. In addition to this, there was the Law requirement of tithe and of various kinds of offering to support Jewish religious system. However all these arrangements have been gone along with the end of the Law Covenant.

As the result of abolishing the Jewish form of worship centered around physical temple in Jerusalem, the religious leaders who lived by the religious festivals, and the tithes, and the offerings became no longer necessary in Christianity which doesn't have physical structure. Therefore the contribution of that kind that is for maintaining physical system has been discontinued.

Jesus' disciples were laboring with their own hands and giving free, not living like Jewish religious leaders who were depending on others' contributions.

Christians didn't build Synagogue-like halls, nor held assemblies three times in a year like Jewish festivals. These form of worship like Judaism and the contribution arrangement to support such system had nothing to do with Christianity.

As the Christianity grew, many new congregations were formed from place to place, but there is no mention in the Bible of the construction of physical hall, nor of the contribution arrangement for such project.

It indicates that Jewish form of worship imitated by the present Christianity including the WTS actually is not for the Christian.

Steven Lett who is a member of the governing body of the WTS pleads for donation for the organizational operations, but it is not biblical even though he used the Scriptures.

He actually said that the WTS needs contribution since the present revenue rate couldn't cover the expenses for the next fiscal year for various organizational projects like more KH, and headquarter facilities' constructions. But this is not what Christians ought to care about. This is similar to the nation-like Jewish religious system which was discontinued by God.

The WTS encourages people to imitate ancient Jews who gave a generous contribution to make the tent of meeting and the temple in Jerusalem.

But such an arrangement centered around the physical temple was abolished by Christ. It came to be no longer necessary to support a physical structure for worship. Unlike the Jewish system, Christianity is neither centralized system nor obligated to share the costs of a centralized worship system.

Christianity is not the state-like religious system, unlike Judaism.

So anyone who performs the religious activities based on the contribution of believers is a pseudo Christianity imitating Judaism which is the shadow of the reality.


This is not the same kind of donation arrangement left by the early Christian.

Christian donation

The Christian Greek Scriptures tells us that the sole purpose of Christian donation is for the poor and those who are in need. It is not for the fund to maintain facilities nor to expand the organization.

Mt 19:21
21 Jesus said to him: "If you want to be perfect, go sell your belongings and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven,

Ro 15:25-26
25 But now I am about to journey to Jerusalem to minister to the holy ones. 26 For those in Mac·e·do′ni·a and A·cha′ia have been pleased to share up their things by a contribution to the poor of the holy ones in Jerusalem.

The collecting the contribution to the poor of the holy ones in Jerusalem was initiated by Titus and around a year later, it was given to the poor in Jerusalem.

The person who started collecting the contribution and the purpose of it were specific, and the apostle Paul encouraged Macedonian to accomplish their kind giving mission at 2Co chap 8-9.

Stephen Lett of the WTS' governing body member used some phrases from 2Co chap 8 to their own advantage so as to raise contribution for their organization's expansion.

However, the works of kindly giving performed by the early Christians were not for the expansion of the organization, but for the poor. In this kind of giving mission, everybody knew who and for what the mission had been commenced. And this giving mission was made sure to accomplish as intended in helping poor by reliable brothers.

Read the entire chapter eight of the 2 Corinthians.

This precedent of the early Christians shows that Christians can do the work of generous giving not only as individuals but also as a group. In case of raising contribution as a group, an initiator and the purpose should be known to everybody concerned and no one should be forced in giving, and those who desire to give should do so within their own limitation. In Macedonian's case, it took a year to reach some amount of money.

Christianity costs nothing.

Christians are expected to give free, and to work hard to earn their own living and to take care of the poor.

So we don't have any obligation to support religious organization.
They are a swindler disguising themselves under the name of Christ.

Christian's gifts of mercy are for the poor or those who in need, not for organizational functions of centralized religious system.

And the gifts of mercy are to be made in secret and out of generosity for the poor.

It has something in common with the needy widow's two coins in small value. It is good for us to show such a generosity for the people we meet in our every day life.

Mt 6:1-4
“Take good care not to practice YOUR righteousness in front of men in order to be observed by them; otherwise YOU will have no reward with YOUR Father who is in the heavens. 2 Hence when you go making gifts of mercy, do not blow a trumpet ahead of you, just as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be glorified by men. Truly I say to YOU, They are having their reward in full. 3 But you, when making gifts of mercy, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, 4 that your gifts of mercy may be in secret; then your Father who is looking on in secret will repay you.

