I don’t have much to contribute here but I wanted to address this false reasoning from WTS doctrine. It concerns placing restrictions on persons who have been reinstated: no verbal participation in meetings, offering prayer, pioneering, etc. The reinstated person can only attend meetings and participate in the field service until the elders decide to restore the other “privileges.” I don’t have the relevant publications with me and so can only reference from memory.
The argument put forward was that reinstated people were still “spiritually weak” and so were incapable of fully participating in the Witness community. They “obviously” needed time to regain their strength and it was the job of the elders to “lovingly” oversee their continued spiritual recovery and progress. I will also add that not a single scripture was referenced or quoted in justifying the imposing of restrictions on these people. Furthermore, the term of these restrictions is left entirely to the elders to determine, again without any kind of biblical support for granting them this power. Instead, the WTS justifies the policy with the use of phrases as “it is obvious” and “it seems logical to believe.”
The argument seems to go this way. You were disfellowshipped because of a deep spiritual flaw or weakness. But you were reinstated because you exhibited true repentance. Nevertheless, since you were disfellowshipped because of spiritual weakness, the discipline meted out wasn’t enough and further restrictions are necessary to recover your spiritual health. This seems to me to be an example of a post hoc, ergo propter hoc argument. The Latin phrase can be translated as “after this, therefore because of this.”
I also liked Terry’s refutation of the mentally diseased analogy used against WTS dissidents. Mental diseases are not contagious, and contact with those mentally ill will not result in contracting their disease. But the WTS is playing on the fear the word “disease” will arouse to coerce its followers to shun any and all who disagree with the cult and its leaders.
Quendi