Concept faithful discreet slave

by inbetween09 28 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Half banana

  Fisherman," the concept is valid".

  But does that mean that the Bible is actually truthful and we should believe it all and act on everything it teaches?

  The fds parable would have been obvious to both the rich and to slaves that the slave's job is to work when the master is not present--and how pleased ("chuffed" is a good UK word) the slave would be to be found still working at the master's return. One of many everyday illustrations to sell the new bonkers idea of Christianity giving (mainly) the poor and uneducated the hope of immortality by worshipping Jesus.

  Is it not obvious that the NT is the work of religious propagandists trying to convince and illustrate credibility for their partisan brand of the Christ story? You have to understand that the Christ story was known and told for centuries before Jesus appeared as the title figure. The Greeks called them Sophists, others; God-men, magicians or even conjurors.
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  St George of England

  C'mon guys, gotta keep up with the chariot....

  *** w13 7/15 pp. 21-22 “Who Really Is the Faithful and Discreet Slave?” ***
  
  WHO IS THE FAITHFUL AND DISCREET SLAVE?
  
  8 The faithful slave must be made up of anointed Christians on earth. Such ones are called “a royal priesthood” and have been commissioned to “ ‘declare abroad the excellencies’ of the one that called [them] out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Pet. 2:9) It is only fitting that members of that “royal priesthood” have a direct share in teaching fellow believers the truth.—Mal. 2:7; Rev. 12:17.
  
  9 Do all anointed ones on earth make up the faithful slave? No. The reality is that not all anointed ones have a role in dispensing spiritual food to fellow believers worldwide. Among the wheat are anointed brothers who may serve as ministerial servants or elders in their local congregation. They teach from house to house and in their congregation, and they loyally support the direction from headquarters. But they do not have a part in dispensing spiritual food to the worldwide brotherhood. Also among the anointed are humble sisters, who would never try to assume the role of teachers in the congregation.—1 Cor. 11:3; 14:34.
  
  10 Who, then, is the faithful and discreet slave? In keeping with Jesus’ pattern of feeding many through the hands of a few, that slave is made up of a small group of anointed brothers who are directly involved in preparing and dispensing spiritual food during Christ’s presence. Throughout the last days, the anointed brothers who make up the faithful slave have served together at headquarters. In recent decades, that slave has been closely identified with the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Note, however, that the word “slave” in Jesus’ illustration is singular, indicating that this is a composite slave. The decisions of the Governing Body are thus made collectively.
  

  George
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  St George of England

  Just to add to the above, if the FDS were appointed in 1919, why did it take them 94 years (1919 - 2013) to work out who they were?

  George
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  inbetween09

  st george,

  exactly the first thought i had, when learning about their new definition. If they are provided with spiritual food from Jesus to dispense how come they were not told who they are ?

  Shouldnt that be the first truth to learn about ?
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  Fisherman

  does that mean that the Bible is actually truthful and we should believe it all and act on everything it teaches?

  That is another debate

  If they are provided with spiritual food from Jesus to dispense how come they were not told who they are ?

  If Jesus is the source of the food then how can the FDS "prepare" food imperfectly? But not knowing who they are is not a qualifying factor, "doing so" is. FDS is identified by Jesus finding them dispensing food when he comes -according to the verse.
  
  
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  Half banana

  Fisherman I am just so weary of quoting the scriptures as if they had any real meaning, they are useless for anything except as literary archetypes. There is no "true interpretation" of the Bible possible, it is a pointless exercise, a sisyphean task.

  In this case (fds) the date of arrival of the Kingdom is a necessary piece of knowledge to see its application yet "no one knows the day or hour" ad infinitum... although Jesus said (or it is written that he said it, as it is unlikely that he existed) that the kingdom would come in the lifetime of those who lived with him. Mark 9;1

  The scriptures as an inerrant collection of divine instructions must be the biggest scam of all time and one perpetuated by the Catholic Church in the fourth century at the behest of the Roman Empire.
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  Fisherman

  Half banana, it's debatable.
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  AmABeliever

  Hello everyone I am new here!

  I would like to point out that Jesus said at Luke 12:43: Happy is that slave IF his master on coming finds him doing so!

  So the approval of the self-proclaimed FDS is not automatic.
  
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  Fisherman

  So the approval of the self-proclaimed FDS is not autOmatic.

  Axiomatically. Wt only professes to be such but neither does that disqualify them. I use to get a kick out of Billy Graham pat himself on the back all the time saying to himself "Well done, faithful slave."