What is the official Jehovah Witness position on the teachings of C.T. Russell today?

Question

CoolCat: Please explain how this question is an attack. I asked a question, and they are free to answer if they wish. This forum is called Yahoo Answers, is it not?

yorkmaybe blue: didn't you sleep well last night?

JR: It's a simple question. It only requires a simple answer. What is your position on the teachings of Russell?

polyman77: JR means if you don't accept his position that you're "running away" from his facts.

I have to admit, this is the first time the JW's have completely dodged a question.

uh-oh...looks like we're gonna get a JR Update!! woo-hoo

JR: By the way, you can pull up the actual transcript of the trial on line if you want. NOW....you still haven't answered the question. What is the official JW and or WTBTS position on the teachings of CT Russell?

okay, we're finally getting at it. you reject his pyramidology, miracle wheat,prophecy, and adultery. You accept that hell is not hot and there is no trinity. correct?

Do you also reject his fascination with the Masonic Lodge? I know he wasn't a Mason, but his writings reveal a sympathetic bent toward them.

JR: read your 1913 special convention report for international bible students. Pages 120-127. Russell gives a discourse on his opinions on FreeMasonry. You might find it eye-opening. Esoteric doctrines like FreeMasonry becoming mixed with Christianity is concerning! This is what happened to the Mormons, as Joseph Smith's involvement with masonry has shaped their view of scripture. I know russell wasn't an actual member. But he was sympathetic towards them.

Well TRK, the reporter pretty much reveals himself as a Witness right there at the end, doesn't he?

Answer 1

False prophecies and teachings? Goto this site to get a better understanding.

http://users.picknowl.com.au/~hepburn/pr...

A false prophet isn't someone who makes predictions..

The Greek meaning of Prophet means one who speaks for God or one who is a a proclaimer of a message.

unsilenced lamb
You consider misinformation truths? Do you want me to point out the misinformation apostates create?

unsilenced lamb
A false prophet isnt someone who makes false predictions.. as the Greek meaning shows, a prophet is someone who speaks for god or proclaims a divine message.. Since you rather stay in ignorance, not listen..

Tell me, does Franz know Hebrew?

I also exposed some of your lies, but you never commented on the facts that I showed you.. you just run away and laugh.


polyman77
I answered these questions on previous threads, but Greg M and others don't even bother reading my facts...

Want me to show you?

*********READ BELOW*********
( Caps = Bold not yelling :D )
======Pyramid======
Russell did not get the 1914 date from the Pyramid. The Book The Divine Plan of the Ages was written 5 YEARS AFTER HE DISCOVERED THE 1914 from the Bible. He thought the Pyramid was the one talked about in Isaiah 19:19-20, and he thought the prophecy was linked the to the 1914 date... But they found out the Pyramid was of Pagan sources in 1928, and rejected that...

In view of this STRONG BIBLE EVIDENCE concerning the Times of the Gentiles, we consider it an established truth that the final end of the kingdoms of this world, and the full establishment of the Kingdom of God, will be accomplished at the end of A.D. 1914

from the year 606 B.C. and have found that it reached down to October, 1914, as nearly as we are able to reckon……Many of us concluded that as far as we could see, October of this year [1914] would show……we are not a prophet; we merely believe that we have come to the place where the Gentile Times have ended"

=====Miracle Wheat=====
What perverseness moves a minister of Christ, a minister of truth, to slander a brother minister or anybody else? Why tell what he does not know to be the truth? I have no knowledge of the Union Bank of Brooklyn. I heard that it failed through the dishonesty of its officials. I never was inside its doors; never was financially nor otherwise connected with it; nor do I know who were its directors.

"Miracle Wheat" is a new variety of wheat discovered and so named by a farmer at Fincastle, Va. I copied an item about it from a newspaper in my religious journal, which carries no advertisements. Three years later one of the readers wrote me that he had bought some of the miracle wheat at $1.25 per pound and found it very prolific--up to 3,000 grains from one seed. He sold some of it and donated to the society of which I am the president.

The following year he and another donated 18 bushels, fixed the price at $1 per pound and asked that it be mentioned in my journal and that we bear the trouble of mailing it. I merely gave their reports and a copy of a report by United States government expert. The wheat was sold and in all $1,800 was thus donated by these two friends to the work done last year amongst the heathen. No one ever complained of the wheat, and all were offered "money back" if not satisfied.

