The governing body maybe arrogant, but they never do anything without legal advice.
As long as they listen to the legal eagles, they are safe,
Governing Body arrogance vs. Legal Department's pragmatism - do you think there will be a slip-up at some point?
by sir82 31 Replies latest jw friends
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flipper
SIR 82- Very good thread. I feel that actually the WT society attorneys are running the show anyway and that THEY really hold the real power inside the organization. The GB are just figureheads or puppets as it were ; to make the rank & file Witnesses think that these visible 50 - 70 yr.olds are the " anointed " of Jehovah to keep a calming influence over the 7 million JW masses.
But the real puppetmasters pulling the strings is WT legal and the WT attorneys. Just look at the way the newer elders manual was written last November. It's chalk full of legalistic rules and regulations about how & when to DF someone. Nothing about love. Nothing about " fruitages of the spirit ". Just cold , hard rules of how to rat out JW's who sit on the " edge " of the organization.
With the Australia child abuse mess and the media seizing hold of the July 15th " mentally diseased " concept towards ex-witnesses - I guarantee you that the WT legal department is putting duct tape on the GB members mouths and tying them up with rope as they sit at their conference tables , so that the WT attorney's will have their say.
WT society has already had media hurdles with the 16 child abuse cases in 2007 in California which aired on NBC news as well as made the associate press worldwide. I bet WT legal is scrambling right now to counteract the Australia situation for sure. Meanwhile the GB puts up the " everything is fine in JW land " pose to rank & file JW's . It's up to WT legal department to hide the WT society's dirty legal skeletons from falling into ailses at Kingdom Halls so JW's won't find this stuff out.
Just like Obama is a figurehead in this country but the government is really run by special interests , corporations, huge financial banks, etc . - the WT society's figurehaeds are the GB members , but WT legal is really running the show behind the scenes. Just my 2 cents
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00DAD
Can the GB brothers sue their legal counsel for allowing them to look stupid?
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neverendingjourney
Your conjecture on GB/legal tension is pretty well-founded based on what we know, but it's still conjecture. That's what really bugs me about trying to arrive at conclusions about the Watchtower's direction moving forward: we simply don't have enough facts.
When Crisis of Conscience was published it revealed a lot the inner workings of the religion previously unknown to all but maybe a dozen or so individuals. That was 30 years ago! Who knows what developments there have been at the top of the hierarchy in the past 30 years.
We can make certain safe assumptions based on policy decisions that have come down (as Sir82 has done), but it doesn't change the fact that credible information concerning top-level decision making has not leaked out in 3 decades.
Is the 2/3 voting requirement still in place? Answer: none of us know for sure. Has the GB passed some internal policy mandating that certian policy changes receive approval from legal? Again, who knows.
It's like trying to decipher a phrase on Wheel of Fortune with only 3 or 4 letters visible.
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Quendi
I agree with the analysis neverendingjourney has given. The Governing Body and its modus operandi are once more cloaked in secrecy and we really have no idea what is going on at the highest levels of the organization. Ray Franz pulled the curtain back with his books, but the organization survived his exposes. As for listening to their legal eagles, I think that is true--to an extent. Their input with the new Flock book is evident, They also have much to say about the mundane day-to-day operations of the various entities under the WTS umbrella. But when it comes to formulating religious dogma and practice, I believe the Governing Body reserves that right exclusively to itself. They made that abundantly clear in the study article "The 'Faithful Steward' and Its Governing Body" which appeared in the 15 November 2009 Watchtower. That was when they told all those who professed to be anointed that their thinking and suggestions were neither wanted nor needed, and that the Governing Body alone would teach the things all Jehovah's Witnesses had to believe and know.
I am still hoping for the WTS to collapse. As I have posted elsewhere, I do not think we can look at present trends as indicators of when that might happen. Both the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union collapsed swiftly despite the tight controls exercised over each. Like a train looming in the distance which then quickly roars past, their disintegration occurred before authorities could muster any counteractive measures. I wouldn't be surprised if the WTS suffers the same swift collapse. Whenever and however it happens, I can only hope to be alive to see it.
Quendi
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JeffT
I've seen tension between CEO's and various departments (Legal, accounting, HR) in the business world. When push comes to shove it depends on the relationship between the brass and their advisors. I've watched smart (at least in their minds) CEO's tell knowledgable people to just keep quiet. Usually those guys run into a buzz saw somewhere along the line.
I think the thing to watch for here is a sudden change in staff in legal. If a bunch of lawyers resign or get shuffled to other positions they got in a fight and lost. What I don't know is who actually has the power administratively, do the GB have the authority to fire the legal staff?
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00DAD
The GB has no mechanism to communicate with the FDS. They don't even know WHO or WHERE they are!!!
"We thus have no way of knowing the exact number of anointed ones on earth; nor do we need to know. The Governing Body does not keep a list of all partakers, for it does not maintain a global network of anointed ones." - Question From Readers, w2011 8/15 p. 22
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sir82
What I don't know is who actually has the power administratively, do the GB have the authority to fire the legal staff?
Interesting question.
Don't know about firing them, but they do have the power to disfellowship them, essentially accomplishing the same thing.
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Gayle
Seems to be a "marriage" or maybe a common-law (heehee) marriage between the GB and their attorney staff. Lots of struggles/frustrations I am sure. The GB know they 'need' the lawyers. Lawyers have invested their lives into the GB/JW world and see their need to support and protect the GB or WTS.
All these court cases with a variety of issues would certainly put a total strain on them all. The GB, though resentful, know they 'need' their lawyers, would be almost impossible to replace. With all these court hearings/cases, will the GB start beating the 'attorney class?' Could the 'attorney class' divorce/disfellowship the GB? With all these corporations developed to take away accountability of the existing GB, with an admission that there is no 'faithful and discreet slave' list of names anyway, could a crazy 'overthrow' happen?
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LV101
i'd imagine for the seven old goats to maintain their penthouses and opulent lifestyle they'll shut their lying mouths and do what their told. money, or their dulged high living is their prize after receiving the power spot. i doubt legal man has any problems with the uneducated fools other than keeping them awake and not drooling for photo shoots.