Yeah, there have been so many talks about R-rated movies, certain forms of music and whatnot that it's just weird that anyone would reason that it's a conscience thing.
EXAMPLE: This is not to judge or condemn anyone but a couple of years ago we had a talk from a CO about entertainment. He mentioned rap and alternative music and mentioned specific groups... he talked about not only R-rated movies being inapproprate but also we need to be discerning about movies that carry other ratings that deal with supernatural themes... a suggestion from the organization (the slave class) is really not a suggestion.. it's more of a "do not do this" sort of thing...
I guess I'm naive in thinking that everyone views counsel the same way... some think it's okay if it doesn't bother your conscience, but then there may be something wrong with that person's conscience...
Excellant Point!
good points. here's a counterpoint, for the sake of debate.
mentioning specifics usually denotes an opinion. it is important to make up your own mind about what things bother your conscience. if you notice the same material bothing someone else's conscience (or are given counsel on specifics), then maybe you need to do some studying, and take another look at the material that doesn't bother you. through study and meditation, you will be able to form your own opinion about it, and may decide that your conscience is not weak (or the opposite in many cases, of course).
people come from all sorts of backgrounds, and many are sensitive to certain things in a higher degree than others.
in the end, what you do in your own time is between you and Jehovah. what you do (or speak of) publicly, is not. it becomes a public matter, and you're exposed to stumbling someone; which, even though the actual things you've done privately may not have been sinful in Jehovah's eyes, is wrong.
haha, of course, this is just my opinion. ;)
All things are lawful...but not all things are advantageous.
very true.
Excellent points, Ian... since you had the same CO at the time, I assume you recall the part...
I was thinking something very similar when I typed that out, as far as personal opinion on the part of the CO. But then a few years later, a different CO referred back to that part (it was our last CO, actually, who did the referring back, but didn't do the original part) and made mention that when we hear of specific performers that we shouldn't be listening to or watching certain movies, what is our attitude?
You are so correct... in the end it's between us and Jehovah... this may sound ironic from me, but I'm not the one who created a journal about this... time to remember that there is a case of universal sovreignty out there being determined... this is kind of piddly in comparrison...