Did Raymond Franz Ever Become Born Again
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"The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie — deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Belief in myths allows the comfort of stance without the discomfort of thought." – John F. Kennedy
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The Legacy of Raymond Victor Franz
May 8, 1922 – June 2, 2010
Grace, integrity and willingness to help others – all qualities used to describe Raymond Victor Franz. He was an unassuming man. 
Anyone who knew him would tell you that. His frankness, honesty and integrity have proven to be a vital link in helping tens of thousands of people come to know the real truth almost the Watch Tower arrangement and Jehovah'due south Witnesses.
Built-in on May 8, 1922, Raymond Franz spent his early years in association with Jehovah'due south Witnesses, becoming a baptized member in 1939. He entered the full-time service in 1940, upon graduating from loftier school and becoming a special pioneer in 1942. He served at the organization's earth headquarters for fifteen years, from 1965 until 1980. He was a member of the Governing Body from October 20, 1971 to May 22, 1980. His father was baptized in 1913. His uncle, Frederick Franz, was a member of the Watch Tower headquarters staff and was a close associate of the Watchtower'south second president, Judge Rutherford. Fred Franz was influential in the faith'south evolution, practices and doctrines and later became the quaternary president of the Watchtower Club. Fred Franz had promoted 1975 equally the end of a system of things, and that he had been instrumental in driving his nephew out of the Watch Tower.
From 1944 to 1965, Raymond served on many assignments in the U.s. and South America. He attended Gilead, graduating from the third class in 1945 served as a special pioneer and traveled in the circuit work. While in San Diego, California, Franz spent five nights at 'Beth Sarim' (meaning 'Firm of Princes'). This was a big home built past the Society and said to be 'held in trust' for the faithful men of onetime, from Abel onward, to be used by them upon their resurrection. Judge Rutherford, who had had some lung problems, spent the winters there during his life.
Franz was somewhen assigned to Puerto Rico every bit a branch overseer. Before leaving, the third president of the Gild, Nathan Knorr, warned that if Franz and the other young men serving every bit branch overseers wished to remain in their missionary assignments they were to avert annihilation that might pb to courting and union. The policy was: Loss of singleness meant loss of consignment.
In 1957, the Society asked Franz to check on the native Witnesses in the Dominican Republic, since all the American missionaries of the Witnesses had been expelled. A moving ridge of violent persecution resulted in many local Witnesses being brutally browbeaten and imprisoned.
Finally in 1959, when Franz was 37 years of age, the Lookout man Tower lightened its' stance on marriage, and Raymond married Cynthia Marie Badame, a graduate from the 28th class of Gilead. Together they continued their missionary work from 1959 to 1965, in Puerto Rico, the British Virgin Islands, and the Dominican Republic.
"Nosotros continued in traveling work until 1961 then were transferred to the neighboring Dominican Republic… During our nearly v years there, we saw the fall of iv split up governments and in April of 1965 experienced a state of war that centered around the capital where we were located" – Crisis of Conscience, Folio nineteen, paragraphs iii & four.
Eventually, Franz was assigned to the writing department at the Watch Tower headquarters in Brooklyn, New York. Ray was given the task of collaboratively writing the 'Aid to Bible Understanding' – the beginning religious encyclopedia published by Jehovah's Witnesses.
Franz wrote:
"A few months after our arrival and afterwards I had done some work in writing, President Knorr showed me into an office containing a table piled loftier with stacks of typed papers and asked me to undertake the development of a Bible dictionary… Others shared intermittently for varying periods but the *five persons mentioned carried the project through until the ane,696-page reference piece of work, chosen Aid to Bible Agreement, was completed 5 years later." – Crisis of Conscience, Page 21, paragraph one.
*The 'five persons' were Lyman Swingle, Edward Dunlap, Reinhard Lengtat, John Wischuk, and of course the author (Raymond Franz).
In 1971, Franz was called to serve as one of xi members of the worldwide Governing Body, something he viewed equally a keen responsibility and privilege.
