Charles Taze Russell may not have ever been a FreeMason, but this certainly would have not been the first time he had lied about his past, or his past influences. Remember that Russell also stated that he had never been a Second Adventist, plus he stated that he had never received any "truth" from the Second Adventists.
Russell's more significant words at the 1913 Convention were:
"... in fact, some of my very dear friends are Masons, ... precious truths ... ."
The important question here is: Who were these "dear friends", and how did they and their "precious truths" influence Russell and his Watchtower teachings?
By 1913, most of Russell's past associates and even his own relatives had rejected his insanity. Three years prior to his death on Halloween 1916, the only persons whom Russell would have considered to be "friends" would have been his own cult followers, with "dear friends" likely being those in his immediate circle of advisors and associates. This is where the link(s) to freemasonry may be found.
C.T. Russell: a confirmed Pittsburgh Free Mason
by kid-A 118 Replies latest jw friends
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West70
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daystar
kid-A
I don't feel the need to read this entire thread, so I apologize if my remarks are old.
I understand where you're coming from. However, there are more than a few people who have claimed to be Masons who are not and never were. One can study a lot of Masonic literature, know many of the symbols, etc., without actually being a Mason.
Russell is not a confirmed Mason as you propose.
That being said, yes, he was deep into pyramidology, as some Masons are. Deep into Masonic occultism? Not so much. There would exist certain tell-tell signs that simply are not there.
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daystar
er, at least tell-tell signs I would expect to see.
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daystar
Oh, and I forgot to mention, and I've said this before regarding this subject, conspiracy theory and paranoia really are uselessly anxiety-creating areas. The only way one might ever possibly, remotely discover if Russell was really a Mason would be for one to become one themselves.
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kid-A
I think we will have to agree to disagree and leave it at that. I believe the quotations from Russells speech can certainly be interpreted either way. It boils down to whether one believes Russell was talking literally or figuratively. To state "I am a free mason" is one thing....but he went further: "I am a free and accepted mason", to be accepted means to have passed the masonic initiation rituals. Now others will come back and say this was all meant in a non-literal way, I simply dont buy it. The evidence goes far beyond this speech.
1) a grave monument covered in masonic images
2) his early literature festooned with masonic symbols
3) his obsession with pyramidology, a specialty of turn-of-the-century free masonry.
If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck....chances are...its a duck....
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rebel8
The JW's didn't build it, so the most we could take them to task for is not removing the decoration after they acquired the building. At any rate, this has little to do with Russell.
We can't? I think we can. If they bought an old Catholic church, wouldn't they remove the crucifix before they held meetings inside? Look, I could not care less if there is a symbol on the building, but they do. It is their hypocrisy by not following their own beliefs that bothers me.
I realize this has little to do with Russell. My point is, this organization has not shunned these same symbols long after Russell died....further example of hypocrisy.
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daystar
If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck....chances are...its a duck....
In most cases yeah. The problem is that there have been a large number of Mason "clones", street lodges, etc.. Some people so want to be Masons or Masonic in nature that they'll make stuff up. To me, and my experience with things Masonic, this seems to somewhat be the case here. That doesn't mean he wasn't influenced by Masonic ideas. I think he most certainly was. But that no more makes him a Mason than it makes a skinhead a member of the Nazi SS.
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kid-A
Daystar, I do understand where your coming from and agree with your point.
However, I think the only way to solve this riddle is to actually get hold of the Pennsylvania Masonic Lodge registry, and that would be a Herculean task....however, if there were any active Pittsburgh masons lurking about the site, it might be possible to access this information. I know the Masonic lodges keep meticulous records of initiations, degrees of masonry attained, etc. It would be very cool to have access to these records....
cheers!
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TD
Hi Rebel,
The JW's didn't build it, so the most we could take them to task for is not removing the decoration after they acquired the building. At any rate, this has little to do with Russell.
We can't? I think we can. If they bought an old Catholic church, wouldn't they remove the crucifix before they held meetings inside? Look, I could not care less if there is a symbol on the building, but they do. It is their hypocrisy by not following their own beliefs that bothers me.
There is no "can't" in what I said. Taking the JW's to task for not removing the decoration is the most we can do since they didn't construct the building.
However even that might not be entirely fair because New York is famous for forbidding the altering of building exteriors through "historic" zoning regulations as you probably well know.
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Cygnus
Rebel8, I agree with your last post.
West, I'm sure you're referring to Seventh-Day Adventists. Russell wrote that he had nothing to do with them and was not familiar with the teachings and writings of Ellen White. Russell always gave credit to his 2nd Adventist heritage, mentioning men like Barbour and Storrs in the highest regard.
kid-A,
: 1) a grave monument covered in masonic images
But from a biblical standpoint. I've also read that the property became owned by Masons and their lodge built there after Russell was buried on that plot. The pyramid near his grave also says he was the LAODICEAN MESSENGER or something like that. I'm pretty sure a real Mason wouldn't regard that pyramid as being "covered in masonic images," and obviously Russell didn't set out to recruit Masons into his organization; he called them his "friends," while admitting he was quite ignorant of their beliefs and practices.
2) his early literature festooned with masonic symbols
As others have pointed out, that was all the rage in the late 19th century. It helps prove nothing other than Russell was contemporary with a bunch of other wackos.
3) his obsession with pyramidology, a specialty of turn-of-the-century free masonry.
Not really pyramidology, but the Great Pyramid. As noted, he considered it a "Bible" itself, and used its measurements and features to correspond with the Bible. His teachings were based primarily on scripture, not pyramids.
This is much ado about nothing. Read the links I provided a page or two back and see for yourself what Russell wrote and said and what the Bible Students themselves interpreted his words to mean. There is very little basis on which to conclude that Russell had anything to do with Freemasonry.