by cabasilas 14 Replies latest watchtower bible
Here are scans of several pages from the Watch Tower and Golden Age magazines (1908-1926) for Christmas. These, of course, are from when the JWs celebrated Christmas and are very pro-Christmas. The file, about 4.5 MB, can be downloaded from:
http://www.filesend.net/download.php?f=8f7dae9a1077954b1728568a9dc71093
Christmas Greetings from the Watch Tower and the Golden Age!
Cabasilas:
Thank you cabasilas! Some rather "exposing" Christmas advertisements in this file! (Purchase "Scripture Studies" for a Christmas gift etc.)
Nevada!-
It was in 1937 that Humanoid Rutherford decided that he didn't want the God machines celebrating Christmas, so he decided that it was worshiping the sun.
So much for the religion being cleansed in 1919, since they were still worshiping the sun for several years after.
Atlantis, WTWizard, You're welcome.
Actually, I believe the last Bethel Christmas was 1926 and they stopped celebrating Christmas soon afterwards. How they passed the "spiritual inspection" in 1918 though they were still celebrating Christmas (and did so for many years afterwards) never made sense to me.
Two things in the file particularly stand out to me. The first is how the Bible Students (as JWs were called then) would personally deliver Christmas gifts back then. The ads from the Golden Age state that one could wire their Christmas order to Brooklyn and then headquarters would have the local congregation make the delivery of that order (one of their publications) as a Christmas present just in time. The second thing that stands out to me is the story of how the Christmas spirit overtook the Judge and the other Bible Students in the Atlanta penitentiary. The Feb 15, 1919 WT tells how the Bible Students showered JFR and the others Bible Students with many Christmas presents. There were 150 inmates who did not have anything for Christmas, so the 8 Bible Students in prison distributed presents to them! A rather touching story, actually.
This is my question, if the Charles Tate Russel Bible Students were God's chosen channel and they celebrated Christmas, why would God choose a group that celebrated a so called pagan holiday? If God is without error, why would He mislead this organization? Why wouldn't He have chosen a group like the Puritans that didn't celebrate Christmas? If Rutherford changed the practice of not celebrating Christmas, doesn't that make him an apostate to Charles Tate Russel's teachings? God's chosen channel? So everyone following Rutherford should be known as apostates to the religion of Bible Students. If Rutherford was right, it still makes him an apostate to the religion the JW's were formed on.
Any other view's on this?
Cawshun
Agreed. I think the strongest evidence against the 1919 selection of JWs after the 1918 "inspection" is the Finished Mystery book. But, Christmas and the fact they taught 1874 as Christ's return up until the 1930s just adds icing to the cake.
Hi, cabasilas.
Thank you for offering valuable materials for us.
"Whether or not the date is correct is of small importance, but the event was and is of the greatest importance."
(The Golden Age, December 24, 1919. p. 215)
It has written as mentioned above.
It is quite "honest" that they have said.
I think that the current Watch Tower society deteriorated rather than progressed.
possible
http://bb2.atbb.jp/possible/
Yes Pastor Russell, there is a Santa Claus
Possible, You're welcome!
Worldly Andre,
Indeed there is!
Seems like I heard once that JFR used to dress up as Santa for the Bethel family. I don't know if that's true or not...I wonder if any pictures survive besides the one that it's in the file of the 1926 Bethel Christmas celebration?
Cawshun you hit the nail on the head good work. this is why I respect the Bible Students of today they have not changed at all and they have not let some drunnk sway them.
