What is the most dangerous aspect of Jehovah's witnesses?
Well last night I watched on the news how another terrorist killed six people at a party in Isreal.Avenging the deaths of his fellow Palestinians by killing innocent Jews.
He was being loyal to his dead friends and the political / terrorist organisation he belonged to.
Last year we watched when how an organisation encouraged people to drive planes into buildings at the expense even of their own lives.
How much of that act was hatred and how much loyalty to a cause?
I believe one of the most stupidly dangerous things you can do in life is allow someone else to dictate what you think. Even worse is to follow a human or organisation without question out of loyalty.
Once a number of years ago while on the ministry a friend asked me “ would you do anything God asked?”
I though for a while and said no, I would only do something if it was reasonable.
He looked at me for a few seconds and said “shouldn’t we just trust Jehovah?”
That has never, as far as I can remember been my attitude.
I believed that there was evidence for all Jehovah's witness were asked to do.
When I learnt differently it wasn’t a question of loyalty but one of truth that mattered.
Yet I must believe that I was the exception rather than the rule amongst Jehovah's witnesses. As were many now on this board. We never bought into the loyalty business. We thought it was the truth on evidence not out of loyalty to God or an organisation claiming to represent him.
Certainly this type of unquestioning loyalty is not unique to Jehovah's witness.
Through out history people have been loyal to kings , queens , religious figures , political parties and families. Often this loyalty has been without question.
Much of the worst bloodshed and suffering has been caused by people showing loyalty to others.
The problem comes when your loyalty comes before your thinking or reasoning ability and rules out personal choices and conscience . A member of your family may have committed a crime he tells you he is innocent and out of loyalty and love you ignore evidence that points to his guilt. You live in a country which has a policy that causes suffering to certain innocent people but fight for your land in war.
You go along with friends when they joke and make fun of some one they don't like .
Although loyalty isn't the only issue involved here it is a major factor.
So how far should loyalty go?
Well it easier to say were it shouldn’t go.
Loyalty should not override your conscience or your free thinking ability.
Loyalty is reserved for sticking to friends and family when they are in the right but it would be easier for you to abandon them or lose out in some way.
No one should expect friends and others to be loyal to them no matter what they do .
If I do wrong my wife should not defend me out of loyalty but rather point out my error.
If I expect absolute unquestioned loyalty then I am a selfish person who thinks to much of himself.
To tell people that they are unloving or evil if they are not loyal under any circumstance as the governing body has done through its publications and journals is wrong .It is the same mentally diseased reasoning that has caused much suffering in this world.