First, some background: When I first began to have doubts about whether the JW religion was "the Truth," I performed quite a bit of research on the Faithful and Discreet Slave doctrine...in the Society's literature, of course. Like many of us, I had never really examined the doctrine. Well, needless to say (but I'll say it anyway), I found major flaws in the Society's interpretation of the parable of the faithful and discreet slave.
While there are lots of flaws in the doctrine, let me identify one apparent contradiction in the Society's interpretation of this parable. First, three background "facts":
Caveat: Personally, I don't believe the FDS is a class. Rather, this is just a parable exhorting Christians to do good to others and stating that if we do good to others, then Jesus will reward us. This parable provides no basis for providing a group of men with the ability to make rules and go beyond what is written (Matt. 15:9, 1 Cor. 4:6). Nonetheless, as someone who is still a JW and has family and friends in the religion, I find some benefit in examining JW doctrine such as this.
While there are lots of flaws in the doctrine, let me identify one apparent contradiction in the Society's interpretation of this parable. First, three background "facts":
1) Jesus appointed the anointed remnant to be the FDS in 33 C.E. (See God's Kingdom of 1,000 Years, p. 342, para. 23)
2) The FDS continued throughout the centuries after 33 C.E., "[a]pparently one generation of the 'slave' class fed
the next succeeding generation thereof." (God's Kingdom of 1,000 Years, p. 344, para. 29)
3) Then, during the 1918/1919 time frame, Jesus inspected all those claiming to be Christian and picked the Bible Students.
(See WT 3/15/1990, p. 14, para. 21)
So, if succeeding generations of the FDS fed each other from 33 C.E. down through the centuries, why did Jesus need to inspect all the other religions? Wouldn't he just inspect the slave that he appointed back in 33 C.E., rather than all these counterfeit, wanna-be faithful and discreet slaves? That seems more in line with the account in Matthew.
Caveat: Personally, I don't believe the FDS is a class. Rather, this is just a parable exhorting Christians to do good to others and stating that if we do good to others, then Jesus will reward us. This parable provides no basis for providing a group of men with the ability to make rules and go beyond what is written (Matt. 15:9, 1 Cor. 4:6). Nonetheless, as someone who is still a JW and has family and friends in the religion, I find some benefit in examining JW doctrine such as this.