For a non-Witness, in particular, "our great freeness of speech" has to be one of the most misleading phrases in the Witness lexicon.
It's often asserted from the platform that Jehovah's Witnesses enjoy great freedom among themselves, and scriptures like 1 Timothy 3:13 are cited to corroborate this: "For the men who minister in a fine manner are acquiring for themselves a fine standing and GREAT FREENESS OF SPEECH in the faith in connection with Christ Jesus."
Influenced by such other phrases like "conscience matter" and "personal decision," a non-Witness may be led to believe: "Wow, they get to make up their own minds about a lot of things! That sure is different from all these other authoritarian religions."
What the non-Witness doesn't understand is that "freeness" and "freedom" don't actually mean getting to do or say what you personally choose.
Instead, it's interpreted in the context of John 8:32, 34, where Jesus said, "You will know the truth and the truth will set you free," and "Every doer of sin is a slave of sin."
In other words, you're considered "free" in the sense that you are no longer marked for eternal death because you can obtain God's forgiveness for the sins you commit daily.
Or, you have "freeness of speech" because by living strictly according to Bible standards, nobody you meet in field service can say: "Hey, that guy doesn't practice what he preaches."
So it's a narrow theological interpretation that basically equates to "Follow our rules so that God won't kill you and so that you can go out in service without feeling like a hypocrite in the interim."
That's your "freeness of speech" right there.
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