I feel that the apostate's claims that Rutherford was a drunk to be far fetched. On the one hand, they claim that he was so drunk that the brothers at Bethel shipped him to San Diego to Beth Sarim, where he stayed drunk out of his mind, then on the other hand, they claimed that he ruled the Society with an iron fist, that he was a dictator. No drunk could have ruled the Society like a dictator. Drunks can't run their own lives, let alone a major publishing company.
How could have Rutherford been a 'drunk'?
by wholewheat 99 Replies latest jw friends
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Francois
Wholewheat, I'm afraid you're off the mark. There have been many successful men at the top of vast corporations who absued alcohol. There's a wide variety of alcohol abuse, ranging from the drunk of your suggestion to people who can abuse and function, too.
Alcoholics usually develop cancers of the digestive system, like the liver, colon, etc. Rutherford died of rectum cancer. Now, I know there's a pun in there somewhere, but I just for the life of me can't see it. Someone help me out here.
Francois
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Fredhall
Wholewheat,
When you hear Rutherfrod was a drunk, it basically a hearsay. When someone told him that; they basically said it in a letter. Why? Because they were not MAN enough to tell him to his face.
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JanH
No drunk could have ruled the Society like a dictator. Drunks can't run their own lives, let alone a major publishing company.
That is simply not correct and builds on a simplistic stereotype of alcoholism. Drunks have indeed accomplished lots of things. E.g. I don't think Churchill was often really sober.
Stories about Rutherford's serious drinking problems are too many to ignore.
And, indeed, it is a fact that at the end of his life, he had less and less control of the WTS. This is from my own thesis about Rutherford:
"Though being a source of questionable value, Schnell argues convincingly that as the Judges health deteriorated, a new group of corporate-like leaders, the men in the Adams Street crowd gradually seized control, and planned for massive reorganization after his death (Schnell 1956, 161-6)"
- Jan
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larc
Wholewheat,
I just started to write, when Francois' post came up. My comments were about the same as his. I will add that it is known that Rutherford ordered large quantities of whiskey during prohibition. It is also known that Olin Moyle, an attorny for the WT complained about Rutherford's heavy drinking and abusive, foul language. Of course, in the Olan Moyle trial, all of Rutherford's men denied it all.
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BluesBrother
I would like to see some real evidence, or read an eyewitness account before accepting that Rutherford was as bad as they say
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SYN
If Rutherford was sober, then how did he manage to come up with the idea of God living in the Pleiedes?
Edited to add: Besides, why do you care about Rutherford? From previous comments of yours, I assume you're a Witness - although not apparently a terribly faithful one, considering the fact that you've gotten far enough out of the grasp of the Tower's mind control to come to an Apostate website. Rutherford was an Apostate, big guy. Well, he is now, according to the definition of "Apostate" put forward by the Tower.
Edited by - SYN on 28 June 2002 15:26:56
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JanH
BB,
Salter was not only an eye witness, he actually admitted having been implicated in smuggling and excessive drinking:
Salter wrote in his famous letter to Rutherford:
"As the scales by the Lord's grace, have fallen from my eyes I have been astounded to see how blinded I have been to your actions, through a superstition that the WATCHTOWER was the Lord's channel of meat in due season for the household of faith and that you as President of the Society were God's chief servant amongst His people, and that you being responsible we should be submissive to whatsoever you required done, foolishly thinking that I had no responsibility in the matter and that anything you did that was wrong, or that I did as ordered by you, the Lord would overrule. It was with this thought in mind that I, at your orders would purchase cases of whiskey at $60.00 a case, and cases of brandy and other liquors, to say nothing of untold cases of beer. A bottle or two of liquor would not do; it was for THE PRESIDENT and nothing was too good for THE PRESIDENT. He was heaven's favorite, why should not he have everything that would gratify his desires for comfort. ...
And oh, Lord, he is so courageous and his faith in Thee so great that he gets behind four walls, or surrounds himself literally with an armed bodyguard, and bellows away his dreams (Jeremiah 23:31,82) [sic] and sends us out from door to door to face the enemy while he goes from 'drink to drink,' and tells us if we don't we are going to be destroyed."
- Jan
Edited by - JanH on 28 June 2002 15:28:36
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Farkel
: would like to see some real evidence, or read an eyewitness account before accepting that Rutherford was as bad as they say
Then do your homework. Start with "Jehovah's Witnesses - A Monument to False Prophecy" by Len Cretien and Professor Edmund Gruss. It's thoroughly documented. Then read "Apocalypse Delayed" by Professor M. James Penton.
Have you ever heard the term "Functional Alcoholic?" Thought not.
Farkel
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larc
Blues Brother, I could post excerpts from the Olin Moyle trial, but before I take the time, I have to ask, would you believe it if you saw it? As I wrote before, all of the Rutherford loyalists denied it. So, let me know if quotes from Olin Moyle will make a difference to you before I spend the time finding this information.