WBTS taught that ALL religion is a snare and a racket up to 1950

by Fernando 11 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  Fernando

  Two paragraphs from chapter V "Racketeers" in JF RutherFraud's book "Enemies" on pages 142-145:

  A RACKET is a scheme, plan, dodge or
  trick used for selfish gain and which deceives
  and works injury to others. A perversion
  of the truth for the purpose of inducing
  another in reliance upon it to part with some-
  thing valuable is a racket. A false scheme or
  misrepresentation or suppression of the truth,
  which results in injury to others, and for pecuniary
  gain to the schemer, is a racket. A deception
  intentionally practiced, with a view to gain,
  is a racket.

  The greatest racket ever invented and practiced
  is that of religion. The most cruel and
  seductive public enemy is that which employs
  religion to carry on the racket, and by which
  means the people are deceived and the name
  of Almighty God is reproached. There are numerous
  systems of religion, but the most subtle,
  fraudulent and injurious to humankind is that
  which ia generally labeled the "Christian religion",
  because it has the appearance of a worshipful
  devotion to the Supreme Being, and
  thereby easily misleads many honest and sincere
  persons. Strange as it may seem, the two
  words "Christian" and "religion" are diametrically
  opposed one to the other. Most persons
  in the land called "Christendom" have been led
  to believe that the two words mean one and
  the same thing, and through lack of knowledge
  of the truth great injury is done to the people.
  The greatest public enemy is that which operates
  with a righteous appearance but which is
  fraudulent, brings reproach upon God's name,
  misrepresents his purpose, and thereby robs
  the people of their money, their peace of mind,
  their liberty of speech and thought, and the
  opportunity of life everlasting.

  (Some of the OCR scanning errors fixed above, but text displays correct in pdf below)

  http://wtarchive.svhelden.info/archive/en/publications/1937_JR_Enemies.pdf

  The terms "false religion" and "true religion" were invented in 1950 largely due to expedient legal maneuvering and swindling by Watchtower in house lawyer Hayden C Covington. These terms are not found in the above publication. The terms "all religion" and "all religions" appears a total of 5 times.

  In the book "Religion" below the terms "all religion", "all religions" and "all religionists" appears a total of 11 times. The terms "false religion" and "true religion "are not found in the publication below either.

  http://wtarchive.svhelden.info/archive/en/publications/1940_JR_Religion.pdf

  (Search tips in Adobe Acrobat Reader: Menu bar, edit, search, don't use quotation marks)
• 

  blondie

  That is correct ALL religion was false until the early 50's when a supposedly confused jw wrote in.

  The WTS taught that they were not a religion. But they gave up in the early 50's because it was too hard to explain. There is a QFR about it but I don't have access to the CD at work.
• 

  breakfast of champions

  Didn't the change from "all religion is evil/we're not a religion" to "false/true religion" occur when they realized they would lose their tax exempt status if they did not refer to themselves as a religion?

  I could be wrong. Will have to check out that book, looks interesting!
• 

  00DAD

  They were right then and they are still right now (at least on this point):

  • ALL Religion is a snare and a racket.
  • JWs are a religion.
  • Therefore, the religion of JWs is also a snare and a racket.

  End of story. Let's go have lunch!!!
• 

  Fernando

  Yes, it seems it was a tax and legal thing.

  The WBTS wanted what other religions were enjoying - legitimacy with benefits.

  They needed a way to come out of the closet (as religionists) without losing their blind followers.

  Hayden C Covington and his breathtaking swindle and abuse of the legal system was the answer.

  His 1950 book was the centrepiece of this scam and it worked a charm.

  Down to this day the world thinks the WBTS has won a great victory for society in the form of "freedom of religion". Just ask the ACLU.

  Instead the WBTS has further embedded and contributed to the staggering social destruction facilitated and wrought by religion which always enslaves and oppresses the human spirit which is the taproot of health and illness.

  WBTS followers may call themselves "publishers of the good news" however they actively publish (supremacist, destructive, sectarian and divisive) religion instead. They are not evangelisers but rather proselytisers (Matt 23:15). It is not possible to be ignorant of the unabridged "good news" and a genuine evangeliser. In fact they actively STOP people learning about the liberating and healing "gospel of grace" which was at the core of the 1980 Bethel HQ witch hunt and purge. A breathtaking legal swindle they have gotten away with for more than half a century.

  http://wtarchive.svhelden.info/archive/en/publications/1950_HC_Defending_and_Legally_Establishing_the_Good_News.pdf (thanks to Slimboyfat for alerting us to this site)
• 