In his book, Crisis of Conscience, Franz described his experiences at the world headquarters this way:
"What I saw, heard and experienced during the next fifteen years had a cracking impact on me. Whether the reaction of the reader will coincide with mine, I have no way of knowing, but i thing is certain and that is that no ane could empathize what brought me to a crisis situation without knowing these developments. The proverb is apt: 'When anyone is replying to a thing before he hears it that is foolishness on his role and a humiliation'." – Crisis of Conscience, Folio 20, paragraph 4.
Frustrated past what he viewed as the Governing Body's dogmatism and overemphasis on traditional views rather than reliance on the Bible in reaching doctrinal decisions, Franz and his wife decided to exit the international headquarters.
In an online tribute to Raymond Franz, CommentaryPress.com states:
"As Raymond learned the inner workings of the Governing Body, he became deeply concerned that the focus was more on preserving the paradigm of the Arrangement rather than on sound Biblically based decisions. His disappointment lead to his sharing with Cynthia what he was troubled with concerning the Governing Trunk. Cynthia agreed with Raymond and together the ii of them decided to go out the earth headquarters in 1980."
Raymond Franz informed headquarters of his decision with a letter dated May 22, 1980, that simply stated:
"Beloved Brothers:
Past ways of this letter I submit my resignation equally a member of the Governing Torso. I will besides be terminating my Bethel service. My prayers will continue to be offered on your behalf likewise every bit for Jehovah God'south servants earth wide.
Your brother, R V Franz"
Raymond and Cynthia moved to Alabama, where he took upwards laboring work on a property endemic by another Witness. The following calendar month a committee of the Governing Body raised concerns over the spreading of "wrong teachings" emanating from headquarters staff and began questioning headquarters staff on their beliefs.
In his personal memoir Franz said that at the finish of 1979 he reached a personal crossroad:
"I had spent most forty years as a full fourth dimension representative, serving at every level of the organizational construction. The last fifteen years I had spent at the international headquarters, and the final nine of those as a member of the worldwide Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses. It was those final years that were the crucial period for me. Illusions there met up with reality."
In September 1980, the Governing Body distributed a letter to all Circuit and District overseers stating that apostates need not be promoting doctrines to exist disfellowshipped. The letter stated that individuals who persisted in "believing other doctrine despite scriptural reproof" were also apostatizing and therefore warranted "advisable judicial activeness".
Shortly after Franz'south employer submitted a letter of disassociation from Jehovah's Witnesses, the September 15, 1981 issue of the Watchtower announced a modify of policy on disassociation, directing that those who formally withdrew from the religion were to be treated as disfellowshipped wrongdoers. Franz continued to socialize and swallow with his employer and was afterwards summoned to a judicial hearing on November 25 and disfellowshipped for disobeying the edict.
Franz wrote two books presenting detailed accounts of his years spent equally a Jehovah'southward Witness, a Governing Body fellow member and his experiences throughout various levels of the organization. 'Crisis of Conscience' goes into detail about the Malawi/United mexican states conundrum, the alternative military service fiasco, and the non-allowable sleeping room intimacies debacle. His volume, 'In Search of Christian Freedom', Franz' love for God, justice and freedom shine through right to the end. These books accept helped many within Jehovah'southward Witnesses to honestly examine their behavior also equally the actions and decisions of the leadership.
About Crisis of Conscience, Ray said:
"What this volume contains is written out of a sense of obligation to people who I sincerely dear. In all skilful censor I can say that its aim is to help and not to hurt. If some of what is presented is painful to read, information technology was also painful to write. It is hoped that the reader will recognize that the search for truth demand never be subversive of faith, that every effort to know and uphold truth will, instead, strengthen the basis for true faith. What those reading this information will practice with it is, of course, their ain conclusion. At least it will have been said, and a moral responsibility volition accept been met."
