25. Me: Are you saying that these people are heretics?!

26. Galina: In general, Jehovah's Witnesses practically do not use the word "heresy". "Heresy" (Ancient Greek ??????? — "choice, direction, opinion") is a deliberate deviation from the dogmas of faith, offering a different approach to religious teaching; separation of a new community from the church. In fact, this word is synonymous with the word "sect". For example, in Acts 24:5, one translation refers to Paul as "the head of the Nazarene heresy," and in the NWT it is referred to as "the head of the sect of the Nazarenes."

27. Me: There are other meanings of this word. From Galatians 5:19-21 we see that heresy is called "the work of the flesh" among other sins such as fornication and murder. Among the Watchtower texts, I have found those that speak of heresy in this sense.

"Epaphras prayed that the Christians of Colossae would stand 'firmly convinced of all the will of God.' They were surrounded by heresy and pernicious philosophies, some of which seemed to be religious truths." (The Watchtower. 2000. December 15, "Pray for Firm Assurance," p. 21.)

"The question arises: how did it happen that the church, which in the first centuries of its existence fell into heresy, began to possess such power and influence? How did the simplicity and humility of Christ and his early followers be replaced by pride and luxury?" (Mankind in Search of God. 2006, ch. 11. Apostasy: the path to a dead end. P. 271.)

You see? In these Watchtower texts, "heresy" is portrayed as absolute evil. Your first definition shows the relative nature of this evil. For example, I lost my wallet with money. It's bad for me. And for the one who found this wallet, this is a great joy! I think that if we discuss this "relative" meaning of the word, we will end up getting confused. Let us decide that "heresy" in the context of our discourse is "the work of the flesh," which means that the heretic "shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (Galatians 5:20). Do you agree with me?

28. Galina: Yes, I agree!

29. Me: And how do you distinguish heresy from error? I have acquaintances, former Jehovah's Witnesses, who claim that the most important difference between heresy and error is who expresses this heresy or mistake... If a Jehovah's Witness speaks incorrectly, then it is a mistake, and if a person who does not belong to the OSB speaks incorrectly, then this is heresy. Isn't that right?