Know your place..

The Quiet One

This weeks watchtower study contains an image that depicts the hierarchy of the org, with the picture showing God and the angels, followed by the Governing Body directly underneath heaven.. And the rest descending further away from it.. (check the following link, my description isn't the best.) "THE EARTHLY PART OF JEHOVAHS ORGANIZATION INCLUDES: 1.The Governing Body 2.Branch Committees 3.Travelling Overseers 4.Bodies of elders 5.Congregations 6.Individual publishers Very subtle.. http://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/w20130415/do-not-tire-out/

Vidqun

Where's Jesus, the head of the congregation?

cuckoo in the nest

About as subtle as amoebic dysentery and explosive diarrhoea. The holy-holy GB depicted in their comfy chairs, perched on top of the world, and with god himself on his celestial segway directly overhead, with no-one in between. The implication being the GB have a direct line to god and are answerable to no-one. Stalin would have been proud of this little piece of propaganda.

Can't help wondering how many rank & file dubs will see this as anything suspect though?

cuckoo in the nest

Precisely, Vidqun, in this image the GB have usurped Jesus' role as head.

Unless they've printed him in invisible ink, to mirror his invisible return..?

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

When Paul said, "the head of the man is Christ," he evidently meant, "the head of the man is the congregation elders, and the head of the elders is the travelling overseers, and the head of the travelling overseers is the branch committee, and the head of the branch committee is the governing body, and the head of the governing body is an invisible wizard in the sky."

Cold Steel

Where's Jesus, the head of the congregation?
What...you can't see him? Try squinting and turning off the lights. The church is built on a foundation of apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone. As you can see, Jesus has no glory, while the Father radiates it. If you look closely, you can see His beard.

And here's the entire picture:

Who are the white angels with white beards. And does the Society think angels have wings? Since Jesus is only an angel, does He have wings?? And if God still has angels, why doesn't He send them to the Governing Body? Before Christ there were prophets and angels, and after Him there were apostles and angels. John had his vision around 96 A.D. If He's restored that church to the earth, why doesn't He send His angels to them? I mean, they're in the picture. And isn't that what they're supposed to do, deliver messages?
I find thee picture quite presumptuous. I can't see publishing this and then going out in a thunderstorm, if I were a GB member. I'm afraid of being hit by lightning. Whew!!!

blondie

UPDATED LIST OF WATCHTOWER "RANKS" (not CLASSES!)