If anybody has a microscope that will show anything wrong with this, we would like to have a look through it. We presume the wrong was that it was not "raffled at 10 cents per grain," or grab-bagged for at a church fair!


=======Did Russell lie under oath?=======
"As respects my education in Greek and Hebrew: Not only do I not claim very special knowledge of either language, but I claim that not one minister in a thousand is either a Hebrew or a Greek scholar. To be able to spell out a few Greek words is of no earthly value. Nor is it necessary longer to study these languages, in order to have knowledge of the Bible. Our Presbyterian friends have gotten out at great cost Young's Analytical Hebrew, Chaldaic, Greek and English Lexicon Concordance, which anyone may procure. And our Methodist friends have issued a similar work— Strong's Analytical Concordance and Lexicon. And there is a still older one entitled Englishman's Hebrew, Chaldaic, Greek and English Lexicon and Concordance. Additionally, Liddell and Scott's Greek Lexicon is a standard authority.
—1914; "Zion's Watch Tower", 15 September 1914, pg. 286


=======Mean to this wife?========
"I never defrauded my wife nor anybody else. My wife and I mutually agreed that the property I earned and owned should be devoted to the Lord's service. I carried out my part of the agreement and made a deed, which my wife did not sign. Subsequently the property was sold for debts which my wife had contracted unknown to me. Her dower interest was sold for her debt at public sale. The property being mortgaged, brought all that anybody probably would have paid.

"The girl who sat on my knee and who kissed me was an adopted child in short dresses. Her brother had died, and she was in grief; besides, my wife had publicly requested her to kiss me every night before retiring, as her foster-father. If there be any crime in this, let the stones fly, but tell the truth.

"My wife never charged me with unfaithfulness; nor had she any ground for so doing. She stated under oath that she made no such claim, and also under oath stated that she and I had lived celibate lives for eighteen years.

"It is quite untrue that I was silent to my wife for months. The reverse was true—that my wife was silent to me except in the presence of others. She thus and in every way sought to coerce me into giving her more liberty in the columns of the journal I edited and published, The Watch Tower—because she had adopted suffragette sentiments. She was not granted a divorce. There were no grounds for it. She got a legal separation nine years after she had left me...

"I ask, what must we think of a Christian minister who, because he has no Scripture to back up his side of the argument, would resort to such misrepresentations of facts in an attempt to murder the reputation of his opponent? All sane people must feel sorry that a Christian minister would take such a course." —Special "Bible Students Monthly," 1912

"Mrs. Russell on the witness stand and through her attorney attempted to give the impression that her husband was very amorously inclined, "like a jelly-fish floating around," "embracing all who would respond." ... When the next day the husband took the witness stand and swore that he had never used the language (and never had heard of it before) all reasonable people concluded that only an idiotic person would make such an uncomplimentary remark about himself.

"Mrs. Russell charged an improper intimacy between her husband and "Rose," who became a member of the Russell household in 1888. The attempt of Mrs. Russell and her attorney to give the inference of criminal intimacy was so manifest that the Court interrupted to inquire, if criminal intimacy were charged, why it had not been made part of the plea and why "Rose" had not been made co-respondent in the suit? Then both Mrs. Russell and her attorney disclaimed any charge of criminal intimacy, but meant that "Rose" had sat on Mr. Russell's knee and he had kissed her.

"Mr. Russell declared that it was quite a while after his discontinuance of his proper fatherly conduct toward "Rose" that Mrs. Russell (having become alienated on account of not getting all the liberty she desired in the WATCH TOWER columns) upbraided him for kissing "Rose."" —1906, "Zion's Watch Tower" 15 July 1906

