To co-opt what Ray Franz said on another matter, "It is a distinction without a difference."
Stupid, stupid nonsense in the October JW broadcast
by sir82 25 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Listener
You are correct in saying Jacksons 'morning worship' speech was bizarre.
He referred to leaders as sitting in the sideline barking orders a number of times. It was an excellent description of what the GB are doing.
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dozy
It is untrue , of course , and pure semantics to claim otherwise. JWs are a hierarchical organisation , as has been admitted , under oath , in court.
http://jwsurvey.org/cedars-blog/are-jehovahs-witnesses-a-hierarchical-religion-and-does-it-matter
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sir82
He referred to leaders as sitting in the sideline barking orders a number of times. It was an excellent description of what the GB are doing.
Which reminds me of another particularly galling thing:
One of his key scriptures was Hebrews 13:17 - you know the one about "be obedient to those taking the lead among you"?
I distinctly recall an elders school a number of years ago, that this scripture was used as the justification for the term "governing body". In the original Greek, it was explained, the expression "those taking the lead among you" literally means "the governors of you". You can still find that footnote in the 1984 edition of the NWT, and of course the Interlinear (if you can find one).
I.e., "the governors of you" --> "governing body" --> "See? we told you the term 'governing body' was scriptural!".
And of course the school then emphasized the absolute utter importance of mindless obedience to every dictate dribbling from the mouths of the governing body.
And now, when it suits him, Jackson tells us that Hebrews 13:17 refers to "elders" who are "taking the lead", not "standing on the sideline barking orders".
The more I think about it, the utter inanity of it all sinks in even further.
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careful
I do not know, of course, but I suspect that the org has long taken this position due to Jesus' words at Matt. 23:10, where he says not to be called "leaders." The context there (verses 1-12), however, is using religious titles, not a condemnation of the word "leader" itself. By his time Jewish religious leaders had taken up the titles Rabbi and Abba ("Father"). That is what Jesus was saying not to do.
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Betheliesalot
unknowing householder: "Do you have a 'Worship Service'
on Sunday at your church?"
doorknocker: "Our leaders told us to call it a 'meeting' and those in the lead call the building a 'kingdom hall' "
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undercover
Jackson goes to great lengths to explain how the term "those taking the lead" are not "leaders".
Methinks they are laying the groundwork to distance themselves from being held accountable for possible major lawsuits coming. Won't work in the courts, of course, but in the minds of the true believers, they can be convinced that their leaders, er, um, those taking the lead, I mean, are not responsible for the grievous behavior being blamed on them.
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waton
elders and ministerial servants--aren't really leaders. They are the sycophantic followers of the real leaders, the Governing Body (although I frequently think they are just puppets, ...jp1692
That does not prevent some really inflated egos to take on that role, doing a minimum of work and barking (thinly disguised) orders from their haughty position of oversight.
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jp1692
AWaton, true dat!
They are all just imitating whoever is the next level up the food chain.
Ultimately, Jehovah (although a mythical invention of the human mind) is an extremely evil character.
God "loves" you but will kill you for the slightest infraction.
If a human parent acted like Jehovah, their children--if they survived--would be placed in foster care and the parents put behind bars so quickly it'd make your head spin.
The "god" of the Bible is a horrible invention of ignorant, delusional and apparently mentally ill humans seeking to explain complex and often devastating events they couldn't understand.