We stress unity when we should be stressing love. Love produces unity. In fact, there can be no disunity where there is love. However, unity can exist where there is no love.
Christian unity of thought depends on a particular kind of love: Love of truth. We don't simply believe the truth. We love it! It is everything to us. What other religion's members identity themselves as "being in the truth"?
Unfortunately, we view unity as so important that even if we are teaching something that is wrong, we must accept it so that we can be united. If someone points out the error of a teaching, instead of being treated with respect, such ones are viewed as giving succor to the apostates; of promoting disunity.
Are we being overly dramatic?
Consider this: Why is it that Russell and his contemporaries were praised for their pursuit of truth through diligent personal and group Bible study, but today private group study, or an examination of the scriptures outside of the framework of our publications is made out to be a virtual apostasy? As testing Jehovah in our hearts?
It is only when we try too hard to become the caretakers of an absolute "truth"; it is only when we claim that God has revealed every last nook and cranny of His Word to us; it is only when we claim that a small group of men are God's exclusive channel of truth to mankind; only then is true unity placed in jeopardy. The choices become a forced acceptance of scriptural misinterpretation for the sake of unity, or a desire for truth that requires rejection of the misapplication thus leading to a measure of disunity.
If we were to accept the broader framework of truth and define what is truly important, but at the same time exercise a level of humility over those issues that cannot be fully known at this time, then love of God and of neighbor ought to become the limiters that we need to prevent fragmentation in the congregation. Instead we try to prevent such fragmentation by a strict enforcement of doctrinal acceptance. And of course, if you simply have a rule that only those that believe unconditionally in your claim to absolute truth can remain in your organization, then you will achieve your aim to have unity of thought. But at what cost?
This post is a collaboration between
Meleti Vivlon and ApollosOfAlexandria
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Comment by Wild Olive on 2015-09-24 19:56:27
Thank you fine brothers for this article, you have captured the conundrum that all those who are really "in the truth" have to cope with.Whenever I have pointed out some glaring fault in a society publication Ime always made to be the bad guy, when in reality the interpretation is what's bad, the most recent was the statement that Paul made in 2 Cor 12:4 where Paul was forbidden to speak about what he saw, yet the watchtower article said it was now lawful to speak about Paul's vision! Blatantly going over the bible to push the agenda, but to point that out is to push over the unity apple art.
So it seems that the unity we have is really bogus, just as you pointed out Nazi Germany was united ,and we all know the methods they used to maintain that unity,judging by the comments of some of those who have been dfd, the anguish they face is not that different to the anguish that the victims of the third reich faced.The Nazis broke up family's and sent them to different camps, disfellowshipping separates family's as well and may as well be dead to their relatives .
You also mentioned the cost. What I see happening is a gradual weakening of true spirituality, I even had a conversation with a longtime brother who said to me " anything written before 1992 just is redundant "so for him most of his 55 years in the truth he wasn't learning truth at all ! It's no use to him,how many more are there that sit patiently waiting for the miraculous message that the GB is going to deliver when Chist arrives, they are so dependant on the org they won't be able to tell what's true and what's not,especially if "unity " is threatened, what if the GB can't tell and they mislead the brotherhood because it doesn't pan out how they expect it to?
Unity will be the death of them .
Ps how is the pickets truth book going?
tarrives,Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2015-09-25 08:58:39
Hi Wild Olive,
The Pickets Truth Book—for want of a better title—isn’t going. The question is one of time. I’m hoping that adjustments I and others are making to our lives will help to free up more time.