After leaving Jehovah's Witnesses, Ray continued to answer questions from the curious. He helped many to discover their own path in serving God through his humility and scholarly knowledge. Raymond was never interested in starting or leading a group of people. His but care was that others be able to worship God with a make clean conscience, gratuitous of the fear of man, and complimentary of intervention from the agendas of men.
On June ii, 2010, Raymond Franz passed abroad from a severe brain hemorrhage caused past head trauma, in Winston, GA. He was 88. He touched the lives of thousands of people. To many, he was similar family. While beingness treated for various ailments in an Atlanta hospital for eight days, Cynthia Franz died of a massive centre attack, on December 29, 2013.
Ray was universally known equally a gentle man, full of cognition and honey for the bible. He devoted his entire life to helping others get to know Jesus through his actions and the scriptures. Along with this love and humility was a desire to exist honest and truthful with all, and it was this mettlesome honesty that defined his life in his afterward years. It will be his lasting legacy.
The sentiments expressed by his friends, in the following quotes, testify how deeply he affected people:
"At a moment when decisive activeness was required, Ray resigned his leadership position… due to actions of the Governing Torso that disturbed his conscience… When I think of Ray Franz, I recollect of his kindness, compassion and business concern for others. He wanted justice, not for himself, but for the entire alliance and that's why his conscience grieved him so."
"This is one notable aspect of Ray Franz's legacy. He wanted folks to know what was going on. For practiced or bad, Ray put it out at that place for people to make up one's mind however they will."
"Franz has shown a much better grasp and deeper appreciation for the Scriptures than many prominent members of the Bethel family unit. From what I have observed, almost of the organization's middle management are much more concerned with what the Watchtower magazine and headquarter policy says. For them, the Bible is merely a large lump of Play-Dough to mold around the Watchtower'southward teachings."
"Franz left a profound legacy to many worldwide. Raymond Franz, a former Governing Trunk member of a religious system, exposed it, and helped many break free of the chains."
"Ray'south heart was breaking over the fact that the Governing Trunk members were heartless and cruel, sticking to tradition and legalism, viewing 'the friends' problems in a condescending way. "
During the by 30+ years, through his 2 empathetic and revelatory books, Crisis of Conscience and In Search of Christian Freedom, Franz, never consumed past bitterness, provided a rare glimpse into a very secretive organization that continues to insist on 100% conformity to heartless and sometimes harmful rules and ever-changing doctrines.
Fueled to a bang-up degree by Raymond Franz'due south remarkable conscience-stirring words in that location has been an ongoing, all-encompassing loss of members internationally every bit they besides want to worship with a articulate censor, free from the fear of man, and gratis of the abuse of power by a hermetically sealed leadership, no matter what the punishment.
Raymond Franz' wish was for each and every person to find happiness and experience joy every mean solar day of their lives and that's why he was so totally against the incommunicable psychological religious demands of the Governing Trunk of Jehovah's Witnesses.
In determination, Raymond Franz' words leave a legacy of promise for all those pursuing truthful happiness, joy and freedom:
"Simply withdrawing from a organization that ane has found to be seriously flawed is not a solution in itself. It is what one does thereafter that determines whether there has been progress and benefit or not.
It is too truthful that any transition—even if only one in outlook—can require not but time but as well mental and emotional adjustments. "
"It seems, nevertheless, that we tin often larn as much from the "unpleasant" experiences of life as we tin can from the pleasurable ones—perhaps more that is of lasting value. "
The softest pillow is a articulate conscience – French Proverb
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Ray died in 2010 and his wife Cynthia died in 2013. Many knew him personally, but many thousands more than have come to know him from his books: Crisis of Conscience and In Search of Christian Freedom. The commencement contribution higher up is from someone who knew him personally.
(Information about his books, below, taken from Amazon, with a selected review for each.)
CRISIS OF Conscience: By Raymond Franz (2004): Fourth Edition – Nov 2, 2004 (1st Ed, 1983)
Source: https://ad1914.com/jw-experience-of-raymond-franz/
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