I am going to propose a thesis about the validity of Governing body function, validity and purpose.
This will be taken from history and scripture. The end result will either support or undermine the Watchtower's use of Governing body.
We begin with proper definitions.
What exactly is a Government? What does it do? Let's look at a Free Society's view, first.
Government exists to protect the interests and rights of the governed.
In the U.S. government is limited by a bill of rights for citizens. Government is OF, BY and FOR the people.
Good government can be defined this way: administration which removes obstacles from the daily lives of the citizen and redounds to their benefit.
That is a very basic premise.
Historically, things certainly went off in other directions.
BAD government has usually simply resulted from turning that definition INSIDE OUT: Citizens exist to serve the interests of those who govern them.
At worst, this is despotism and fascism.
Now where does all this review bring us to in a sober, intelligent, rational discussion about GOVERNING BODY authority??
Let's go from the GENERAL to the SPECIFIC.
Religious authority and Secular authority were the SAME for thousands of years.
In Israel the King was expected to rule righteously. There was no separate set of values and laws for rulers exempting them apart from the citizens.
The purpose of a King was to benefit the people and the nation. The purpose of the nation was to reflect the glory of their lawgiver and supreme authority: God.
If a King violated the laws of the supreme authority the ENTIRE NATION suffered. God viewed the King, the Government and the people as ONE BODY.
This can clearly be reasoned from the fact ALL benefited or ALL suffered according to any breach. (The blessing and the malediction or curse.)
The administration of RELIGIOUS PRACTICES (the Priesthood) did not make decisions about Kingly Authority. The King could not impose
arbitrary policies on the Priesthood. Both were expected (by the supreme authority: God) to act harmoniously.
But those two branches of administration were not the only two means by which the interests of the people were served!
If either the King or the Priests violated the supreme authority of God an agent was sent to put everybody on notice.
The agent of God was a PROPHET.
Prophets were often weird, wild, wooly and wacky.
Here is an opportunity to learn something you maybe did not know or realize.
The following comes from JewFAQ.org
The Talmud teaches that there were hundreds of thousands of prophets: twice as many as the number of people who left Egypt, which was 600,000. But most of the prophets conveyed messages that were intended solely for their own generation and were not reported in scripture. Scripture identifies only 55 prophets of Israel.
That may have surprised you. Also consider this (from the same source):
A prophet is not necessarily a man. Scripture records the stories of seven female prophets and the Talmud reports that Sarah's prophetic ability was superior to Abraham's.
A prophet is not necessarily a Jew. The Talmud reports that there were prophets among the gentiles (most notably Balaam, whose story is told in Numbers 22), although they were not as elevated as the prophets of Israel (as the story of Balaam demonstrates). And some of the prophets, such as Jonah, were sent on missions to speak to the gentiles.
According to some views, prophecy is not a gift that is arbitrarily conferred upon people; rather, it is the culmination of a person's spiritual and ethical development.
What is the point in going to Judaism to discover more in depth teaching about what a prophet was in their religion?
Well, would you go to any other source if you wanted authentic scholarship?
I bring this up for a specific reason.
Prophets could come from ANY source and STILL BE authentic agents of the Supreme Being: God.
Think that over a minute or two. God was interested in governance for humans and not merely Jews.
Russell, Rutherford, Franz fashioned a publishing empire on the backs of volunteers fooled into thinking
PROPHECY was being fulfilled in their own lifetime. Twisting Daniel's writings into a prophecy is contrary to Judaism.
We are heading in a certain direction. We need to pick up facts and evidence as we go. Where we arrive will be where those take us.
A governing body is itself governed by these OUTSIDE agents or prophets of the supreme authority: god.
Is that news to you? Are you uncomfortable with that idea? Do you need to think about it a bit more?
The majority of the population of the earth did what was right in their own eyes. Each nation, tribe and government as they pleased. God informed whatever nation, tribe or people with prophets regardless of their ethnicity or sex. God's method of governing was not elitist.
