I have seen gossip and innuendo split a church and wound a good man. This was my church, and I loved it dearly. The whispered conversations late in the night were distressing and disturbing. Could these people and this place that I thought I knew so well, have an evil side? As I tossed and turned on my bed, a confusing array of fears and doubts wrestled for my mind and heart. Two thoughts won out:
- No sin or error was levelled at our leader or his wife. All the rumours suggested is something had
to be wrong, since so many people were upset. The wronged parties mentioned nothing specific.
Vague rumours smell of the devil. When Jesus accused the Pharisees, he was very specific. I resolved that I would not leave the church over unspecified, unverified rumours. If I left, it would be because I knew that I had been wronged.
I have also met people either too afraid to confront their offender, or unsatisfied with the result, insist on spreading their complaint to everybody they meet. Professional whiners, they attract sympathy for a time. But there are always two sides to a story. As the whiner spreads their story, the other person is left with no defence. I have seen the damage that gossip and murmuring can do. I understand why the bible warns against it.
So I have to consider the January 5, 2003 study article, Keep on Serving Shoulder to Shoulder (Nov 15 WT) with some seriousness. The headings should give you some idea on the content; Keep Free from Murmuring , Guard Against Slander , and Stop Judging ! By critiquing WT articles, am I being judgemental against the WTS? Am I a Vessel without Honour (2 Timothy 2:21 1 Timothy 6:5)? Am I critiquing the WTS just to cause trouble?
And what of the good brother or sister who is having doubts? If they share these doubts, are they Vessels without Honour? Are they bringing strife and division to the organization? It seems to me the debaters mentioned in 1 and 2 Timothy were not wicked because they had honest questions. These men were liars and troublemakers who used debate and strife to further divide the congregation, for their own selfish gain.
One example given in the article is criticism of an elder.
11 ..someone my criticize the way a certain elder handles his parts in the congregation or cares for his duties. If we listen to the complainer, we may begin to think as he does...This kind of conduct is not fitting. If we follow the biblical instruction for handling such differences, the offended one should go and talk to the elder privately. If he is unrepentant, the aggrieved person can take it forward. Every man should be held accountable for his actions. Even Moses took direction from his father-in-law. As long as WTS leadership claims they are imperfect humans, every one along the chain of command must be accountable to someone."Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." -Lord Acton
I guess it all boils down to whether the WTS is standing on the firm foundation of truth. If that is so, no storm can destroy it. If it is not, its foundation will crumble under scrutiny. By the way, even though the WTS says that everybody else is wrong does not make them right. Even if they have PROOF that others have done wrong, it does not make the WTS right. To properly scrutinize the WTS, we have to know what they stand for, not what they stand against. If the WTS has lied about being the direct spokesman for Jehovah, I have no qualms about exposing them. In my personal example, if there had been truth to the accusations, my pastor would have resigned, or lost the congregation, or both. And he certainly would have lost me.
Tabby and Jay, a parable on trust
Aye, theres the rub. The men at the end of the line are the Faithful and Discreet Slave who are accountable only to Jehovah, who makes no mistake. His invisible direction has proven infallible for 1% of the worlds population for just over a hundred years of world history. At least, that is how the men running the WTS tells the story. If I, as an imperfect human being, find holes in the WT foundation, dont I have an obligation to speak out?
Edited by - jgnat on 31 December 2002 13:59:54
Edited by - jgnat on 31 December 2002 14:1:58