For decades Fred Franz was the guru of the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society. He was obsessed with "Biblical Prophecy" trying to explain the book of Daniel and Revelation. Who took over after he stopped writing and who is considered the authority on the JWs teaching today especially the so called "prophetic interpretation?"
who succeeded Fred Franz not as President but the theological guru
by ex-Special Pioneer 27 Replies latest jw friends
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LostGeneration
Nobody. It is "theology by committee" and also highly influenced by monetary and legal thinking. The resulting doctrine can pretty much be summarized by the following:
"Follow us, we're the faithful slave"
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Gayle
Their prophetic interpretation is just: "Soon" now.
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sir82
As near as I can tell, no one has "stepped up to the plate" since Freddy began losing his mental abilities (such as they were) in the 80's.
Any "new light" over the past 2 or 3 decades has been obviously wrought by the legal department, or a committee, or a committee from the legal department.
Also, the only time "new light" is brought out is when they've been painted into a corner (generation changes, child abuse policy, blood fractions, etc.). The primary exercise now is pretty much just "putting out fires".
I keep waiting for some charismatic, opportunistic character at Bethel to recognize the leadership vacuum and step in, but apparently "charisma" is anathema to the folks at Bethel and is beaten to death when spotted, and so we are stuck with a "religion run by lawyers" for the foreseeable future.
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james_woods
I keep waiting for some charismatic, opportunistic character at Bethel to recognize the leadership vacuum and step in, but apparently "charisma" is anathema to the folks at Bethel and is beaten to death when spotted, and so we are stuck with a "religion run by lawyers" for the foreseeable future.
Similar to what happened to the Mormons and others once they outgrew the original charismatic leaders.
( Not that Freddy himself was all that charismatic. )
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Ding
I think the GB realizes they can't get away with hyping a specific date as they have done in the past.
The organization will survive on old timers and new converts.
The old timers will stick with them because they've invested their whole lives in the organization.
The new ones will be unaware of all the false prophecies and flipflops.
In this information age, the constant drilling of the importance of loyalty to the organization and the danger of apostate thinking is their best chance at keeping the truth about "the truth" from JWs.
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blondie
Brother Cut and Paste and Brother Throw It In the Air and See what Sticks
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slimboyfat
Gene Smalley to some degree perhaps?
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wannaexit
I don't think anybody could succeed Freddy (the oracle ) Franz. He was in a class of his own
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sir82
Gene Smalley to some degree perhaps?
What theological ideas are tied to him?
AFAIK, he's the architect of the patently preposterous "blood fractions vs. blood components" doctrine, which is just twisting and turning Fred Franz's blockbuster "Jewish dietary laws also apply to medical procedures" decree 60+ years ago. I don't know of any particular theological "gems" that are originally and exclusively his.
Of course, I have no close ties to Bethel so I could be mistaken.