Is There Any Real Difference Between Elders & Priests? (page 6)

JW GoneBad

Thank you Lady Lee for the info. I now have alot more respect for the 'man in cloth' and alot less respect for the almighty JW elder!

The Protestant seminaries I now - attached to historic universities - are postgraduate degrees. You need to complete a B.S./B.A. at a four year college that is decent, you are vetted, if you grades and references are strong enough, you are admitted.

The Catholic system confuses me b/c I heard of 14 years old diong seminary but also post grads.

Many colleges were formed first as seminaries. The RC system ensured that at least one person in a parish could read and write to help others.

I've experience some RC priests as stupid as the Witnesses and utterly brilliant men with multiple degrees. Jesuits impress me greatly. I used to see Daniel Berrigan and others from Woodstock Jesuit Seminary in my church. They get away with much that an ordinary local priest could not.

I don't know if education itself is so crucial. Elders seem to be an ad hoc arrangemetn with almost no training placed in an almost impossible situation. They are required to do so much with few resources. The WT total domination from Brooklyn may be a factor. When I have jobs where I am treated as a slave grunt with no independent action, I don't care one bit about a good job. Some of my mistakes become pure passive/aggressiveness. When I am treated as a professional colleague, I soar. Punishment should follow any breach of confidentiality.

minimus

Lady Lee, that ain't nuthin compared to the Theocratic Ministry School!

Band on the Run

The Witnesses' claim that you learn more than a four year college grad by reading the WT is so comical. The sad part is if all you know is the Witnesses, you believe it. I was gullible. My teachers intervened. Sometimes I feel bad for making fun of Witnesses. Most try very hard. They sincerely believe b/c they have little exposure to the world.

We must remember that Protestant ministers and RC priests have done despicable things, too. Education does not give you basic decency or moraltiy.

minimus

That's why I read AWAKE!

Lady Lee

BotR

I remember that very well. I was at out monthly meetup group the other day and a few of them have been to university. They all groaned whe I told them tha tlittle todbit.

To a bunch of people who have not gone to college they have no idea of the workload - none, zip, nada, nil

If I was going to compare it to the education a person would get in school I would have to say Kindergarten. Lots of repetition, language simplified, answers provided in literature so you don't have to think, rote memorization required.

cantleave

EE - If an elder is really doing what he is "supposed too" by org standards, its a 20 -25 hour a week job.

Yes I remember....... The day I stepped down I started getting my life back!

botchtowersociety

Is There Any Real Difference Between Elders & Priests?

A lot of comparisons are being made here based on categories, but I think it depends on the individual.

I've known some very earnest, sincere, and loving elders from my time in the JWs.

Lady Lee

the problem botchtowersocirty is that elders are not trained to do the things they are expected to do when it comes to offering counsel. I knew some nice ones too. But I got to see a whole other side of them once I was out.

Most people thought my ex was just like you describe. No one would have guessed what he was like at home. That is why there was a huge cover-up when I left. It was a lot easier to boot me out and hide the fact that he kicked his daughters around when he got into rages (he told them he did that, not me.) than to discipline an elder that everyone looked up to. He confessed how he sexually abused me. I didn't have to say a word.. But that wasn;t even pout in his record the other elder told me.

As a counselor I was trained to listen impartially and in a non-judgemental way. Believe me the elders did not do that to me. I was grilled about 1 sexual episode. I was shamed and humiliated by their questions. Training teaches you how to deal wioth people without making them feel like scum.

RubaDub

They do both have unique dressing modes:

1) Priests wear a backward white collar and a bathrobe

2) Elders wear cheap polyester suits and a white shirt

Rub a Dub

Is There Any Real Difference Between Elders & Priests?

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