William Miller was a freemason
For what it's worth Miller was referred to as father Miller up until approximately 1926 in Watchtower Publications
Here's PROOF that Charles Taze Russell Was NOT a Pennsylvania Freemason
by AndersonsInfo 85 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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ElderEtta
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reslight2
Is there no way to delete this? Was accidentally submitted before I had finished.
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reslight2
Brother Russell never referred to Miller as "father Miller", although an article written by J. C. Sunderlin which appeared in the Watch Tower in May of 1883 does have the that phrase several times.
http://mostholyfaith.com/Beta/bible/Reprints/Z1883MAY.asp#Z3:27 -
Finkelstein
Russell may not have registered as a Freemason but he did drawn some theological influence from this organization and did use many of this organization's Halls giving public talks .
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reslight2
From Wikipedia:
Miller was an active Freemason until 1831.[18][19][20] Miller resigned his Masonic membership in 1831, stating that he did so to "avoid fellowship with any practice that may be incompatible with the word of God among masons".[21] By 1833 he wrote in a letter to his friends to treat Freemasonry "as they would any other evil".[22] -
reslight2
Regardless, Charles Taze Russell was definitely never a member of the Freemasons, nor of any of man's secret societies. Despite all the wild imaginative assumptions that many present as alleged proof that he was a member of the Freemasons, no one has presented any actual proof at all that he was a Mason, but we do have a lifetime of his works that overwhelmingly demonstrate that he was not a member of the Freemasons. It is inconceivable that any man would spend approximately 46 years of life, his entire fortune, etc., sabotaging something that he is alleged to have been secretly supporting.
Russell did on a few occasions draw some parallels to the Bible and what he supposed to be teachings of the Freemasons. He did the same thing with others, such as the Catholics, the Baptists, Methodists, the Odd-fellows, etc.
Likewise, Russell and the Bible Students rented meeting rooms from many different organizations, not just from the Freemasons. Bible Students still do this today.
Nevertheless, many statements Russell made concerning the Freemasons actually showed that he had some misconceptions about the Freemasons. For instance, in one article, appears to believe that all Masons are Knights Templar, and that all Freemasons are Christian. Later, in a sermon, he still seems to think of all Masons as being Christian, and refers to them as Masonic friends and even brethren, similar to the way he did with Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, etc. In that same sermon, he seems to present the Knights Templar as being of a higher order of Freemasons.
For much of my research related to Russell and the Freemasons, one might see:
http://rlctr.blogspot.com/2016/12/freemasons.html