by jefferywhat 283 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
If true, it is just legal manoeuvering. The Society's lawyers are hatching schemes to try and protect the Society for more expensive litigation, that's all.
Very heartening to hear that a top level apostate may exist, especially if it is a GB member. If a GB member was to resign or be removed for apostasy it could cause a lot of damage at a sensitive time for the organisation. They could cause massive damage like Ray Franz did if they went public.
Does the PO really have that much authority anymore?
Yes and no. He has far less power and authority than the old "Congregation Overseer" from the 60's, but still he is the central figure. All misdeeds from the publishers must be reported to him (even if a publisher is "more comfortable" confessing to Elder X, Elder X in turn must immediately report it to the PO). All correspondence from the Society is mailed to the PO (not the secretary). The PO oversees the Service Meeting, the most "free-form" of the meetings, and the one where the most outrageous statements can be made.
For many many POs, especially those who remember the "Congregation Overseer" days, being the PO is still a big ego trip, they enjoy being looked up to as "the boss".
I don't see how elimination of the title of PO would work. Even if the "title" is dropped or changed, there still has to be someone to whom letters are sent, someone to call together BOE meetings, someone to determine what local needs parts are given, etc. - there would still have to be someone who was "virtually" a PO.
Jeffreywhat: I sent you a PM
Have a great day!
TTRP
more and more..you will find that those home grown lawyers the WT put through college a few years ago will take over.
Ray F must have left a few of his associates with working concience... I can see a big internal shakeup coming too... but I know not the day or hour.
~Hill
I agree with JourneyOn,,I think anyone possibly being called before JC, should have a letter sent from their attorney that their personal name should not be announced in any way, shape or form from their JW platform, as any defamation of the individual's character will not be tolerated. (They should not be allowed to even say, that the individual is no longer a JW because of the false implication it entails to JWs.) My sister-in-law's father did that & to his knowledge nothing was officially announced. He did disassociate himself but with 'his' terms.
One) Loosen things up a return to voting letting the congregations vote for elders to throw off liability.
This will never never happen. The trend has always been towards greater central control. They would never let the unwashed masses of pubs select their leadership.
Two) Tighten things up give an ability to remove any one elder or MS very quickly by the PO. Changing the title PO to Princely Overseer.
There is a real scarcity of men wanting to server in any capacity. If anything there has been a real lowering of standards of the last couple of decades. I doubt they will do anything to thin the ranks and exacerbate the problem.
Three) Nothing just change names and descriptions.
I think this is the likeliest outcome.
Four) Give up and start calling the elders what they are clergy and start paying them off.
That costs money. Everything that has happened the last few years indicated they are trying to cut expenses, and not creating a whole new hemorrhage of cash.
Five) Same as four but they don't start paying them.
They recoil at using any of Christendom's titles. I really doubt this.
Six) They do away with titles all together and a brother is automatically a MS by default.
That is intriguing! However how would they square it with Scripture? Oh I forgot they can twist the text to suit them.
Burn
Hell Oompa, Atleast they'd dress better, and the Kingdom Halls would be nicer. Would we call the new look "fun schwing?"
What good would it do to legally give more power to the Elders? How would that lessen litigation? The WTBTS can't say that the Elder arraingement wasn't their idea,they can't say the Elders aren't instructed from the mother ship what to do/not do.
If you're talking about the pedophile suits, giving responsiblity to the Elders at each hall as to how they should handle it wouldn't resolve the litigation issue as long as the Elders are following WT mandates.
Now, what would solve the litigation problem is if they told each KH they're no longer to report issues like Pedophilia to the WT organization as a whole-to Brooklyn. No longer send files and the like. Then the WTBTS could say they know nothing about how each specific issue is being handled, they wern't aware of the issue...that they'd given specific instructions to follow the laws of each state, and if a group of elders hadn't followed it then it was their fault. That would absolve them from litigation becasue they'd know nothing about it and could blame the elders for not following instructions-legal instructions not bibical.
THis is why they lost the pedophile suits; they couldn't claim clergy client privliedges for a few reasons, one was that in clergy client issues its supposed to be between the clergy and the client alone, between them and God... but in the current JW situation, they're three clergy present not one, usually a witness or eomeone else knows, and then they send the file to the mother ship... they lost their recent suit becasue this type meeting isn't clandestine. Too many people already know about it... they lost becasue they (the GB, the Elders, the witneses) already knew about the situation and therefre couldn't claim "clergy client" priviledges-no secrecy laws. With all those people knowing about it, there was no reason to keep silent to the authorities, and therefore they should've been told....by not so doing they becasme liable becasue they hadn't provided protection to other kids in the congs by remiainig silent over an issue that many already knew about. They couldn't claim clergy client when it was public knowledge already and thus they were liable to protect others in the congregation.
Am I right?
Hi!
I took this new nick for privacy reasons but I can confirm that there is a whole group of medium to high ranking JWs in NY (Brooklyn & Pat) that could be considered "apostate" since they hold certain "unaccepted" & "inofficial" believes.
These believes and chronological understandings were delivered to the GB/WD (again) in 2001 on their request through an envoy. The material was "classified" and filed away but out of the initial cirlce of brothers who got to read it a kind of "secret" group formed.
Those guys got some kind of consent from GB members (some of whom have already died now) to further study and research the material as long as they would stay faithful to the org. It is possible that this fragile construct recently collapsed....
Attorn
