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Facing Up to Questions of ConscienceThe Watchtower—1972 | October 1
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So many things in life are a matter of degree. The difference between a gentle pat and a vicious blow is a matter of degree of force. The difference between simple respect—as, for example, respect to a ruler or a national emblem—and reverential worship is also a matter of degree. Where extremes are involved there is no real question. It is when the matter comes within what might be called a ‘gray area,’ approaching the borderline between what is clearly right and what is clearly wrong, that questions arise. The closer to such ‘borderline situation’ the matter comes, the greater the part the individual’s conscience must play in his decision. Faced with such circumstances, what should we do?
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Facing Up to Questions of ConscienceThe Watchtower—1972 | October 1
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13. (a) What does Romans 14:4, 10-12 show as to the right attitude to take toward the one who makes such personal decisions of conscience? (b) However, where do the consciences of those in positions of responsibility in the congregation also come into play with regard to such ones?
13 Where such ‘borderline’ cases arise, we should not place ourselves as judges of the individual who must make his own conscientious decision. Nor should we ourselves feel guilty of making a mistake by recognizing such individual as still an approved servant of God if his decision on a ‘borderline’ case is not precisely what ours would have been. God is his Judge. (Rom. 14:4, 10-12)
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