Ray Franz - is he REALLY a hero?

by baltar447 50 Replies latest jw friends

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  Pistoff

  From what I have read of what happened, and reading bits of his books after he left and what he is said to have written while still in, he was a true leader in that he was trying to move the religion away from what he knew was the wrong view on so many things.

  A true leader was not the model that was respected then or now; this is a group of yes men who get to the top by keeping the status quo, something Ray threatened.

  He is said to have been responsible for calling the KM 'Our Kingdom Service', with the explanation that were were NOT all ministers in the sense that the scriptures talked about, and that whatever we did could be considered a way of living to God.

  He (along with Dunlap and Lengtat?) researched and wrote the Insight book; the research he did is said to have been the cause of some of his shifts in belief.

  He also wrote one of the most enjoyable books to come out of Bethel, A Commentary on James; this book is not full of the usual bombast and hating that other WT books are full of.

  Did he not have the political skills to win out over the dinosaurs? I think that is probably the case; too bad.
• 

  confusedandalone

  I am sure I will be ignored but define hero.
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  Finkelstein

  I don't know what he could have done differently, and YES, his inside info has helped many to leave, but BECAUSE of him the cost is very high.

  I don't think his individual expulsion fron the Borg changed much toward how the power structure has conducted and

  formulated itself. Things happened at HQ well before the Franz incident, he just openly spoke about it through

  his books.

  His expulsion/Dfing was a real indication of just how corrupt and cruel the organization's heads were or had become.

  Was Franz an evil man, was he conducting himself in such a manner by biblical standards he was due to be DFed ?

  Not according to the bible's own standards.

  .

  Ironically the WTS. hierarchical leaders became corrupt in the same way C T Russell pointed out and demeaned toward

  Christendom leaders decades previously.

  The WTS heads just wanted to show their power and muscle and they used Fred to do just that.
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  KateWild

  Well Ray cetainly helped me. I wanted to know what went on in GB meetings and knowing the facts is satisfying. He helped me wake up. Kate xx
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  AlphaMan

  Ray Franz is probably a hero to many X-JW's that he has helped. He never really played a part in my leaving, or how I feel about the cult today. My hero's are the JWN posters who posted the many "truths about the truth" that helped me wake up to the fact that the Jehovah Witness religion can easily be exposed as a religious corporation cult.
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  cantleave

  I think hero is the wrong word. He was like many us awakened to the lies the only differnce was he was a member of the GB. Writing CofC was the best thing he could have done as it helped facilitate the exit of many who may otherwise still be unsure whether leaving was the best thing to do.
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  BluesBrother

  Call him a hero if he is a personal hero to you. My comments are :

  1) Rather than stifle his conscience and end enjoy a comfortable life and the adulation at Bethel, he was prepared to lose it all and live (initially at least) in a caravan aka trailer in Alabama.....because he cared about TRUTH.

  2) He wrote the most informative and detailed book that exposed the human limitations of the G B , the human failings of the cong judicial system, rather than "spirit at work"

  3) He has helped many thousands come to a knowlege of TTAT and helped me through his written words.

  If the WTS hardened their attitude after he left the G B , that is hardly his fault . A man of conscience would have to leave.

  Yes, to me, that spells hero in my book
• 

  Giordano

  I left on principle, the blood issue (this was back in the 1960's), the stupidity of Armageddon, the attitude about education, the quality of the meetings......all absolutely dreadful. I thought my way out at 23. It took about 2 to 3 years to totally reject it. Today with the internet It shouldn't take more then two weeks to understand TTATT. The leaving part depending, on family issues, may still take a couple of years. And it is perfectly proper, in my opinion, to practice reverse theocratic warfare.

  Was Ray a hero? Not intentionally. The hero's for me are the ones who leave on principle and try to get their families out ASAP. They take the hit and make a new life for themselves.

  Getting slapped upside the head with a JC definitely can pull the blinders off. In Ray's case he was highly placed and a true believer. It appears he tried to work from within for a while. As long as he did Ray was still part of the problem.

  The society then and now was Rutherford's and then Knorr's corporation it was and is soul less without a beating heart.
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  Giordano

  I appreciate what BB just wrote. One has to give Ray's end game respect. He did leave a legacy and a gift for thousands of people.
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  Comatose

  Yes. He is a great man. Genuine and really cared about helping others Find happiness and peace. Much respect. Wish I could have met him.