Who REALLY is the Faithful and Discreet Slave?

by gumby 34 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  gumby

  This thread was inspired by another thread about "two classes of the annointed"

  I was doing some research about that thread and came across this in the Insight book, vol. 1 page 805

  As we all know when the term Faithful and Discreet Slave is used by the witnesses it is usually always about the Governing Body. In most prayers we hear at the meeting we hear the brother asking Jehovah to direct the FDS.

  Notice WHO the Insight Book says the Faithful and Discreet Slave is,

  Insight book, vol. 1 page 805

  "Those forming the Christian congregation are referred to by the apostle Paul as "members of the household of God" (Eph 2:19; 1Ti 3:15), and the same apostle shows that ‘faithful stewardship’ among such household members involved the dispensing of spiritual truths on which those becoming believers would ‘feed.’ (1Co 3:2, 5; 4:1, 2; compare Mt 4:4.) Whereas this was a prime responsibility of those appointed as ‘shepherds’ of the flock (1Pe 5:1-3), the apostle Peter shows that such stewardship of the divine truths was actually committed to all the ‘chosen ones,’ all the spirit-anointed ones, of the Christian congregation. (1Pe 1:1, 2; 4:10, 11) Thus the entire anointed Christian congregation was to serve in a united stewardship, dispensing such truths. At the same time the individual members making up such composite body, or the "domestics" making up the "house" of God (Mt 24:45; Heb 3:6; Eph 2:19), would also be recipients of the "food" dispensed. (Heb 5:11-14; compare 1Co 12:12, 19-27.) Expanded responsibility would result from faithfulness maintained until the master’s promised ‘arrival.’—Mt 24:46, 47; Lu 12:43, 44.

  So, it begs the question, if the entire body of annointed christians make up the Slave Class, then WHY do only 12 or so men of this class do so?

  Gumby
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  Mary

  My own feeling is that this illustration that Jesus gave is simply talking about each indivdual Christian....not a select few.
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  gumby

  *goes to room crying cuz nobody likes his thread*

  Bastards!

  Gumhurt
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  Narkissos

  The theoretical explanation as exposed in the Insight book looks like a restaurant feeding nobody but its own staff. Economically unsound.

  Ironically the practical JW equation "FDS = GB" is a bit closer to the text, inasmuch as the latter obviously refers to leaders. What it overlooks, though, is the interrogative. Who is really "the faithful and discreet slave" remains an open question until the Master comes (and I don't mean 1918-9).
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  Rabbit

  So, it begs the question, if the entire body of annointed christians make up the Slave Class, then WHY do only 12 or so men of this class do so?

  Gumby

  Cause they said so...?

  They have to get a 2/3 majority to decide any issue anyway, imagine the teleconference bills from all 8,000 'anointed ones' ?!

  There was an "anointed" sister in my hall, back when I was pioneering, Pre-Armageddon. We were "...not supposed to ask", but, I did... "So...do you get letters, phone calls n' stuff from the GB ? Asking your thoughts ? Do you submit articles ?

  She looked kind of hurt and said, "No. In all these years...I've never even gotten a letter from the Society. The Elders don't let me attend any of their meetings. But, we have to 'wait on Jehovah', ya' know. ?" I don't know what she was thinking...she was just a mere woman.

  And ...this anointed future "ruler over the earth" had to use a head-covering in front of ME... an un-baptised publisher, putting in pioneer hours. I could not say the prayer before Field Service one Saturday, cause there were no official brothers there. So, to say a prayer, she found a Kleenex and covered her head...I was just a mere man and I out-ranked her.

  Btw...if all of the GB are listening in, on the other end of that "conduit" from God...why don't they all end up with the same shit in their ears ?

  "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."

  ~ Lord Acton in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887:

  Rabbit's droppings .. . . .. . . ..
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  Nathan Natas

  For our hurt li'l Gumdrop:
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  neverendingjourney

  if the entire body of annointed christians make up the Slave Class, then WHY do only 12 or so men of this class do so

  They analogize it to the way a congregation works. Every active, baptized member in good standing is considered to be a Christian, but not all of them take the lead. Elders are selected from among them to take the lead in spiritual matters. In the same way, there are thousands of people that partake of the emblems and profess to be of the anointed, but only a few selected governing body members (presently only nine) take the lead. I know, it's not consistent with their own interpretation, but their theology is full of holes.

  They don't claim to have separate classes of anointed. They all are considered to be part of the anointed, part of the faithful and discreet slave, but only the governing body is at the head of the worldwide religious organization. The latest QFR clarified and drove the point home that the anointed follow the lead of GB. They have not, however, officially recognized a separate class of anointed. They feel that the GB is a sort of elder body that acts as a spokesman for all of the anointed, the FDS.
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  The Dragon

  Hopefully someone who possesses some convincing evidence instead of a bunch of guesses presented as evidence to easially misled, hungry people.
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  gumby

  Rabbit, my sex crazed friend 'o buddy of mine,

  Btw...if all of the GB are listening in, on the other end of that "conduit" from God...why don't they all end up with the same shit in their ears ?

  Excellent point! There should be no need to vote on anything and they should all see things the same way if Jehovah truly works through them.

  Nathan, I was hoping for some hemmroid medicine. I use that stuff you posted for premature ejacu......well, you know. It numbs the dinger besides teeth.

  Nej,

  They feel that the GB is a sort of elder body that acts as a spokesman for all of the anointed, the FDS.

  True, but what are we to make of what is explained in the Insight Book?

  the apostle Peter shows that such stewardship of the divine truths was actually committed to all the ‘chosen ones,’ all the spirit-anointed ones, of the Christian congregation. (1Pe 1:1, 2; 4:10, 11) Thus the entire anointed Christian congregation was to serve in a united stewardship, dispensing such truths.

  Gumby
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  neverendingjourney

  Gumby:

  That's where the discrepancy comes in. The FDS = all the anointed doctrine predates the modern GB power structure that was created in the late 1970s. Back then the society was under the stewardship of the office of the WTBTS presidency. The president could take the lead in organizational matters and the society could still claim to be receiving input from all of the anointed. There was no claim back then that only certain of the anointed could participate in dispensing spiritual food. This discrepancy didn't really arise until the society's power came to be consolidated in the governing body. These men have essentially shifted the responsibility of the FDS and placed in on themselves. They now claim that Jehovah uses the GB only and that the anointed willingly submit themselves to the GB's direction. This is the way things work in practice. However, they don't like to go around changing doctrine if they don't have to. It's much too embarrassing. When they officially scrap doctrine, it's a last resort. Therefore, they're just hoping nobody notices that their FDS=all the anointed doctrine doesn't make sense anymore. I suppose at some point in the not too distant future they will be forced to come out with some "new light" to patch things up.