  Fernando

  Thanks for the short version of this sorry saga, OODAD. Precisely!
• 

  VM44

  "When it comes to bullshit, big-time, major league bullshit, you have to stand in awe of the all-time champion of false promises and exaggerated claims, religion." -- George Carlin
• 

  blondie

  *** w51 3/15 p. 191 Questions From Readers ***

  ? In the past we regarded “religion” as anything that was against God’s will. Now many brothers are using the expressions “true religion” and “false religion” to make a distinction. Is this advisable?—D. D., California.The brothers are correct in using the qualifying adjectives “true” and “false” respecting religion, so as not to be misunderstood, especially by those outside the organization. In the past we have had to do so much needless explanation and extricating of ourselves from embarrassing positions by not being specific on this. The footnotes of the New World Translation show the early use by Latin-speaking Christians of the term religio as the equivalent of the Greek term thres·kei′ a. It simply means “form of worship”, of which there can be a true and a false kind. Study over the footnotes in the New World Translation on the texts at Acts 26:5, Colossians 2:18 and James 1:26, 27, and see how the footnote renderings allow for the use of the term “religion” or “religious”, though the texts themselves use the expressions “form of worship” or “formal worshiper”. Hence it is well to make clear our use of the term “religion” by qualifying it as “true” or “false”, if the context or setting does not do this sufficiently.

  *** w51 8/15 p. 511 Questions From Readers ***

  Why has the Watchtower Society suddenly approved the use of the word “religion” relative to the worship of Jehovah’s witnesses?—P. L., New York.

  We are not trying to make a new language, but we want to use the language we have to the honor of God’s name, and do so with as little confusion as possible in Kingdom preaching. In the English language the word “religion” means the service or adoration of God or a god, as expressed through certain forms of worship. So the religion may be either true or false, depending upon both the god being worshiped and the form or manner of expressing the worship. If we practice the true form of worship of the true God Jehovah, and if we are speaking the English language, then when discussing our worship we may properly use the English words that will so limit our meaning, namely, “true religion.”

  The word “religion” is used in the English Bibles in several places. It is used in the KingJamesVersion at James 1:26, 27. There James distinguishes between the vain or false religion (1:26) and the pure or true religion (1:27), and does so by appropriately qualifying in each instance the same Greek word, thres·kei′ a. The Greek threskeía is equivalent to the Latin religio, both simply meaning “form of worship”, of which there can be a true and a false kind. From the Latin religio comes the English word “religion”. Study over the footnotes in the NewWorldTranslation on the texts at Acts 26:5, Colossians 2:18 and James 1:26, 27, to see how they allow for the use of the words “religion” and “religious”. When the Bible uses the term “religion” it is either properly qualified or the context or setting indicates whether it is speaking of the true or the false. Note how the setting shows that at Isaiah 29:13 it is false religion and at 2 Timothy 3:5 it is true religion, reading both texts from the Moffatt translation.

  This viewpoint on the use of the word “religion” was not suddenly adopted by the Society. Careful readers of the Society’s publications have noticed that during the past few years when religion was being discussed the publications were careful to limit any condemnation to false religion. Two years ago Awake! quoted Moffatt’s translation of 2 Timothy 3:1-5, 13, and identified the religion mentioned in that text as being true by inserting this qualification in brackets, as follows: “Though they keep up a form of [true] religion, they will have nothing to do with it as a force.” (September 22, 1949, page 9) So this matter had been under careful study and consideration for a long time, and what was brought out on it at the Theocracy’s Increase Assembly at Yankee Stadium in New York last year was further enlargement and welcome clarification, and not some new idea brought forth suddenly. None should feel upset by the use of the term “religion”. Because we use it does not put us in the class of the tradition-bound false religions, no more than does the calling of ourselves Christians put us in with the false Christians of Christendom.
• 

  Finkelstein

  The greatest racket ever invented and practiced is that of religion.

  Ever more apparent with those religions that hide their expressed commercially inspired false teachings entwined in a publishing house.

  With addition of being a fraud and deliberate scam cultivated upon the desire of power and money.

  Now who could I be talking about ?
• 

  Finkelstein

  I think when Rutherford wrote that particular book, (Enemies) it was probably the height of his drinking problem.

  He didn't even realize what he wrote could be mirrored back at himself and what he did with the WTS.

  Its remarkable upon how much the WTS leaders pointed their fingers at all other religions and called them false

  and never realizing just how false and corrupt they were themselves.

  Oh well I guess that gets pushed away when your trying to develop your own power and control as an organization.

  The strategy was always about pointing their finger at the other religions and then saying we were the only truly faithful ones

  according to the bible. They even used God's name to self identify and substantiate that purposed image .

  There's more commercial self marketing involving the JWS, thats obviously to be seen.