Answer 2

The majority of active JW's still hold to the definition of generation as proposed by the red "Paradise" book--"Which generation did Jesus mean? He meant the generation of people who were living in 1914. Those persons yet remaining of that generation are now very old. However, some of them will still be alive to see the end of this wicked system. So of this we can be certain: Shortly now there will be a sudden end to all wickedness and wicked people at Armageddon." (1989, p. 154). Most JW's didn't notice some of the subtle changes to the definition of "generation" after the Paradise book and Watchtower magazines of that period, but there have been several changes: "Therefore, in the final fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy today, 'this generation' apparently refers to the peoples of earth who see the sign of Christ's presence but fail to mend their ways." The Watchtower, Nov. 1, 1995, p. 19 "As a class, these anointed ones make up the modern-day 'generation' of contemporaries that will not pass away 'until all these things occur.' This suggests that some who are Christ's anointed brothers will still be alive on earth when the foretold great tribulation begins." The Watchtower, Feb. 15, 2008, p. 24 "To what generation did Jesus refer? Jesus was referring, not to the wicked, but to his disciples, who were soon to be anointed with holy spirit. Jesus' anointed followers, both in the first century and in our day, would be the ones who would not only see the sign but also discern its meaning--that Jesus 'is near at the doors.' 14 Wht does this explanation mean to us? Although we cannot measure the exact length of 'this generation," we do well to keep in mind several things about the word 'generation': It usually refers to people of varying ages whose lives overlap during a particular time period; it is not excessively long; and it has an end. (Ex. 1:6) How, then are we to understand Jesus' words about 'this generation'? He evidently meant that the lives of the anointed who were on hand when the sign began to become evident in 1914 would OVERLAP with the lives of other anointed ones who would see the start of the great tribulation. That generation had a beginning, and it surely will have an end." (The Watchtower, April 15, 2010, p. 10). I believe the last change will be harder for JW's to overlook. It is slated for the Watchtower study of June 7-13. I would encourage you not to allow any negative experiences you might have had with this spiritually abusive organization to stop you from studying God's word on your own and seeking a personal relationship with him through Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth and the life. Blessings!

Answer 3

A better question would be:
What is the official reason that Greg M attacks JW's so much?
EDIT: alright yo, I mean, just go through your questions and answers...
I've seen your answers on Q's that I've answered and it seems that you're constantly attacking JW's
Yes, it it called Yahoo Questions and Answers but when people give false information to make other people or groups look bad, that's just messed up.
EDIT: unsilenced lamb we all know you're constantly attacking us too... and that doesn't bother me... I'VE FOUND the "truth" in my current beliefs, so you can go on attacking us if you wish, it's your life and you have the right to do with it as you desire.
EDIT: unsilenced lamb: I don't know, HOW DOES one make the truth look bad? I ask you since you said that statement spontaneously and apparently out of nowhere.

Answer 4

Cool Cat...why do you have to have someone else ask the very questions that All witnesses SHOULD be asking?

You should be thanking us for pointing you to the TRUTH.

There have been countless articles and postings to prove that the Governing body is a false prophet..Pastings from Watchtower articles and publications...You have been shown the Light...it is up to you whether you go back to the vomit and because of...I don't Know what.....continue to suck of the Sociaty tit...It is your soul, do with it as you wish.

Cool Cat: How does one make the TRUTH look bad?

JR: the only one that you are impressing is yourself.

Wow we are going to get our information from the very organization that protects the false religion that we adore...good stuff...JR come up with non watchtower information on Russell.

Your PROOF is like asking a beloved Childs mother if the child is a bad boy!

JR...Where did I call you names?.....? Seems to me that you just called me an Apostate..which I take great offense....I never call names...it is why I block witnesses and you are comming very close to being blocked, now act like a christian...OK

Answer 5

Below is an interesting excerpt from the book Where Else but Pittsburgh!
Pittsburgh : Davis & Wade, Inc., 1958 rF159 .P6 S86.

It's a book written by George Swetnam , an ordained Presbyterian minister, who wrote for years for the Pittsburgh Press newspaper , and is regarded as the foremost historian of the Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania areas.

"It is an amazing thing that no Pittsburgh history has ever even so much as contained the name of C.T. Russell, since his influence has easily been the widest of any man who ever lived in a city...including Andrew Carnegie.

"He was a pioneer in the Chain store, the Motion Picture industry and other important ventures. He was one of the most prolific and widely read authors of his day, turning out many books and a column carried by more then 1500
newspapers, with some 15 million readers. Russell traveled over a million miles, delivering more than 30,000 sermons and lectures.

"He was always interested in religion, writing Bible verses on the sidewalks with chalk when a youth. As a boy he was quick & alert, so his father took him into partnership in his general store at the age of 11. When he was 15 he was sent out as a buyer.

"Like many other youths Charles was troubled in mind. He battled over the doctrine of predestination and was pondering these things for while he was unable to accept religion he was unable to let it go. It was a successful
but skeptical businessman of 18 that he stepped into a dingy basement to see if a handful who met there had anything more sensible than the creeds of the churches. What he heard set him searching the Bible again, which he did for
46 years!

