Raymond Franz What Religion?

by just4u 22 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  OnTheWayOut

  I am not a Ray Franz defender, but he is no different from many other ex-JW's.

  He was kicked out after he tried to be a quiet "good little JW." He believed a
  bunch of their doctrines and couldn't make changes so drifted from high activity.
  He only comes out against their Star Chamber Counsel after one dealt with him.

  SO WHAT? If that's what it took to free his mind, that's okay. He did good in
  writing that book afterward, willing to share his thoughts. Could he have done more?
  Sure. But he could have done less.

  I don't blame anyone here for doing less. Some just want to forget the control and
  walk away. Let someone else help the 0.1% of the population that stays imprisoned.
  Did Ray write a book to make money to support himself? Yes. I would love to do
  that myself.

  If Ray is still held to some JW beliefs, that could be said of many of us. His second
  book was about a SEARCH for Christian freedom. He's still on it.
• 

  moshe

  An elder who was searching for some answers kept perstering me, when he found out I quit almost 20 years ago. What is the answer? What did you find out? What religion are you? Tell me what you discovered.- etc. He wanted me in 30 minutes to reveal to him 20 years worth of work. He was not happy when I told him that JW's did not have the truth and neither did anyone else have an exclusive corner on religious truth. He was unhappy as a JW, but wanted an easy way out. IF the GB did away with mandatory door to door preaching, blood rules and shunning it would make JW's happy. They could concentrate on love bombing new converts. JW's are more into being in a group that provides instant friends with no personal work on relationships.

  A few years after I left and after several personal visits with RF, I knew that he was not looking over the Christian fence for answers. Meeting in a small group for Bible study, yoga classes, transcendental meditation, praying the Rosary, davining, speaking in tongues- whatever statisfies the need humans have for religion is OK in my book-as long as no adults, children or animals are harmed in the process.
• 

  onacruse

  Satanus:

  Ray is in a state of arrested development. It's ok, though.

  A very succinct evaluation.

  My folks are both about the same age as Ray and Cynthia, and have been JWs (NYbreed) for only a fews years less than them, and I have come to the conclusion that my folks have gone as far as they could reasonably be expected to go...less far than some, further than others.

  There comes a time, perhaps, when someone should just be let to spend the last few years of their existence in whatever peaceful place they find, without further dispute about the legitimacy of their belief system?