Watchtower January 15, 2006, Reinstatement

by blindersoff 23 Replies latest jw friends

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  TallTexan

  I think some of them must love lording over their postions and keeping a power and fear over their congregation

  I think this has a lot to do with it. It's left up to the elders to determine the level of repentance using 'Jehovah's spirit'. Since they don't have his spirit anyway, it all boils down to when THEY want to let someone back in. If they're known as 'tough' elders I guess they think they'll have less wrongdoing in their cong's.
  

  I know someone who is still df'd (for almost 2 years now) and they have been studying and making all the meetings. Several months ago she went for her first 'resinstatement meeting' and was told that the elders in her previous cong that df'd her didn't think she was ready. Huh?
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  Stephanus

  The elders are the gate keepers. They think it's their job to kick people out and KEEP em out. I'm not very sure everyone in the Society at the top levels agree with this practice. They must be missing those 85k they disfellowship every year and the sympathizers.

  When I first got a job in Centrelink (Australia's government welfare agency) our orientation lecturer once told us that many people working there thought it was their job to make it as hard to get a benefit or pension as possible, whereas Centrelink's mission was to actually PAY benefits and pensions to anyone entitled to them. Therefore we should be making it easier, not harder, for the applicants during the application process.

  It seems the elders are enjoying the little power that they have in keeping those out that they should really be trying to keep in.
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  Stephanus

  Maybe they will establish a buy your way out of shunning with cash donations.

  Yep, we all know how well the selling of indulgences went for the Catholic church.
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  TallTexan

  It seems the elders are enjoying the little power that they have in keeping those out that they should really be trying to keep in.

  You know, that's a great point. I saw a post on an 'anti-apostate' thread on another forum that stated:

  "If they were this zealous when they were in the truth, maybe they wouldn't be where the are now". Of course, that has it's own idiocies, but the concept is the same. If the elders tried as hard to 'shepherd' as they do to 'judge', maybe there would be far more people remaining in the 'truth'.