I’ll start this with a few generalized comments about Aid to Bible Understanding. Raymond Franz did not write it. He was coordinator of an editorial committee. A few of the articles are his, but not many. Articles were farmed out to various Witnesses; about two hundred fifty from “more than 90 countries” contributed.[1] That Franz did not write the entire book does not diminish he role as coordinator of the editorial committee. Some of you may have filled an editorial role and know how important that work is to a quality finished product.
The impression of some of those reading Crisis of Conscience is that Franz was responsible for everything. He says differently, crediting Edward Dunlap with a large share of the work, and noting that he was part of a larger group, that included Reinhard Lengtat and John Wischuk.[2] While critical of the ability of some of those chosen to write articles, he inadvertently tells us that much of the work was done before he came into the project.[3]
I asserted earlier that a few articles in Aid can reliably be assigned to R. Franz. The most obvious are “Chronology” (part), “Older Man” and “Overseer.” We can assign these to Franz because he indicates that he was the primary researcher.[4]
When I said that the Watchtower Society deleted Franz’ articles replacing them with something else when Insight on the Scriptures was published, it raised the hackles of a few of you. S. B. Fat denied this was true, saying that anyone could compare the two books and see that the articles were the same. It was a good suggestion. But of those engaging in this conversation, only Jefro did so. And though his comments were limited, he acknowledged some changes.
Some of the original article remains in Insight. The portions that remain are derived from, paraphrase and repeat, previously written material found scattered through Watch Tower publications from the blue paper chart (1923) to All Scripture Inspired and Beneficial and Watchtower articles more recently published. Much of the original manuscript material was derived from previous Watch Tower publications. An example is the article “Zipporah” (Aid, page 1693) where the explanation of the phrase “Bridegroom of Blood” as explained in paragraph four is derived from the 1948 Watchtower.
The article as it appears in Aid is 23 pages of fine print. The article as it appears in Insight is 19 pages of larger print. What remains is what, in my opinion, was in the original manuscript as Franz received it from Knorr. We can pass on from my supposition to more solid evidence.
Those insisting that the Insight articles Older Man and Overseer are as they appeared in the Aid to Bible Understanding should have followed their own advice and compared the two. Older Man as it appears in Insight has been totally rewritten, rephrasing some thoughts and omitting large portions. The same is true of the article titled Overseer.
Mr. Fat thinks I owed him obeisance as the corrector of my wrong statements. I do not. I view most of what he says on this board with considerable skepticism or disdain. He is more often wrong than right.
I may not be as knowledgeable in this field as was my mother, but I’m not stupid. And by now in my education – I’m a post-graduate student – I know how to research. Apparently Mr. Fat does not.
[1] The Approaching Peace of a Thousand Years: “Peace on Earth” International Assembly of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 1969, page 19.
[2] R. Franz: Crisis of Conscience, 1988, 21.
[3] R. Franz: Crisis of Conscience, page 20.
[4] R. Franz: Crisis of Conscience, page 22, notes that he was assigned to research and write the articles Older Man, and Overseer. Page 25 notes that he was one of those responsible for the article on Chronology.