As I've mentioned before I'm active and an elder.
I think it is a mistake for us to attempt to control what people read or see. Hebrews 5:14 says quite clearly that Christians should have their perceptive powers trained "through use". The stricter the control of what people do - making a lot of rigid rules and regulations as the Pharisees did in Jesus day - does not allow them to use their perceptive powers. They are not trained to make good decisions.
In my mind, what you believe should stand up to outside information. As an example, I'm married. I would never tell my wife to not listen to what other people say about me. I want her to take in all points of view. If someone comes along with a highly critical, damning statement about me, she should use her perceptive powers to determine if she thinks it is true. She might decide to ask me about it. Imagine if I told her to ignore anything she heard about me and that I considered it disloyal to even consider it. Wouldn't that imply that my actions and reputation can't stand up to whatever someone says about me? If someone has a legitimate complaint, wouldn't it actually build credibility to say "You know, I never thought about that. I need to make a change and I apologize for any issues i've caused you." Of course, this only works if I do not claim to be the perfect person or husband. Also, it only works if I do not try to force my wife to stay no matter what using force, fear, threats and the like.
To draw the parallel then, if the Governing Body took the stance that they were just trying to do their best to lead Jehovah's people and they realize they could be wrong from time to time and did not shun people who decided this isn't for them, and if they actually acknowledged error and humbly repented when they made mistakes, then it would lend tremendous credibility for them and it would make it so much easier to follow their lead. As it is, however, the control increases. You can now be disfellowshipped for what you read and nothing more ("abhorrent" pornography), even if it is not generally known that you view or look at this type of material. There are signs that the Governing Body might be leaning toward much tigher control. All of this concerns me gravely. I believe that having "holy spirit" to guide the organization simply means displaying its fruitage in the way that we deal with the flock, but that isn't the opinion of the Governing Body, apparently.
In any case, I've probably written way too much here and I'm interested in your comments on it.