"Soon he rented a hall & started a Bible School where for 5 years he lectured. Then, convinced he had a divine mission, he did a strange thing for a young man of 26 with no formal theological education. He invited ALL the ministers of Pittsburgh to a meeting, explained his beliefs and urged
them to unite with him! The fact that they accepted his invitation shows how high young Russell stood in the community. Yet after hearing they declined his offers..

"Rebuffed by the ministers in his home town Russell turned himself to a life of evangelism. He carried on his haberdashery business for some time but his interest in commerce gradually waned and he closed his store for the
next year.

"Russell was nearly 6 feet tall, well built, with piercing gray eyes. His manner was always CALM, stressing argument rather then emotion, sometimes adding a touch of humor. In later life he was snowy haired, white bearded,
and saintly in appearance.

"In 1914 he completed work on the first epic motion picture: "The Photo Drama of Creation" 15 years before any other sound pictures were produced. It ran for eight hours and was viewed by some eight million people!

"Late in life he set up his entire fortune, by now amounting to well over a million dollars, into a trust fund for the W.T.B.& T Society, the business organization for Jehovah's Witnesses.

"He made many close friends and bitter enemies. He was the target of many stories accusing him of all sorts of crimes and wrong doing in regard to his marriage, although there appears to be little if any basis for such charges.

"All through his life Russell told his followers NOT to revere him; He taught them this so well that the publishing house he founded has never published a biography of "Pastor Russell".

"The movement he founded now has worldwide scope & is still one of the worlds fastest growing religions. In 1958 some 250,000 came to NYC to hear the same doctrines Russell preached to the unreceptive clergy 80 years
earlier."

..We are thankful to Russell and the other Bible Students who devoted their lives to study and research to find the truth of the bible. Who were bold and not afraid to go up against organized religion. We know that some of what they expected to happen in 1914 did not, but we do know that it marked the end of the Gentile times and that Jesus is now reigning as King of God's Kingdom. The first thing he did was to throw Satan and his demons out of the heavens and down to earth, which we could see the immediate effects with the WWI. Rev. 12: 9 & 12 "So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth, he as hruled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him....Woe to earth and to the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger knowing he has a short period of time."

Answer 6

The teachings of C.T.Russell which have Scriptural support continue to be embraced by Jehovah's Witnesses.

Nearly 130 years ago, Russell taught that the soul is not immortal, hell is not hot, mankind will be resurrected to paradise earth, Almighty God wants humans to use his personal name, and Jesus Christ is a distinct person from Jehovah God. Those teachings were revolutionary, and remarkably easy to discern from the Scriptures, especially in hindsight from 2007.

Jehovah's Witnesses have never pretended to be followers of Charles Russell any more than they pretended to be followers of Paul or Apollos or Cephas or of ANYONE but Christ Jesus. When seven million Jehovah's Witnesses preach from door to door each month, they work to preach the "good news about the Christ".

(1 Corinthians 1:12-17) What I mean is this, that each one of you says: “I belong to Paul,” “But I to Apollos,” “But I to Cephas,” ...Paul was not impaled for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? ...Christ dispatched me, not to go baptizing, but to go declaring the good news

(Philippians 1:26,27) That your exultation may overflow in Christ Jesus... Only behave in a manner worthy of the good news about the Christ


Jehovah's Witnesses are students of the bible. They well know that some of their early brothers made mistakes, just as Noah and Moses and David and Peter and Paul made mistakes. Yet the totality of what each Witness has learned from the bible makes him feel as Peter did:

(John 6:67,68) Jesus said to the twelve: “You do not want to go also, do you?” Simon Peter answered him: “Lord, whom shall we go away to? You have sayings of everlasting life

Thus, Jehovah's Witnesses are able to appreciate their spiritual heritage while recognizing that their spiritual forebears were imperfect. Charles Taze Russell wrote many intelligent analyses of bible topics, but he also was imperfect.

(Philippians 3:12) Not that I have already received it or am already made perfect, but I am pursuing to see if I may also lay hold on that

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/jt/
http://watchtower.org/e/20030815/
http://watchtower.org/e/jt/index.htm?article=article_02.htm

Answer 7

Would knowing the answer make your life better? NEXT!.....

Answer 8

I'm pretty sure they have to distance themselves from him since he was taken to court so much and made all thos false prophecies.

EDIT: your referenced website is a JW propaganda ministry.
I also noticed none of the JW's want to answer this question. I wonder why? Does it make you nervous JR?

Answer 9

I hope they don't put alot of stock in him. He lied on the stand.

Answer 10

He was a false prophet and I hope they've distanced themselves from his teachings.