# *The Greater Issue

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Posted by Cygnus [Cygnus] on November 25, 1999 at 09:39:38 {yaNwUlwC5cKL7zxXW/42L4bdfUTIaI}:

In Reply to: The Greater Issue posted by AP on November 25, 1999 at 07:56:54:

I would say that such a massive shift in thinking would result in more and more people leaving the organization, or at least lessening their activity within.

What you're proposing is freedom of choice, not simply in what color shirt to wear to the Kingdom Hall (that issue was resolved a few years ago), but freedom to participate in social agencies and functions, freedom to voice opinions on and act upon local and state government policies, freedom for kids to engage in extracurricular school activities, freedom of choice regarding the medical use of blood, all kinds of freedoms. Heck, some JWs might decide to stop turning in field service reports, or might decide that before they shun someone who was disfellowshiped, they have a right to know why!

That isn't what being a Jehovah's Witness is about. To be a Jehovah's Witness, a person must be a sheep, a follower. The current leadership, from the GB all the way down to the elders, enjoy their positions of authority too much to cut anyone any such slack. They fear that it would corrode and perhaps dismantle the pseudoChristian worldwide unity that JWs convince themselves into believing they share. And I think they're right.

Before things become as you propose, Apok, things will get worse. The leadership will tighten their grip, and elders will become more and more rigid and inflexible regarding variances in the congregation. That has led and will lead to more people living double-lives. I for one decided I didn't want to live a double-life, so I got out.

In California, things are done differently, so I hear. Attitudes are much more liberal, and more lee-way is given to the friends. But it isn't that way everywhere. Certainly not here. So you've quite the uphill battle ahead of you.

Let me ask you, what are the reasonable logistics for accomplishing your directives, Apok? Do you feel that the liberal element in Brooklyn will gain enough influence to soon implement these changes in thinking? Do you feel like the Watchtower will have to do this over a long period of time, and that they will have to spell everything out for the whole congregation? What would you rather see regarding the blood change: Friend's longwinded article, or AF's simple statement: "The Bible says nothing about blood transfusions, and so neither shall we any longer"?

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- **The Greater Issue WitnetObserver 17:47:45 11/26/99 (0)

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