Why do I get the feeling that the WTS is trying to "massage" the rank and file to accept another change in a major doctrine?
I feel the same way, Blondie. It seems they're taking longer to build up to it than usual, though.
"So she began taking of its fruit and eating it. Afterward she gave some also to her husband when with her and he began eating it." (Genesis 3:6) Eve's choice was based on selfish desire. Her action led Adam to join her.
Hmmm... According to the Bible, Adam alone is responsible for the "fall." Eve was "deceived." And most Bible translations other than the NWT makes it clear that Adam was there, with Eve, and said nothing during the "snake's" pitch. And, this contradicts their statement later that each person is responsible for their decisions, not someone else.
Jehovah speaks to us through his inspired Word, the Bible. We must study the Scriptures and acquire accurate knowledge of them.
They don't specifically mention themselves, here. I wonder if it's a CYA move, an effort to have something in print they can point to and say, "See, we only advocate listening to the Bible."
Essential to the decision-making process is our inherited faculty of conscience.
Since when have JWs been allowed to live by their consciences? That's exactly why I had to leave.
For example, would a Christian who is a self-employed contractor bid on a job that involves painting one of the churches of Christendom and thereby share in helping to promote false religion?
No, but it's OK to take their money. My old congregation, too, sold their old Hall to a church.
The early Christians were encouraged to show consideration for the consciences of others so as not to stumble them. Our decisions should not make us "causes for stumbling."-
Oh, really? So why did the congregation my mother's in take offense at the suggestion that they be a little less enthusiastic about their perfume/cologne, knowing my mother could have a life-threatening asthma attack from it, that there's a sister who's on oxygen who needs to avoid it, that there are others who experience a great deal of physical pain if they're exposed to it? The majority in the congregation knew all that and couldn't have cared less.
If we suffer in some way despite having made a right decision, we can be confident that Jehovah will help us to endure and will bless us in the end.
Unless, of course, that "right decisions" means leaving the Org, in which case you deserve as much suffering as they can heap on you.