This thread is absolute gold, thank you Unlearn. I want to quote and remark on some of the pure gems that you've stated, years ago at this point.
'Holy Spirit' didn't expose me or boot me out. I got more privileges of service.
I can't even begin to stress how this same principle has made me argue with myself over the years. My own ego aside, why can't I just do something if it honestly needs to be done? Why do I need a title? If, hypothetically, holy spirit existed, would it really wait until I got a position, or would it instead propel me forward, without asking questions, and act in a unilateral fashion to 'prevent the ark from falling'?
I remember silently crying when listening to an interview with Ed Dunlap about his leaving the WT
Anyone who is reading this, if you have not heard this interview, please break some time out for yourself to listen to it. It has been posted here many times, but it is a commentary quite unlike any of the others that I have heard. Dunlap's words have a genuine authority and wisdom that are unmatched.
But you who are still in, pay attention (if you can) to the talks the elders give. Some of them are free inside...and if you listen closely, you may even hear it. They'll let bits of themselves bleed into their parts. It may just be a little spark...but you'll hear it...every so often.
Every sunday, there's a small part of me that hopes I will get the chance to see this very thing. To hear someone speak from the heart, with the intent to tell a little bit about himself and a little bit about his own beliefs. When it does happen, it is the singular most refreshing of all moments of that day. Though, at the same time, there is a part of me, that when I hear such a spark, a sharp burst of justice jolts my thinking. And I intuitively imagine a process that gathers all of these people who are free on the inside, that simultaneously unites and disperses them, and that has as its sole purpose the internal, catalytic destruction of the JW organization.
