The Russell/Mason debate

by NikL 54 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Athanasius

  Greetings Nikl,

  Though I can only speculate about Chuck Russell's membership in the Freemasons, his successor was a member of the Knights of Pythias, a fraternal order founded in 1864. Joe Rutherford was also a member of the Woodman of the World. Joe was so prominent in the Knights that he was the toastmaster at the dedication of their castle in Boonville, Missouri in January 1899. He was also a frequent speaker at Woodmen events. Check the January 20, 1899 BOONVILLE WEEKLY ADVERTISER, page 1. Joe's involvment with these Masonic like organizations was primarily to further his political career in the state Democratic Party organization.

  To date I haven't found any evidence that Joe belonged to the Scottish Rite Masons. But one must remember that back then membership in the Masons enabled one to network and make connections that would be helpful in business and politics. For this reason I would be surprised if Chuck Russell was not a Mason.

  Though not a Mason myself, my grandfather was a Mason, and I have attended their open house events. I found them to be friendly, helpful, and deeply involved in charity. To become a Mason and to earn your degrees takes a lot of study, committment, and a belief in God. The Masons are always busy raising money for children's hospitals and other charities. I don't believe in all these conspiracy theories about them.

  Sincerely,

  Athanasius
• 

  NikL

  Wow mad,
  You called me an ass and you don't even know me. You say I am whining when I say you attacked me. I can see that no matter what I say you will just revert to name calling and bullying. What is the point of geting into a war of words? You are just as bad an the most dogmatic JW I have ever dealt with. Because of you I am re-considering my visiting this site. I don't need abuse. What do you want from me? To say I was wrong or that I didn't have correct information? Why the name calling? What are you so dogmatic on this issue that you attack someone who you know nothing about who may have been your friend if I knew you personally? In the long run it means nothing we are still dealing with an unchristian organisation and "YES" that's my opinion though I can't proove it.
• 

  chasson

  Hi Athanasius,

  I really interested if you could give us the scan of the document.

  The big problem is that Joe Rutherford was baptised in 1906. If you can find a document after 1906, it would be interesting, if you can't, your conclusion are too quick, this is not because i was a catholic before be converted as jehovah's witness that the jehovah's witness are a catholic's organisation.

  Bye

  Charles
• 

  MadApostate

  Joe Rutherford was also a member of the Woodman of the World.

  You may have stumbled on the biggest scandal in WTS history!!!

  Everyone knows that it was JFR who initiated the WTS's policy of publishing mountains and mountains of books, magazines, etc., even though most were nothing but a rehash of previously published material.

  NOW, we know the CONSPIRACY behind this wasteful policy.

  Woodmen of the World sent JFR to take over the WTS and turn it into the world's largest waster of forest products, guaranteeing a market and income for "woodmen of the world" for many, many decades to come!
• 

  chasson

  And now in 1991, where was the Massonic Hall on this photos ?

  Bye

  Charles
• 

  Athanasius

  Greetings Chasson,

  Joseph F. Rutherford was a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Woodmen of the World. Both were fraternal organizations similar to the Freemasons. Whether he attended lodge meetings after he became active in the Watch Tower movement in 1906 I don't know, nor did I make that claim. But Joe was very active in the Knights and the Woodmen in the 1890s and the early 1900s. He was also very active in Democratic Party politics during this same period. He campaigned in 1904, touring Cooper and neighboring counties making speaches on behalf of the Democratic candidates.

  Still the fact is that Rutherford was involved with these organizations and they no doubt had an influence upon him. If it was a positive or negative influence, you be the judge.

  Sincerely,

  Athanasius
• 

  sf

  Wow, almost a three year old thread. HI DINO!!!

  Let's add some new search hits to the 'dish' :

  http://www.google.com/search?q=Woodmen+Of+The+World+Watchtower&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8

  EmblemIDX
  ... VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS WOMEN'S AUXILIARY (VFW). WATCHTOWER SOCIETY. WOMEN'S ARMY
  AUXILIARY CORP (WAAC). ... WOODMEN OF AMERICA, MODERN. WOODMEN OF THE WORLD. ...
  freepages.history.rootsweb.com/ ~shannara/Emblems/emblemidx.htm - 27k - Cached - Similar pages

  [PDF] Deliverance syllabus with corrections.indd
  File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
  ... and Eagles Lodges, the Ku Klux Klan, the Grange, the Woodmen of the World, Riders
  of ... Stevens Unmasking the Watchtower – Who are the Jehovah’s Witnesses? ...
  www.wagnerleadership.org/uploads/ Deliverance%20syllabus%20with%20corrections_e48.pdf - Similar pages

  Subject Matter Search Results
  ... Watchtower Bible & Tract Soc'y of New York, Inc. ... Wilentz v. Sovereign Camp, Woodmen
  of the World, 306 US 573 (1939); Higginbotham v. Baton Rouge, 306 US 535 ...
  www.usscplus.com/online/ subindx/results_subj.asp?subj=1331 - 101k - Supplemental Result - Cached - Similar pages

  Some 'images' :

  http://images.google.com/images?q=Woodmen%20Of%20The%20World%20&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

  Woodmen of World.jpg
  2500 x 1954 pixels - 1319k
  www.ecgrl.public.lib.ga.us/ LCOPhotos4/woodmen.htm

  Historic Photos of Community Groups

  Cast of The Follies, put on by the Knights of Pythias, Oct. 15, 1926 (LPL) Group portrait of the members of the Knights of Pythias Lignite Lodge, number 64 (MM) Knights of Pythias perform the story of Damian and Pythias (MM) Odd Fellows group portrait, ca. 1900 (LPL) Lafayette all men's "Welsh" choir (MM) Lafayette Welch men's choir (MM) Lafayette Fire Department, formal portrait, ca. 1900 (LPL) Woodmen of the World lodge ball (MM) Lafayette Lions Club party, Aug. 4, 1921 (LPL) Odd Fellows and Rebekah's, I.O.O.F. Lodge, 1920, the first Lion's Club (MM)
• 

  LittleToe

  bttt

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/11/85772/1.ashx

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/9/86099/1.ashx

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/10/80965/1.ashx
• 

  NikL

  Wow.

  I forgot about this thread that I started years ago.

  I don't care about what anybody says, after seeing and reading what I have seen these past several years, I think Russel WAS a mason and if not, as someone on here said, was very much influenced by their imagery and teachings.

  If you don't like it Mad...kiss my a**.
• 

  garyneal

  MadApostate:

  You asked for proof of whether or not Charles Russell was buried under a pyramid. Have you tried Google maps? I know it is not the same as actually being there but considering how eerily accurate Google maps street view is on areas that I know, I would say that it is the next best thing.

  I made mention of this in another thread but I will restate the instructions again.

  Go to Google maps (http://maps.google.com/) and type the address 226 Cemetery Lane, Pittsburgh, PA and click search maps.

  You will see a marker on the map at the intersection of E W Dr and Cemetery Lane. Grab the little man and place him on the other section of Cemetery Lane and E W Dr (not the one marked on the map). Have the man face into field between E W Dr and Cemetery lane and if you did this correctly, the pyramid will be clearly visible. Once you've seen the pyramid, have the man look to the left of E W Dr and you will see the masonic lodge. You can also look at the user photos (displayed in the upper right hand corner) while looking at the pyramid for a close up.

  If this is not enough evidence for you then I can only suggest that you visit the gravesite yourself. You're quick to judge NikL as making this stuff up but the evidence does seem to overwhelmingly suggest that there must be some connection with Charles Russell and freemasonry.