1 Less Senile Man Who 'Specially Advises' The President of the WTBTS
2 The President of the Watchtower Society of Jehovah's Witnesses
3 Jehovah God [As WTBTS President interprets/'explains' all... ]
4 Charles Taze Russell, occasionally The Faithful & Discreet Slave
5 Michael=Jesus, Satan [Jesus/Satan oddly confusable in WTBTS literature]
6 Other Governing Body Member (White)
7 Other more submissive Archangel
8 Writing Staff Member
9 Common or Garden Angel/Spirit
10 Other Committee head
11 Higher-Up Biblical Prophet (e.g. "Moses" Class)
12 Other Governing Body Member (Black or servile)
13 Prominent Bethelite
14 Biblical Prophet (e.g. "Ezekiel" Class)
15 Other Committee Member
16 Male Biblical "Honorable Mention" (e.g. "David" Class)
17 Branch Overseer
18 District Overseer
19 Circuit Overseer
20 City Overseer
21 Presiding Overseer
22 Elder with influence
23 Common or Garden Bethelite
24 Male Anointed One (active) ("Anointed Remnant" Class)
25 Common or garden Elder
26 Ministerial Servant
27 Male Special Pioneer
28 Male Pioneer
29 Male Auxiliary Pioneer
30 Male Anointed One (less active)
31 Male Alleged Anointed One
32 Male Dead Anointed One
33 Male Regular Publisher (but if non-JW spouse, lower)
34 Male Irregular Publisher (but if non-JW spouse, lower)
35 Male Inactive Publisher (but if non-JW spouse, lower)
36 Male Dead Publisher
37 Female Biblical "Honorable Mention" (Ruth Class, HIGHEST for a Female)
38 Female Anointed One (active)
39 Female Anointed One (less active)
40 Female Alleged Anointed One
41 Female Dead Anointed One
42 Female Special Pioneer
43 Female Pioneer
44 Female Auxiliary Pioneer
45 Female Regular Publisher (but if non-JW spouse, lower)
46 Female Irregular Publisher (but if non-JW spouse, lower)
47 Female Inactive Publisher (but if non-JW spouse, lower)
48 Female Dead Publisher
49 jW with suspected "worldly leanings" (or who forgets to dress per code)
50 jW with at least one DF/DA relative (if they misbehave, becomes a C-59)
51 Marked jW
52 Reproved jW
53 Male unbaptized Associate
54 Female unbaptized Associate
55 Male child of jW (sub-Class rank depends on Congregational Rank of Pop)
56 Female child of jW (sub-Class rank depends on Rank of Pater)
57 Male child of unbaptized Associate
58 Female child of unbaptized Associate; Dead unbaptized associate/family
59 "Spiritually Weak" jW; Dead non-jW who never heard the message; Hitler
60 jW known to have "Apostate Leanings", Other Dead;Mother Teresa (dogmeat)
61 Male householder starting a Bible Study
62 Female householder starting a Bible Study; any who paid for literature
63 Other Male adult (Catholics, Beardeds and Smokers at the bottom)
64 Other Submissive Female adult (ditto); Rapist [subject to Flicker Light]
65 Other Male Child
66 Idiot, Infidel or Lunatic
67 Other Female Child
68 Co-operative & submissive & clean non-jW Spouse of jW (Male higher)
69 One suspected of "running ahead of Jehovah" (never forgivable)
70 Co-operative & submissive non-jW Close Family of jW (Male much higher)
71 Non-human animals (snakes and bottom-feeding pond scum excepted)
72 Householder (either sex) who has politely said "not interested"
73 Householder (either sex) who has said "get lost"
74 Householder (either sex) who has offended (marked for early destruction)
75 Householder (either sex) who set household pet on jW (likewise)
76 Internet User or Child-Molester (unless Elder, in which case can be OK)
77 Unsubmissive Female; Demon
78 Unco-operative or unsubmissive or unclean non-jW Spouse of jW
79 Unco-operative or unsubmissive non-jW Family of jW
80 Formally Disassociated One
81 Bottom-feeding Pond Scum
82 Informally Disassociated One
83 Serpent
84 Living Mass-Murderer; Trinitarian (if different)
85 Masturbator, Homosexual [taught as basically the same thing]
86 One said to be pending J.C. [to jW this means not Jesus!] proceedings
87 Opposer who was never associated
88 jW who accepts Blood Transfusion
89 Clergyman, other Harlot
90 Opposer who had been associated
91 Pope, other Great Whore; George Orwell
92 Disfellowshipped One (unless lower still)
93 Shunned One (unless lower still)
94 Member of "Swine" Class (unless of even lower rank)
95 Vomit-Eating Dog, Apostatized One (Watters-Penton-Reed Class)
96 Member of "Evil Slave" Class (e.g. Ray Franz Class)
97 Demonized One (e.g. Feuerbacher-Bergman-Raines-JanG-JH Class)
98 One who Attempts to Tape-Record Judicial Committee proceedings
99 Wicked Demonized One (e.g., W.F.Salter-Focus-Farkel-Steinhaug-Kotwal-Hovland Class)
100Viprous Concealed-Apostatical One (e.g. Prominent Bethelite AntiType)

The Quiet One

Blondie-- Brilliant post, that should be framed. (pm for you)

Hortensia

I guess I'm an 82. Thanks for clearing that up, Blondie. It takes a greater mind than mine to understand the class structure in the wtbts, although as a faded female atheist I know I'm quite close to the bottom of the heap.

sir82

Very subtle

95% of JWs (non-elders) are huddled at the lowest rung, below the level of "dirt", and that is "very subtle"?

I think they have made it abundantly clear how they view the rank and file.

Blondie's list is spot on, except for its ranking of Jesus is too high. He's really about in the mid-teens on that list.

Know your place..

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