ninja: oompy.....the last thing he needs on his grave is a rose....remember the trouble a rose caused between him and his wife
afraid not...do share.......thanks.............oompa
So who here has seen Russels grave? Weird huh?
by oompa 41 Replies latest jw friends
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oompa
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sacolton
Rose Ball.
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Mr. Majestic
Is the pyramid his actual grave or is it a monument?
I am just wondering what the grave looking thing is in the proclaimers book, page 64?
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Nathan Natas
The pyramid is a monument that marks the center of the bible Students' plot in that cemetery.
If I can be so bold as to urge a little bit of understanding, back in CTR's day they did not know the origin of the pyramids. They believed the pyramids were built "about 400 years after the Flood" by Noah's son Shem (who was NOT one of the Three Stooges). OK, let's give them that. They didn't know any better, and they were ignorant.
The idea that the Great Pyramid might have theological significance was first proposed by John Taylor in 1859. Perhaps Mr. Taylor was one of the "proto-Witnesses" the WTS likes to specualte about. Then in 1877 some NOBODY named Professor C. Piazzi Smythe, influenced by Taylor, wrote a book titled "Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid." CTR picked this up in 1891 and was COMPLETELY SOLD on the idea promulgated, not by some "faithful and discreet (christian) slave," but by a SECULAR academic. It was CTR that gave this whacked idea the whiff of respectability, and to this day, Bible Students believe whatever CTR told them. After all, CTR was the "faithful slave," even if he was inspired by secular academics. THIS was the true source of Watch Tower doctrine.
The WTS continued to publish this ridiculous notion (Pyramid="Bible in Stone") until Rutherford put a STOP to it in 1928 with the publication of his article "The Altar in Egypt."
When the bible Students put the Pyramid monument upon the center of the cemetery plot, CTR had been dead for something like three years. He never expressed approval (afaik) for the idea. But the idea itself was not to commemorate the Egyptians, but to use the pyramid as a metaphor for the "church' that CTR was believed to have been gathering, a "church" with Christ as the capstone.
I'm an atheist. I dismiss all this as meaningless and incorrect speculation. It is wrong, and it is bad for you, but let's consider the people, the time and the place and cut those 19th century zealots a little slack. They need all they can get.
postscript -
And what became of Professor Smythe? According to one website discussin his works,
"Smyth wrote several other books to promote his theories but received little official recognition. He became disillusioned and became the first person to resign from the Royal Academy He spent his last years studying and photographing cloud formations in England's Lake District."
I don't know if smthe ever wrote about the divine messages in cloud formations, and CTR doesn't mention reading any such books.
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Mr. Majestic
So is that a "no" then...??
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Nathan Natas
Yes, that's a no. Positively negatory, good buddy.
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Mr. Majestic
You could have just said "no" the first time….
Some people just love the sound of their own voice…Tut, sigh.. (only kidding)
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HappyDad
Thanks for hitting the nail on the head Nathan. I wish I could put my thoughts into words as you and others do. These days on JWD there is a lot of "forget the facts, let's just get em mentality".
I live less than a half hour drive from Russell's grave and have been there quite a few times. I'd like to go again this spring and copy all the names on the nearby stones. Some of them look just like Russell's smaller grave marker and they probably were early Bible Students. Once I have the names, I could do some research.
HappyDad
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Nathan Natas
Thank you Happy Dad. I think that if get inaccurate or sloppy we only hurt our cause.
I for one would be very eager to see that list. And, if I may - get DATES, too.
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moomanchu
Haven't been there yet. I was thinking of taking a little trip out there it's about a 4 hour drive for me.
I'd like to get some pictures of me and the wife standing next to it,maybe send them to relatives to show them our little trip.
When I showed my mom the pictures of the pyramid off the internet she vehemetly denied them.
Big brother elder however, confirmed that the pictures were real.
Suddenly, it didn't matter about the pyramid, "that's in the past. Why do you always bring up the past"?
What else is there to do out there, if I go for a long weekend?