"Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.......their teachings are but rules made by man- Matthew 15-;6,9- New International Version.
In the book Crisis of Conscience, Ray Franz explained his viewpoints on matters to the rest of the Governing Body members. He did not believe it was up to them (the Governing Body) to decide what the brothers and sisters did. Rather, he beleived that God is the One who "lets" them do certain things, either because his word approves it or because it is silent on the matter, and that God alone prohibits, when his world clearly condemns the action, either explicity or by clear principle. He did not believe that imperfect, error-prone men we authorized by God to decide what should be allowed or disallowed for others. Ray Franz even went as far as asking the body on numerous occasions" When the matter is not clear in Scripture, why should we try and play God ? We do so poorly at it. Why not let Him be the Judge of people ?"
I thought this was an excellent point, and he couldn't have read my mind better on the issue.
His point of view is how I see things. God has the right to Judge an individual, not mere human.
The organization kept using the disfellowshipping teaching, and still do even today, because it's tradition. If they knew that teaching wasn't right (and some no doubt know it's not right like Ray Franz did) and they decided to change it. It wouldn't look good on the the Witnesses considering the many of people who have been Disfellowshipped in the past and have ruined their personal lives. People would definetely question the Society's Authority.
Disfellowshipping is more of a phycological abuse. It's forceful, and it's tactic is surely not right in the eyes of God. People come back into the Organization usually not because they want to believe in what the organization professes and make things right with God again, rather, they go back to be with their family and friends again. And if it's not because of that, it's because their brainwashed to believe that the Society is in fact God's Mouthpeice.
It amazes me how many people get Disfellowshipped, and think they deserved it, and think the Society is right on their decision. I have a friend who is now DFéd and plans to "clean up" and go back into it. I tryed to explain to him what they did to him was not right. He refuses to listen to what I have to say, and calls me an apostate.
It goes to show how the Society really has a grip on it's members and even DFéd ones. To the point where they can't even think for themselves. I can't wait for the day when they change the disfellowshipping teaching, although, it would probably never happen. It's authoritarian ways keep it's members in line and in fear of leaving, questioning, doubting, the Society in any way, shape or form.
Keith