By the time Jesus walks the earth all sorts of changes have happened globally. Rome is the vast empire with a special way of ruling its people.
All religions were tolerated. Local rulers were allowed to continue ruling. Any threats to a client state was considered a threat to Rome itself.
Paul, both a Jew and self-identified as a Pharisee, specifically stated that SUPERIOR authorites stood because God appointed them to stand!
What characterized early christians (who were actually mostly messianic Jews) was the fanaticism of INDEPENDENCE.
Independence? What kind? Religious indepence!
Each sect reserved the right to worship as THEY SAW FIT without interference from SECULAR authority.
And that brings us up to modern times--whether you realize it or not!
For about one thousand five hundred years the only christian church was CATHOLIC (i.e. universal).
As good or as bad as Israel was Catholicism was the same. Eventually, enough protests as to corruption split the authority.
Protestants and Catholics were all still self-identified as CHRISTIANS but violently disagreed on everything about practice of faith.
Here is where it all becomes rather interesting, in my view at least.
Jesus foretold that eventually there would be a "harvest" and at that time he would decide which self-professing christians were "Wheat" and which ones were "Tares" or weeds. He specifically instructed his agents, followers, slaves, etc. NOT TO SEPARATE christians into groups of "true" and "untrue".
Jesus' reason was that any HUMAN WHO MADE THE DECISION AS TO WHO WAS WHO was subject to error. Some "little one" might be wrongly identified and lose their place in the kingdom. Only he, Jesus, was qualified to determine who was a TRUE CHRISTIAN.
The Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses is THE GOVERNMENT agency of Jesus' Kingdom rule...ACCORDING TO THEM.
Instead of serving the interests of the little ones these self-important authorities assume TOO MUCH AUTHORITY for their own importance.
Every aspect of daily life has come under their power to rule! Instead of removing obstacles to freedom of worship and conscience
the Watchtower Governing Body imposes repressive overload. http://www.jwfacts.com/index_files/disfellowship.htm
Jesus--by contrast--as King of this Government is just the opposite in his message to the citizens of true worship.
Matthew 11:29-30
New International Version (NIV)
29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
What we really have is a history of LAW, PUNISHMENT and ORTHODOXY in ancient Judiasm on the one hand
and early christian insistance on absolute freedom to exercise their conscience APART from government interference.
The Catholic monlithic church was Secular/Religious authority with the resulting oppression and corruption.
Jehovah's Witness governance has been speculative false Prophecy and overlordship crushing consciences and freedom.
The Governing Body cannot act as a Prophet. They know this and refer to themselves cynically with quotation marks ("prophet".)
Yet, they usurp the role of Prophet while being the 'prophet'.
They usurp the role of King while pretending to act as his 'mouthpiece'.
They usurp the role of Priests by asserting they are the anointed government who will be kings and priests to JUDGE all mankind!.
WHAT ARE THEY?
They aren't selected by the 7 million witnesses by vote--are they? So, they can't be representatives. They aren't elected by the people.
How do they gain authority and power? THEY APPOINT EACH OTHER!
They aren't defenders of pure worship either because they create imaginary offenses punishable by removal from the body of christians!
They manufacture bogus laws which results in giving THEM the power to separate the Wheat from the Weeds! That's JESUS' job---not theirs!
They don't provide for the common defense and promote the general welfare because they are the one's constituting the greatest threat!
WHAT ARE THEY?
The Governing body are counterfeits and despots who fill the description given in this scripture.
Titus 1:15-16 15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. 16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.
What are they? Usurpers of Jesus Christ's kingdom rule.
Prophets of god can come from anywhere at any time they don't have to come from Brooklyn, Bethel or the Watchtower because
those are ''prophets" who merely make up false dates to hurry Jesus into doing what THEY THINK should happen WHEN THEY THINK IT IS RIGHT.
Usurpers on and all!
Who are the real PROPHETS?
Well, ask yourself who is serving notice on the Watchtower Society for their wrongdoing and malfeasance?
None other than we so-called Apostates--that's who!