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REVIEWS:
Cult survivor's story, Jun 17 2004
By A Customer
Nearly 20 years after I broke ties from the Jehovah's Witnesses I found the book that was the subject of much gossip and character assassination among my former "Brothers" in small-town Texas. Reading this book, I came to know the truth about the "purge" that took place in Brooklyn in the early 80's: That it was not about exposing the wickedness of apostasy nor about expelling "bad association" (read baseless rumors of "homosexual tendencies") from among the servants of the Society, but was rather all about a power struggle that had its origins in the backlash against the fact that 1975 came and went without so much as a whimper.
I was surprised after all these years to recognize in Franz' pen the voice of the Watchtower magazine, and even more surprised to find it in agreement with many of the decisions I came to over the past two decades. Franz' story is not melodramatic, accusatory, or defensive. He methodically chronicles the flippant manner in which doctrines that rule and sometimes wreck people's lives were concocted, justified, changed, or even deleted. Among these doctrines were ones that sent thousands to their deaths in Africa on a technicality, promoted bribery and real estate fraud in Mexico, landed Americans in prison or on their deathbeds, and turned a blind eye to depravity at the expense of common sense and good manners.
Franz' only failure is that he backs away from connecting the dots and calling a cult what it is. For example, his own uncle was not only President of the Watch Tower Society and for many years the chief theologian for the Witnesses, but was among them also the most flippant and cynical when it came to doctrinal change, and was at least complicit if not active in Franz' expulsion from the Governing Body. The victim of shunning at its most cruel and misapplied, Franz clearly unmasks the arrogance, pettiness, and predation that operate among Witnesses under the guise of Christian counsel and shepherding of the flock.
Franz, like me, is a survivor. I know personally and understand his disappointment and his pain, and I congratulate his bravery and the strength of both his will and conscience. This book at long last lifted a veil of self-doubt and loneliness that has plagued me for years. It is a confirmation once and finally from another intelligent, reasonable, and God-fearing man that one worldwide media conglomerate has ruined many lives and will continue to trample the hearts and devotion of any who stand in the way of the corporate practice of religion or its mission to prevent its members from engaging in dissent, self-examination, or intelligent debate, and to punish those who go there.
Read at least one "banned" book., May 31 2003
By Chilly Rodent (Northeast)
Even if you think you've broken free of JW mind-control, read this book.
Growing up, everyone around me would shake their heads and heave great sighs when Ray Franz was mentioned. "How sad that he could abandon JEHOVAH that way!" When I finally dared to read it, at 37 years of age, I was astounded that such a gentle-spoken man could have generated so much animus within the organization of the Watchtower Society.
You will detect absolutely no rancor in this book, nor will you find characters maligned. He quietly presents such unforgiveable truths that you will never again look at the organization in the same way. Which, of course, is why Crisis of Conscience is "forbidden fruit" for Jehovah's Witnesses.
If your mental stability depends upon viewing Jehovah's Witnesses as the "only true religion," you need to avoid this book like the plague. Please be prepared for your worldview to be forever altered before you open to the first page. |
