[ravenwolf]

Not sure how you get that out of those passages. “Whoever would be chief among you” sounds like it assumes the possibility of a “chief among you” which doesn’t sound like complete egalitarianism to me. The whole passage is a warning against the misuse of authority, not a rejection of authority itself.

---

Maybe you and i have a different view of what a hierarchy is.

In my view Hitler and Stalin were the leaders of a hierarchy.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Hierarchy: from ta hiera "the sacred rites" (neuter plural of hieros "sacred") + arkhein "to lead, rule".

Thus, hierarchy=leaders of sacred rites.

By contrast --- if I may pun badly --- Hitler and Stalin were leaders of "lowerarchies."