Mr 12:41-44
41 And he sat down with the treasury chests in view and began observing how the crowd was dropping money into the treasury chests; and many rich people were dropping in many coins. 42 Now a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins, which have very little value. 43 So he called his disciples to him and said to them: "Truly I say to YOU that this poor widow dropped in more than all those dropping money into the treasury chests; 44 for they all dropped in out of their surplus, but she, out of her want, dropped in all of what she had, her whole living."

Mt 19:21
21 Jesus said to him: “If you want to be perfect, go sell your belongings and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven, and come be my follower.”

Mr 14:7
7 For YOU always have the poor with YOU, and whenever YOU want to YOU can always do them good,

Lu 14:13-14
13 But when you spread a feast, invite poor people, crippled, lame, blind; 14 and you will be happy, because they have nothing with which to repay you. For you will be repaid in the resurrection of the righteous ones.”

Ga 2:10
10 Only we should keep the poor in mind. This very thing I have also earnestly endeavored to do. (What we have to care about is the poor, not organizational operations.)

Jas 1:27
27 The form of worship that is clean and undefiled from the standpoint of our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their tribulation, and to keep oneself without spot from the world.

Heb 13:16
16 Moreover, do not forget the doing of good and the sharing of things with others, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

As shown above, we all are encouraged to be generous in giving for the poor and those who are in need.

But there is no mention of giving donation for the organizational function in the Christian Greek Scriptures.

So the Church system based on the donation is not true Christian congregation. Such a system is the copy of the Jewish religious system abolished at the first century C.E.

Accumulating money on earth for the organized Christian activities sounds justifiable, but it is not. Jesus clearly told that nobody can be his disciple unless he says "good-bye to his possessions."

Lu 14:33
33 Thus, you may be sure, none of YOU that does not say good-bye to all his belongings can be my disciple.

Mr 10:23
23 After looking around Jesus said to his disciples: “How difficult a thing it will be for those with money to enter into the kingdom of God!”

Lu 19:8-10
8 But Zac·chae´us stood up and said to the Lord: “Look! The half of my belongings, Lord, I am giving to the poor, and whatever I extorted from anyone by false accusation I am restoring fourfold.” 9 At this Jesus said to him: “This day salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

Mt 6:24
24 “No one can slave for two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stick to the one and despise the other. YOU cannot slave for God and for Riches.

2Ti 2:4
4 No man serving as a soldier involves himself in the commercial businesses of life, in order that he may gain the approval of the one who enrolled him as a soldier.

Lu 12:15-21
15 Then he said to them: “Keep YOUR eyes open and guard against every sort of covetousness, because even when a person has an abundance his life does not result from the things he possesses.” 16 With that he spoke an illustration to them, saying: “The land of a certain rich man produced well. 17 Consequently he began reasoning within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, now that I have nowhere to gather my crops?’ 18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my storehouses and build bigger ones, and there I will gather all my grain and all my good things; 19 and I will say to my soul: “Soul, you have many good things laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, enjoy yourself.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Unreasonable one, this night they are demanding your soul from you. Who, then, is to have the things you stored up?’ 21 So it goes with the man that lays up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.”

1Th 2:9
9 Certainly YOU bear in mind, brothers, our labor and toil. It was with working night and day, so as not to put an expensive burden upon any one of YOU, that we preached the good news of God to YOU.

2Th 3:8
8 nor did we eat food from anyone free. To the contrary, by labor and toil night and day we were working so as not to impose an expensive burden upon any one of YOU.

Mt 10:8
8 . . . YOU received free, give free.

These above instructions are not compatible with centralized organization depending on collecting and accumulating money of fellow believers for their organizational function and expansion.

Our generous contributions for the poor and those in need should generally be administered in secret not letting our left hand know what our right is doing.

And we shouldn't promote a plan beyond our financial limitation hoping for the money of others.

Mt 6:3-4
3 But you, when making gifts of mercy, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, 4 that your gifts of mercy may be in secret; then your Father who is looking on in secret will repay you.


Lu 14:28
28 For example, who of YOU that wants to build a tower does not first sit down and calculate the expense, to see if he has enough to complete it?

Heb 13:5
5 Let [YOUR] manner of life be free of the love of money, while YOU are content with the present things. For he has said: “I will by no means leave you nor by any means forsake you.”

If we remain in the teaching of Christ, we will be free and we won't put any needless burden upon our brothers' shoulders asking donation for our project.

see ya