I can't get sidewiki, BZ. What did you say?
Site To Refute Franz And Cameron
by Bangalore 41 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Leolaia
From the blog:
On page 26 Cameron writes:
Today the Governing Body teaches that Charles Taze Russell (by himself alone) never was “the faithful and discreet slave” of Matthew 24:45. But the Proclaimers book points out that there was a critical period of time in the Society’s history when they taught that he was.
Here’s a misrepresentation of Pastor Russell’s teachings. Pastor Russell never taught nor wrote that he himself filled the office of being “the faithful and discreet slave.” It was Russell himself who taught he was not the “faithful and discreet slave”.
It is true that some Bible Students believed Russell was the ‘faithful slave’, however was the Society teaching this in their magazines? Cameron thinks so.... What Cameron does is add his own twist to what the Proclaimers book is actually saying. Nowhere in that quote does it say the Society actively taught and preached that Russell was the ‘faithful servant.’The Watchtower Society taught in its publications that Russell was the "faithful and wise servant", that's a fact.
"We deem it appropriate, therefore, to call attention here to the final warning and admonition given to the church by that 'faithful and wise servant', published in the November 1, 1916, WATCH TOWER. This warning from Brother Russell seems to indicate that after his decease special trials would come to the church. Since his death his words appear even more striking and appropriate than while he was among us" (Watchtower, 1 January 1917, p. 5-6).
"The great Master laid special emphasis on the importance of the messenger to the seventh, or Laodicean, period of the Church, saying that such an one would be 'a faithful and wise servant', whom his Lord would make ruler over all His Household, to give them meat in due season.' Those consecrated Christians who have read and fully appreciated the Truth as contained in the preceding six volumes of STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES readily see and agree that Charles Taze Russell was the messenger of the Church of Laodicea. In the mind of every one who believes the Bible the evidence set forth in this volume will establish that fact beyond the question of a doubt....The Lord pronounces His indignation and wrath against all such Babylonish systems and marks their utter destruction in a Time of Trouble such as the world has never known and will never again know; and that the earthly creature made prominent therein above all others is the messenger of the Laodicean Church— 'that wise and faithful servant of the Lord'— CHARLES TAZE RUSSELL" (The Finished Mystery, 1917, pp. 3-5).
"The Seventh Volume was prepared and published by and under the direction of the WATCH TOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY, the messenger having power to send out truths destructive to Babylon. (G6 ; Rev. 14:18). Pastor Russell is the real author, and the compilers give all the credit to him and to the great Lord of the harvest....It shows that the Prophet Ezekiel was the prototype of the seventh messenger, and that the experiences of Ezekiel have been marvelously parallelled and fulfilled in the experiences of Pastor Russell. Ezekiel’s prophecy, heretofore a sealed book, is now made clear in the closing hours af the harvest. It confirms the Lord’s promise of the 'faithful and wise servant,' and identifies him. It proves that Pastor Russell’s seven volumes of STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES were foreknown and foretold as the 'thricedoubled sword and its point,' and shows how it should be sent forth. -- Ezekiel 21" (Watchtower, 15 November 1917, pp. 343-344).
"It would seem well at this season, the memorial of the translation of'that faithful and wise steward' from earthly to heavenly activities [i.e. the death of Pastor Russell in October 1916] (Revelation 14:13), to review the Lord’s dealings with his people, both individually and collectively, and learn lessons thereby" (Watchtower, 15 October 1918, p. 323)
"No one in present truth for a moment doubts that Brother Russell filled the office of the 'faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season'. (Matthew 24: 45) He organized the Society shortly after he began his work, but not until 1884 was it incorporated....We believe the Society thus constituted by Brother Russell under the supervision of the Lord has a commission from the Lord, which commission or authority the Lord has never taken away from it" (Watchtower, 1 April 1920, pp. 100-101).
"The Lord himself stated that he would come again to gather unto himself his saints, and then added: "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his good’s." (Matthew 24:45- 47) Clearly, then, the Lord foretold an office that would be filled by a man. We believe that almost all, if not quite all, the readers of THE WATCH TOWER will agree that the man whom the Lord chose to fill that office was that modest, humble, and faithful servant, Brother Russell. If we agree to this, then we should likewise unanimously reach the conclusion that the Lord directed and overruled the work performed by Brother Russell" (Watchtower, 1 May 1921, p. 135).
"Without a doubt Pastor Russell filled the office for which the Lord provided and about which he spoke, and was therefore that wise and faithful servant, ministering to the household of faith meat in due season. Pastor Russell finished his earthly course in 1916" (The Harp of God, 1921, p. 239).
