My Letter To "The Factor"

I would like to encourage everyone that feels it is a good idea to write to media outlets and their Congressmen about the way the Watchtower uses its tax exempt status to its full advantage but does no charitable work. Below is a letter tthat I wrote to Bill O'Reilly of The Factor.

Dear Mr. O'Reilly,

I want to start off by saying how much I have enjoyed your program over the years and that I am glad that you are not afraid to seek the truth and share it with your audience. It is refreshing to see that integrity still has a place in this world.

I am writing to you to share a bit of interesting information. On ABC, the show called Extreme Makeover Home Edition http://abc.go.com/primetime/xtremehome/index?pn=index, is doing a great thing by building a Fresno family a new home so that the mother, who is severely disabled and is bound to a wheelchair can better care for her family. Here in Fresno, the local paper the Fresno Bee is doing a series of stories about the project and it made note that the woman attends a local Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses. http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/1117887.html

Jehovah's Witnesses is the marketing arm of the publishing corporation known as The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society which in recent years has been wrapped up in wrongful death suits brought forward by the surviving family of Jehovah's Witnesses who have died because of the Watchtower ban on medical use of blood even in emergency situations. Another touchy area is the out of court settling of several cases where it was proved that the Watchtower Society (WTS) had knowledge of child molestation going on within their congregations and forced the victims to remain silent about the crimes and did not report the crimes to the proper authorities. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21917798/

http://www.silentlambs.org/NationalPresspacket.htm

After learning about this Extreme Makeover episode, it struck me that being part of the Jehovah's Witnesses individuals are discouraged from going on television and indeed having anything to do with what the Watchtower calls Satan's System of Things. The media being a major part of this system. Witnesses are also told to not engage in charitable works by donating either time or money to any worthy causes except to the Watchtower Society. The WTS holds other religions, government, and the media in contempt and feels that associating with any of these groups or engaging in any inter-faith or charitable works is contrary to what the Bible teaches.

As I have researched the WTS I have noted that it enjoys tax free status as a church and is a non profit organization that holds Billions of dollars in assets including huge real estate holdings but does nothing for the communities in which it operates. The WTS does not even have a single program to aid their needy adherents. I find it hypocritical for the WTS to enjoy tax exempt status while doing nothing for the community along the lines of feeding and clothing the poor, offering assistance with healthcare expenses, or even donating money to such causes.

I feel that there is something very wrong when a corporation that purports to be a Christian Church enjoys the privileges of that position and ignores the responsibilities that go along with that position. I would like to hear your opinion on these matters and wonder if you find that looking into them would be worthy of your time and effort.

Thanks for your kind consideration, Mr. O'Reilly.

Lorenzo Gonzales