Read the account of Moses taking the credit for the water provision miracle and that of King David's folly and his consequences.
...read them...
...you are still reading...
...ok now you have that fresh in your mind.
Jehovah had a correctional arrangement in place for all his spokesmen. Story of Jonah would work great too. The point being that in the Bible God has always had this correctional arrangement for the leaders of his Earthly Organization.
That being said, where did that arrangement go? Surely you don't believe that the Governing Body is infallable; they are most defininitely vulnerable to the misuse of power as were some of the greatest men to walk the earth that Jehovah even called friends...
So lets bring up a hypothetical:
The Governing Body decides to overstep their authority and abandons the Search for Bible Truth and interjects their own ideas into Watchtower Doctrine...
What would happen? Is there an article in the Watchtower somewhere that details the consequences of their actions? Is there anything written about it? Any policies created to handle such misuse?
The answer is no. Not one word is written into Watchtower Policy to make sure the Governing Body does their job correctly. They have absolute power in Watchtower Policy and Doctrinal Truth and New Light.
The members are required to take their word even when they do not understand or even when a policy seemingly affects their lives in a negative way.
The Iraelites had the security that if Moses f*cked up, he would answer very quickly for his actions. King David's subjects enjoyed the same provision.
God does not change, it is quite odd that this arrangement no longer exists, and hasen't for a very long time.
Now here is the real point, a Watchtower came out in 2009 Nov 15th that had this to say about the Governing Body's position:
The spirit that now operates in the sons of disobedience" is so widespread that it is like the air we breathe. (Eph. 2:2) That spirit can cause us to think that we do not need guidance from Jehovah's organization. Surely we do not want to be like Diotrephes, who would not 'receive anything from the apostle John with respect.' (3 John 9, 10) We need to guard against developing a spirit of independence. By word or action, may we never challenge the channel of communication that Jehovah is using today. (Num. 16:1-3) On the contrary, we should cherish our privilege to cooperate with the slave class. And should we not strive to be obedient and submissive to those taking the lead in our local congregation?--Read Hebrews 13:7, 17.
This strikes me as odd. The direct correctional arrangement that God had during the Bible times is gone. That, in turn, should lower the authority of the leaders, since they have no one to answer to anymore.
They are the "Faithful and Discreet Slave" a fitting name for the leaders in the Last Days wouldn't you think? They are the food dispensors. Not the authority on scriptual doctrine or micromanaging spiritual policies. They are guides.
Even though they refer to themselves as humble servants, they are much more than that. Reading through the accounds of Moses and David, I don't even think they had the audacity to demand allegience like in the quote above. If you ask me, they acted more as servants than the Governing Body does.
So here is the actual question, because I'm sure this topic could be debated for eons:
"Do you blame anyone for choosing to follow a path seperate from the Governing Body because they feel they can't, in good conscience, follow leaders who they feel have overstepped their God-given boundries and authorities and have no one, or ever will, to answer to in this system of things?"
-Sab