"Jesus said that the age would end with a harvest, at which time he would be present, and that he would then send forth his messengers to gather together his elect (Matthew 13: 24-30; 24: 31) It is to be expected that the Lord would have some witness in the earth at the time of the harvest to make announcement of the fact of his presence and of the harvest. Here is some more circumstantial evidence which is proof conclusive; some more physical facts that speak louder than audible words, to wit: It was Brother Russell who announced the time of the harvest and the presence of the Master of the harvest. It was he who first went forth throughout the land crying out, 'The harvest is here; go ye into the field and labor'. And thousands of others taking up the slogan joined in the proclamation of the message. Jesus plainly said that during the time of his presence he would have a faithful and wise servant whom he would use to give meat to the household (of faith) due season. Every one today who has a knowledge of the divine plan of the ages must truthfully answer that he derived that knowledge from studying his Bible in connection with what Brother Russell wrote; that before such time he did not even know that God had a plan of salvation. Every person who today is rejoicing in the light of the truth of God’s Word realizes that the Lord brought to him that truth, unfolding it through the ministrations and work begun by Brother Russell shortly following the presence of the Lord. Was he a servant of the Lord? No one who knew him and who tells the truth can deny the fact that he was servant, because he gave his time over to service ....Was he faithful? This question must be answered in the affirmative.... Was he wise? As the world understands that word, particularly as defined by worldly clergymen, he was not. And thank God he was not. Had he possessed great worldly wisdom, such as that employed by his defamers, the Lord would never have used him.... The indisputable facts, therefore, show that the 'time of the end' began in 1799; that the Lord’s second presence began in 1874; that the harvest followed thereafter and greater light has come upon the Word of God. In this connectmn, then, let us note the words of Jesus: 'Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing' (Matthew 24: 45, 46). It must be conceded, then, that at the end of the world, at the 'time of the end', during the presence of the Lord, during the harvest, he would have in the earth a servant who would be faithful and wise. The physical facts show that Brother Russell met every one of these requirements. This prophetic utterance, then, has been fulfilled. Therefore fulfilled prophecy, or physical facts, and the circumstantial evidence are conclusive proofs that Brother Russell filled the office of that faithful and wise servant" (Watchtower, 1 March 1922, pp. 72-74).
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Ace serve by Leolaia!
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t33ap80c
Some comments from Don Cameron...
The author said, "(Cameron) argues since the Society believed 1874 marked Jesus’ invisible presence, therefore, in 1914 they could not have been on the watch for Jesus and his Kingdom. Is this true?"
What I notice is that the above author has changed my argument in order to prove that I was mistaken.
What I actually said is that since the Society believed that Jesus’ invisible presence began in 1874 they would not have been on the watch for his invisible presence to begin in 1914. That still seems reasonable to me. In the same way today they are not on the watch for Jesus’ invisible presence to begin because today they believe it already began in 1914.
But the author changed the subject from "the beginning of Jesus’ invisible presence in 1874" to being "on the watch for Jesus and his Kingdom in 1914."
While it is true that the Society was on the watch for Jesus to come in his Kingdom and destroy all earthly governments at the end of the Gentile Times in 1914, they were not on the watch for Jesus’ invisible presence to begin in 1914.
I think it is possible that the author is so intent on proving me wrong that that he doesn’t realize he has done this.
Don Cameron
P.S. I wonder if this person is ThirdWitnetss? Sure sounds like him.
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AnnOMaly
t33ap80c, I've commented on the site to that effect - http://settingtherecordstraight.wordpress.com/2010/01/05/chapter-3-48-teachings-jesus-examined-reviewed/#comment-10
I suspect the blogger is at least affiliated with the T-wit bunch, but at this point he appears to be more polite than T-wit generally is. My first response was edited (full version on p. 1 of this thread), but the point was still made.
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t33ap80c
In the book I said, "One of the things that makes the Watchtower’s organizational concept so powerful is that nobody notices that it is ‘in fact, the dominant, controlling force’ in their decision-making process."
"Setting The Record Straight" then said, " Well, ‘nobody notices’ because this simply isn’t true."
That just goes to prove my point. Even ‘Setting’doesn’t notice it!
But why is it that Jehovah’s Witnesses are so willing to stop or start believing something the moment the Society stops or starts teaching it? What is the dominant, controlling force in their decision-making process?
It isn’t because they believe that Jesus is the Christ or even that Jehovah is God. Rather it is because they believe that "the Society is God’s organization." That’s the way it was when I was a Witness. I assume it still works the same way today.
Don Cameron
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AnnOMaly
I know - you don't see at the time how much influence, even subconsciously, the WTS has over sometimes even the most mundane of decision-making processes.
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agonus
Witnesses in good standing aren't even supposed to touch this stuff. They've been told over and over not to create websites dealing with religious matters. Therefore, any such websites are automatically either one of two things:
1) A fraud, i.e. one of the GB or their henchmen posing as apologists, or
2) A member who is going against his/her religion, and therefore invalid as an apologist.
Therefore any "JW apologist" websites are officially worthless. End of story.
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Aussie Oz
i am amazed that they bother to defend stuff about russell since they have abandoned most of everything he taught. The only link they have to him is the hijacked watchtower society.
If Rutherford had started a completely new corporation with its own magazine, Russell would have been soundly thrashed as a deluded false prophet and a leader in modern babylon the great.
oz
ps great post and great information on it, thankyou
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t33ap80c
In my book on page 24 I said…
"If Jesus did return in 1914, neither President Russell nor President Rutherford ever knew it."
I was specifically referring to Jesus’ return TO BEGIN HIS INVISIBLE PRESENCE IN 1874.
And that according to the Proclaimers book the Society didn’t change the date to 1914 until 1943. And since Russell died in 1916 and Rutherford died in 1942 then neither man ever knew that Jesus’ invisible presence began in 1914.
But once again ThirdWitness (or whoever he is) changed the return I was talking about from the return of Jesus to begin his parousia in 1874 to a different return that has nothing to do with 1874. He said…
"Actually President Russell and Rutherford both believed that Christ would return in 1914."
But according to the Proclaimers book they never believed that Christ would return in 1914 TO BEGIN HIS PAROUSIA. (I assume TW knows this.)
When I dealt with TW in the past I noticed that it is very difficult for him to not switch the subject. He does it so often that, again, I think it is possible that he no longer realizes when he does it.
Don Cameron