However, the unintended consequence is that doctrinal changes and appeals from disfellowshipping actions are denied even through a clear majority of Governing Body members support them. The purpose is to make sure that decisions have widespread support. 110-135)įranz also reveals that for a motion to pass, a 2/3 vote of the entire Governing Body membership is required. Strict Watchtower prohibitions led to severe persecution and murder of Witnesses in Africa, while lax requirements in South America led to the opposite result. The author cites an example of conflicting policies with regard to military involvement of Witnesses in Malawi and Mexico. The unique feature of Crisis of Conscience is the inside information that isn’t available from any other source. The key emotion expressed is sadness at what legalism and a desire for centralized control had done to the religion to which the author had dedicated most of his adult life. Witnesses have been told that Franz’s book is filled with hate, but any fair-minded person who reads it will be surprised by the author’s lack of hatred and bitterness. The Watchtower forbids Jehovah’s Witnesses to read his book and has branded him an apostate and modern-day Judas.
He also reveals the legalism and hypocrisy that he saw within the organization.Ĭrisis of Conscience contains the following chapters:Ĭhapter 4: Internal Upheaval and RestructureĬhapter 8: Justification and IntimidationĬhapter 9: 1975: ‘The Appropriate Time for God to Act”
He discloses how he learned of major changes in doctrine and practice that the organization has tried to cover up or minimize. Shortly thereafter, Ray Franz published Crisis of Conscience, in which he told his story. Long-standing Witnesses were being forced out and disfellowshipped (excommunicated), including Raymond Franz, a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses and nephew of then Watchtower president Fred Franz. In the early 1980s, rumors started about a huge shake-up at Watchtower headquarters.
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