Well, I honestly don't think holy spirit would be fooled, but man certainly can be. And it looks mighty bad for Holy Spirit when a man claiming to have it makes a crappy decision.
Just for the record, I am still In, thus the name. I have noticed questions really upset the "friends". I come here to maintain some sanity.
Now, the question from the other night was: How is it that holy spirit manages to appoint some rather unqualified men, esp. with reference to the elders who are later caught for adultery, child molestation, domestic violence, etc?
I said, How are elders appointed? The process is the other elders in the congregation choose a guy they like who to their eye meets the 'qualifications'. This recomendation is sent to the branch with rec. letters, and the branch approves it and sends it on the New York HQ with their rec. Now, the people in NY probably don't know the guy who was recommended. They go on the letters of approval and some prayer. This apparently is where the Holy Spirit gets involved and tells them yes or no. Except by all logic if all these letters come to you with high praises of a fellow, it's unlikely he'll be rejected.
Thus, I reasoned, if the guys in his congregation like him, it's likely he'll make it, regardless of what perversions he's hiding.
From the outside, the answer seems clear - there is no holy spirit involved, just men.
From the inside, I can't figure out how a congregation that has dealt with an elder of this sort being revealed - how do they reason to themselves, and how do they justify it that he was appointed in the first place?
I asked the question, and the ironic response I got was that I was questioning God's Organization, and was I trying to become an APOSTATE??!! "Friends" were called in, and I've been lying my ass off for a good week now.