CRISIS OF CONSCIENCE: By Raymond Franz (2004): Fourth Edition

The tendency of religious authority to seek to dominate rather than serve, and the struggle of those who wish to prevent the erosion of their God-given freedom of conscience -- these form the heart of the very personal and candid account in Crisis of Conscience. The scene of struggle is within the membership of a distinctive religion: Jehovah's Witnesses. The same fundamental issues that mark this account, however, could arise within any of the world's religions. Starting in the 1870's as an independent Bible study group composed of a handful of persons in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Jehovah's Witnesses today number more than five million in some 200 lands. When their publishing agency, the Watch Tower Society, puts out a new book, the normal initial printing is one million copies, with other millions following. In countries where they are active, few people have not had contact with the Witnesses as a result of their intense door-to-door activity. Yet for most persons the religion remains a near mystery. More remarkably, very few Witnesses themselves have any knowledge of the doctrine-forming and policy making processes of their own organization. The discussions of its word Governing Body are totally private. Yet that Body's decisions are applicable -- and enforceable -- toward every Witness on earth. As a third-generation member, the author lived the first sixty years of his life among Jehovah's Witnesses, serving in various countries at every level of the organizational structure. The final nine of those sixty years were spent on the central executive council, the Governing Body. Those years led to the crisis of conscience which is the theme of this book. It is a unique account. It allows the reader a view of the decision-making sessions of a religion's inner council, and the powerful, sometimes dramatic, impact their decisions have on people's lives. Presented with sensitivity and compassion, the information at the same time raises very fundamental questions that are both disturbing and conscience-stirring.