C. T. Russell was against organizing his own religion, or at least he said so (see The Watchtower, 1895 p.216; also 1894 p.384 & 1893 p.266). He also noted, "The endeavor to compel all men to think alike on all subjects, culminated in the great apostasy and the development of the great papal system, and thereby the gospel, the one faith that Paul and the other apostles set forth, was lost - buried under the mass of uninspired decrees of popes and councils. The unity of the early church, based upon the simple gospel and bound only by love, gave place to the bondage of the church of Rome...Each new reform movement (like Protestantism) has made the failure of attempting to make a creed just large enough for its prime movers." --WT, Sep. 1893, p. 1572 On why organizations don't work - "...we have pointed out continually the tendency of Christian people toward union, showing, too, that such a union is predicted in scripture; but that its results, while designed to be good, will really be bad; and this because it will be a mechanical union instead of a heart unity."--WT, Mar 1893, p. 1504The "Bible Students," as they were called back in the early years, could attend other churches and celebrate Christmas. Yet, five presidents and ninety years later, the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society is virtually unrecognizable from its origins. Boasting over five million active members and massive real estate holdings, the Watchtower is a major industry that keeps a tight clamp on its financial records as well as its inner politics.
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I haven’t read any literature by C.T.Russell yet so I can’t really comment knowledgbly on what I think of him.
Personally I like C.T.Russell in some ways. He believed in the great pyramid – some people call this stupid – I respect him for having an open mind, a breath of fresh air compared to Rutherfords JWism, (cough), although he was guilty of changing a few things for his own benefit (dates etc). He also sold his family business for millions, you can imagine how much that was back then and died with 20 quid to his name – some people would call this stupid as well but at least he believed in something and went for it regardless of cost. Although his personal life and relationship with his wife suffered badly (hmm). I spend an unhealthy amount of time, in some people’s opinion, writing music but they would never understand what it means to me.
Does anyone have any quotes of his claims he made about himself, what his authority was – this is where it all goes wrong in my opinion for any man?
As I say I haven’t read much literature he wrote so don’t judge me too harshly if you’ve already done your research. If you have hit the reply button.