Does anyone know why restrictions are still imposed on someone who has been reinstated?
A sister in my hall was recently reinstated - supposedly she's good enough for the congregation, good enough to preach, but not good enough to comment.
What is the scriptual basis for this practice?
Why do the Society not take Jesus' illustration of the prodigal son fully?
The Parable of the Prodigal Son
http://www.comparativereligion.com/prodigal.html
Here is the text in the Gospel According to Luke:
There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, "Father, give me my share of the estate." So he divided his property between them. Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.
After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. When he came to his senses, he said, "How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men." So he got up and went to his father.
Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. "Your brother has come," he replied, "and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound." The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, "Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!" "My son," the father said, "you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." (Luke 15:11-32)In the parable of the prodigal son, the application here is that if someone sins, and repents, they can receive God's mercy and forgiveness of sins. The father mentioned in the parable said that "we had to celebrate" when explaining the position to his other son.
There is no celebration for anyone reinstated, you cannot even clap for them.
But the question is, where and how did Jehovah's Witnesses aquire the practice of putting someone on restrictions, despite the sinners repentance?
Some of these restrictions, such as not commenting can last for 6 months to a year.
Also, if you have been disfellowshipped in the last year, you cannot qualify to pioneer the following year.