by Magnum 40 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
If Freddy had never existed
Kruschev would not have been secretly reading his books
The Cuban Missile Crisis would have brought about WW3
As his dormant paciifist leanings would then have not caused him
to back down,
Forcing Jehovah's hand to finally wake up and bring on
Armageddon
So that we would now be hugging Pandas and using live koalas
As throw pillows
:)
This may be a little of topic. I remember years ago seeing a VCR recording of Franz when he was in a nursing home from someone who had visited bethel. His physical body was breaking down but his mind was sharp, as he sat there rattling off scripture. I was surprisingly taken back.I do believe just from that video clip that he was an intelligent man.
Many of us who were around during Franz’s heyday remember how JWdom was then. It was not shiny and shallow as it is now. Yeah, it was wrong then, too, but it was still different. It was deeper. It had a scholarly feel to it. It was bold and there was more dignity. Individual JWs and the org loved doctrine and deeper discussions back then; they weren’t scared of such as are individual JWs and the org of today. There was excitement in the air; the end of the world and our deliverance were imminent. JWdom attracted some really smart, stable people. I was there; I saw it. I remember the deep, exciting poolside discussions after district convention sessions. The look and feel of JWdom were just so different back then.
Right on, Magnum. I remember these things too.
BTW, FF became the WTS oracle from JFR's death on, long before the 1960s.
I do believe just from that video clip that he was an intelligent man.
Intelligent men can also be inherently corrupt. even those who are responsible for creating alluring doctrines for a religious publishing house.
Good thread idea Magnum. I too remember those long evenings after assemblies sitting by hotel swimming pools talking about deep things and new releases.
I remember struggling to keep up with all the publications that were in existence. Not only was Franz intelligent (a person can be wrong and intelligent) he was also very prolific!
He was at my brothers house once. Everyone was having their picture taken with him. He looked slightly bemused by the fuss actually.
Was a very small man physically and rather quiet, just observing mostly.
It has been interesting now that my mind is open to exploring "the rest of the story" all the glamorization that the Org has either promoted or encouraged about him.
Was it him that had an old Jewish scholar that had a permanent visitors pass at headquarters to visit Franz and they spent hours together concocting doctrine?
How funny if so, many of the things in print may actually have come from that Jewish scholar!
When backing up a truck, one wrong pivot at just the wrong moment can cause your trailer to go off in exactly the wrong direction. From there, it can get ugly and complicated and entertaining for others to watch, or possibly destructive.
"Let scripture interpret scripture" is such a pivot. The assumption that it is the divine and inerrant Word of God is provably another. Millerites have been backed into the weeds for years.
Sorry ,but my question would rather be "what if C.T.Russell never existed ,I tend to think none of us would be here speculating on Freddie franz .
Without Fred Franz the belief system of JWs as we know it today wouldn't exist.
But he's not the only one with a crucial role in JW development.
For example the bureaucratic and organisational structure of JWs were significantly crafted by Nathan Knorr.
In fact some have claimed Franz was in control of WT doctrine before Rutherford died, in as much as Franz is said to have ghostwritten some of Rutherford s later books.
A textual analysis of some sort should be technically feasible these days to clear up this claim one way or another.
