Russell, who was he really?

by derrickb007 12 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

  • derrickb007
    derrickb007

    I'm sure this subject must have been covered on this forum before, but I'm still kind of new around here and haven't found any threads on it. So, my appologies in advance. It has been brought to my attention that Charles Russell had ties to the Masonic Lodge, and was involved with other forms of spiritistic practices, other than just the "Pyramid" thing.

    What I am looking for is hard evidence, or areas I can go to to find hard evidence of this. Can anyone help me. Thanks.

    PS: Time periods would be helpful to.

    Edited by - derrickb007 on 11 November 2002 15:3:55

  • Buster
    Buster

    There is a group that still follows his teachings: International Bible Students Assn. (IBSA). They still sell his collected writings: Studies in the Scriptures - pretty cheap too. They also have it online. For the most part, it is deliriously dull reading - but it has some fun parts too. I actually bought an antique set. One interesting point you are likely to notice if you go there, is that they will claim that Russell was not the founder of the JWs - it was Rutherford. They refer to a time when Rutherford led a coup and booted faithful Russellites and replaced them with his own cronies.

    I consider Russel a king of casuists. Take a careful read thru his logic on the Great Jubliee. He puts it out there like it is irrefuteable. Throughout the writings, look for references to it'it obviously follows', or 'it is clear to his followers'. Thats where you'll find the stuff he made up out of whole cloth. That is where he expects to pull some trash logic out of the trash logic bin, then tell you that he knows it to be true - and expect you to continue to read on, believing every word.

    The most remarkable thing I've noticed as I read these books it their similarities to current publications. Most/all of the teachings have been dropped/rationalized away. But the overall tone is exactly the same as current pubs. Even the 'one question per paragraph' study mode is there. I was not surprised to find that the overall approach to the bible is the same: a jigsaw approach where the enlightened can interpret for the rest of us poor slobs. What was surprising were the exact terms still used today: things like 'in harmony with book this, verse that', 'true followers of Jehovah realize that', 'Esau class this', 'Ruth class that'.

    I have done a fair amount of poking around and have not found much corroberation for the Masonic link. And I haven't read much that would imply any effect on the teachings.

    His own writings should be about as hard an evidence as you could possibly need.

    I can only guess that you are girding your loins for an arguement/discussion with a JW. One important point, as an organization, they have pretty much abandoned all the specific teachings and interpretations of Russell. You will get a big pile of 'new light' double-speak.

  • derrickb007
    derrickb007

    Thanks Buster.

    Actually, what I was looking for was someone who may have old watchtower articles (Pre 1914) where he may have said things that would pertain to a spiritistic nature. I've been told that he had given talks where he admitted to Masonic ties and thought that there might be evidence written by his hand that could prove this, if it is true to begin with in the first place.

    My point being that how could god bless an individual that was actively involved with spirits?

    Thanks

    Edited by - derrickb007 on 11 November 2002 16:4:38

  • Sangdigger
    Sangdigger

    Derrick,

    One thing you might already be aware of, is his use of the "Cross and Crown" a masonic symbol that appeared on the Zion magazine regularly.

  • derrickb007
    derrickb007

    No, Sangdigger, I didn't know that. I'll go look for that. Thanks

    Edited by - derrickb007 on 11 November 2002 16:18:31

  • Nathan Natas
    Nathan Natas

    You'll find the SEARCH facility here is very helpful at finding threads containing topics you want to examine. As you suspected, there has been a lot of discussion about Russell's "Masonic connection." Some here are convinced that he WAS a Mason of the highest order, and others like myself believe that he merely "borrowed", ok, he stole - masonic imagery. The statements he is attributed as making can easily be taken to have double meanings (AHA! another mark of ...) You will find much here, including links to photos of the original Bethel grave site with its 8 foot tall PYRAMID marking the center of the plot. Russell is parked nearby, but not under the pyramid.

    Then you'll want to explore (perhaps) the whole Beth-Sarim/ Beth-Shan properties in San Diego, which were Rutherfords mansion and bomb shelter, respectively. Fascinating stuff!

  • larc
    larc

    Derrick 007, you mention the "Pyramid thing" suggesting a Masonic connection. The Masons saw the pyramid as a symbol of their history. Russell saw the pyramids in a far different light. He saw the meaurements of the Great Pyramids as numbers that had to do with the prediction of the end of the world. He got this idea from other religious writer's, not from the Masons. You asked if there is anything "spiritistic in nature" in his writings. There is none whatsoever. He was born and raised totally within the Christian religion and tradition. Christianity from boyhood until his death, consumed him. Buster, the one sentence one paragraph was not in Russell's books. I don't know if it was in his magazines or not. It was Rutherford who made this a common practice and a common mode of study. It was not until 1905, 26 years after the founding of the religion that Russell recommended that they study the scriptures by subject drawing from quotes from all over the place, rather than by context of a scripture within large portions text.

  • larc
    larc

    Did Russell have a Masonic connection? Yes. His father was a Mason, but he was not. That is what the membership records of the Masons of his era reveal.

  • Buster
    Buster

    Larc,

    I took a look and only my later volumes (published 1917 and 1918) have the question-per-paragraph structure. The one published 1913 and prior do not have it. Seems like Rutherford had them added. Thanks for hte correction

  • plmkrzy
    plmkrzy

    http://www.freemasonry.bcy.ca/anti-masonry/anti-masonry03.html

    Charles Taze Russell? Claims have been made that "Paster" Russell (1852/02/16-1916/10/31), founder of the International Bible Students Association forerunner of the Jehovah's Witnesses was a freemason; that the banner on the front of early issues of the Watchtower contained masonic symbols; and that Russell's gravestone bears a masonic cross and crown symbol.

    Russell was not a freemason. Neither the symbols found in the Watchtower nor the cross and crown symbol are exclusively masonic. And the cross and crown symbol does not appear on his gravestone in Pampa, Texas it appears on a memorial erected some years later.

    In an address delivered in a San Francisco masonic hall in 1913, Russell made positive use of masonic imagery by saying, "Now, I am a free and accepted mason. I trust we all are. But not just after the style of our masonic brethren." He further develops this idea: "true Bible believers may or may not belong to the masonic fraternity, but they are all masons of the highest order, since they are being fashioned, chiselled and polished by the Almighty to be used as living stones in the Temple Built Without Hands. They are free from sin, and therefore accepted by the God of Heaven as fit stones for the heavenly Temple." Later in this address, Russell stated quite clearly that "I have never been a mason." Those who claim Russell was a freemason quote this address out of context without noting the rhetorical imagery.

    Although Russell wrote about the pyramids and the Knights Templar, the pyramids are not a part of Freemasonry and Russell's understanding of the relationship between the modern Knights Templar and Freemasonry displays an outsider's ignorance of both organizations.

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