RAY FRANZ--You Are Appreciated Very Much!!! (page 2)

notperfectyet

And minimus...you are breaking the ice on this debacle aren't you?

I'm not sure why all the praise for Ray Franz makes me uncomfortable, perhaps because it does seem like sucking up or even a form of worship. His books have helped me as well as many others and by no means do I want to appear ungrateful but there are many others who have worked hard at helping JW's and former JW's. In fact it was people that post here that REALLY helped me when I was beginning to doubt. This was more helpful to me than reading a book because I didn't feel so isolated. I guess I just don't understand postings such as island girls , where she says bill is no ray franz. they both do great work as well as MANY others that continue to post....

jurs

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My admiration goes to people that have the courage to stand up for what they believe AND are willing to accept criticism and are man/woman enough to accept their mistakes when they're wrong. To Ray, To Bill and to ALL of you here that have done exactly that I take my hat off for you.

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minimus

Many of the people that post here,IMO, do so because they read Ray's books. 1000's of JW's that read his books were not able to talk about it with anyone for fear of being disfellowshipped. Now we have the evil internet and can freely discuss. Why? Because Ray Franz pioneered the way. Ray is no God. But he should be appreciated for what he alone has effectively done. If someone feels uncomfortable with praising an individual, you'd never guess that from the praise others have been routinely getting here.

jurs

I'm probably going to take alot of heat for writing this but I think it needs to be said. There are many on this board that gush and praise all over, to the point , where it is brown nosing, but to what purpose I have no idea. Yes Ray Franz paved the way and has helped many but I'd argue that his book has led people to the internet, I'd say just the opposite. I never heard of Ray Franz when I was a JW. I only read his book after someone here suggested it to me. The point I wanted to make is it appears to me like some do think of him as being like God or next to Jesus and that makes me uncomfortable. The other point I wanted to make is the internet is a powerful tool in helping others like ourselves. Its the words of encouragement, stories that I could relate to, feelings others shared that I thought I alone had, personal stories that are IMO just as important as Rays book filled with "insider info" Believe it or not the first thing I read that was apostatey , was from here. It was about trolls and the famous smurfs. That affected me so much because I thought it was just a weird sister from my hall. I had no idea it was a widespread phenomena. It was the 1st step into believing I was involved with a crackpot org. Just my thoughts................ jurs

jurs

I also wanted to add , to hopefully encourage others to post, that it was posters that actually reached my heart where as Ray's book reached my head. One poster compared the prodigal son with how JW's treat DF"d ones. To me that was a WOW !!! Many of us have probably helped others and not even realized it. ............. Not just Ray has made a difference .

jurs

minimus

Of course, not just Ray made a difference! I've been in the organization for over 40 years, and the reality is, books like Franz's made a huge difference. I don't know Ray myself. I couldn't possibly benefit from brown nosing him. But he did open up a new horizon with his ability to express things without anger and nastiness. I've read other books over the years and said to myself that this is just another bitter, disgruntled apostate. But not so with Ray's books. What you read on the net is a direct result of the freedom that results from such material.

minimus

This is an old thread but I thought about Ray when I read another thread ststing that a Circuit Overseer was suggesting that he was dead. I don't think that's true and I would love to say that in my personal opinion, Ray Franz was THE key to helping many of us get out of the so-called "Truth". I hope Ray Franz lives another 20 years!!!

AlmostAtheist

Yeah, here too, Min'. Thanks for bringing this back up. Nobody needs a god, but everybody needs somebody to shine a little light around once in a while. Ray had the biggest flashlight in town and had the guts, energy, and caring to use it. The ex-JW community would be very different without his efforts.

Dave

minimus

There was a time here if you said that you were grateful for what Franz did, you were beat up.

RAY FRANZ--You Are Appreciated Very Much!!!

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