How & why do jehovah`s Witnesses get away with using the Clergy / penitent clause in court cases,when they are on record as saying they have no clergy/laity distinction !

by smiddy 5 Replies latest jw friends

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  smiddy

  When it suits them , they claim their is no clergy laity distinction, yet in court cases they appeal to this privelidge of division ..On the other hand when a rank & file member is before the courts for whatever reason , he / she is not a representative of the WTB&TS , and is not a" volunteer" of the said organization and apparently not one of their clergy, nor apparently, not one of the laity .Then again in their official publications they state that all baptized Jehovah`s Witnesses are ordained ministers of God......?

  If their is no distinction between these two classes then either they are either all clergy or

  they are all laity .

  Which is it ?

  smiddy
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  ziddina

  Bumping this thread...

  I wish I wasn't so sleepy - and I must toddle off to bed very soon - but they cannot use the "clergy/penitent" clause - the "sanctity of the confession" or the 'need for confidentiality within the church' arguments, because when they report the results of ANY judicial committee meetings and actions to Watchtower headquarters, it legally ceases being "confidential".

  That has come back and bitten them in the arse a few times - or more...
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  rip van winkle

  The WTS gives more than any other religion. More hypocrisy.
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  LongHairGal

  smiddy:

  You are right, they can't have it both ways. They either do or they don't.

  Their claim of "not having a clergy" was the biggest reason I decided to get involved with the religion. I thought to myself "great, everybody is equal".
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  kurtbethel

  I have devised a simple "Kurt test" to see if there is a clergy distinction or not.

  If any baptised member in good standing can perform baptism, weddings and other ordination done by the religion, then there is no distinction. If hey can not and only certain approved members can perform those rites, then there is a distinction. There is no tap dancing around that test.

  Watchtower lawyers have said, in sworn court testimony, (Gilbert Simental case and Kelle Jarka case) that the organization does have a clergy/penitant arrangement, so either the lawyers lied under oath, or the publications are lying. Or both.
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  Justitia Themis

  Courts care about whether they meet the legal definition, not how they define themselves.