Ok time for another update.
The storm seems to be over (for now at least). To summarize what happened:
1. Someone close to me ratted to a couple of friends, elders, that I had penned a letter where I presented doctrinal points that were wayy different than those promoted by the FDS.
2. As a result I was summoned by two elders, and a 4-hour debate followed, where they tried to:
- Doctrinally bend me into line up with the official teaching of the WTS; when they failed, they
- Switched over to the question of loyalty towards "God's Organization"
When it came to that point, I knew I was stepping on very thin ice, for that was the crux of the whole matter, if I still considered the Jehovah's Witnesses as the only true religion and the FDS as Jehovah's channel. They even questioned (in a very daaarrrk way) if I was familiar with Raymond Franz's writings. I said I was, at least with the first book. I said also that my doctrinal position had nothing to do with Ray Franz's one, and if they knew RF's work they wouldn't even be making that question, so they were speaking about things they had no idea. In any case, I made an effort to say that I can concede that the WTS might be right and I might be wrong, but I needed much stronger evidence from the Bible and the WTS to change my doctrinal views. In that regards, i also said, if the leadership (GB) is right and I am wrong, then I'm sure time will tell, and I will keep praying to God for His Holy Spirit to let me know the answers.
Then the COBE raised the point if I felt I was still qualified to serve as a MS. I replied to it by saying that if he felt he had to ask the question, then clearly I didn't feel I had the trust from the BOE to keep my position, so I resigned to it there and then, and would put it in writing the next day. With some stern admonishing about the dangers of reading apostate material, the meeting ended well into the night.
Some 10 days passed on by, and the BOE had two (!) meetings to discuss my case. In the meantime those two elders went after my wife, and then my child, to fish out more information about me, if I was conducting the Family Worship, If I talked about my doctrinal views at home, etc.
Then some more days passed by and I started pressing the COBE to have a decision on the matter of what would they do with me. I asked him directly: Are you going to form a JC? Because if you do I need to prepare myself and prepare my family. The next day I got word from him that it was decided that it wasn't a case for a JC, and the BOE would decide what "privileges" would be taken away from me. Finally I got called, and I was informed that I would still have the "privileges" that any qualified publisher would have except having any parts on the platform with the exception of reading the Bible. (n.1). I would still get to comment on the meetings and go out in the field service (oh joy! :/ ) I was informed that a part in the Service Meeting would be held in the "local needs" section to address the dangers of apostates within the congregation.
The next meeting, my resignation was announced. A couple of weeks later, the pittiful part on "beware of apostate talk" was given in the form of a conversation between two elders.
And that's it. All things considered, despite a couple of weeks of anguish until I knew that I wouldn't be subjected to a JC, I can say that I had it light.
Eden