Was pyramidology a distraction to hide Russell's true source?

by Crazyguy 8 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Crazyguy

  Russell was big in to the pyramid at Giza but I'm trying to understand his line of thinking? In the early 1840s and author by the name of John Aquila Brown wrote a book called the Even-Tide. In his book he lays out the times of the end and his ideas on the book of Daniel. These ideas get copied by Adventists and the millerites. Every thing we have been taught about the end of the gentile times 607 and 1914 and these ideas comes from his book. He didn't mention these exact dates but these ideas were clearly his.

  So whats with the pyramid? Many Adventists wrote about the pyramid and Russell took this idea too and wrote several books about it. So I don't get it, the end times ideas he stole and then modified from John Brown so why the pyramid? Was it a distraction away from his true source or did it make for better books sales , does anyone know?
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  OnTheWayOut

  Charles Russell and his father were heavily influenced by Millerites. I believe that they believed, at least Charles seemed to. He really seemed sure of Nelson Barbour's thoughts that the end of the world would arrive in 1878. He sold his businesses and heavily financed Barbour and 1878 came and went.

  Russell went his own way and started the Watchtower Society.

  So your guess is as good as mine on whether he still believed in the end of the world coming and pyramids pointing the way, or if he was just trying to be in the business of selling Watchtower printed material to make up for losing so much money.
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  schnell

  I've been reading Gentile Times Reconsidered. I am not at all far but I have not yet come across the pyramid. Might I suggest that Russell believed the pyramid's length corroborated Barbour's calculation that terminated in 1914?
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  Crazyguy

  I think he got more influence about the pyramid from Cours are whatever his name then from Barbour? I at one piont in time believed that the pyramid was a confirmation of his ideas about the end times he took from John Brown but have been told that no he was more into the pyramid as the main focus probably influenced by Cours on this. I believe he and Barbour had a fallen out before he wrote his first book Time At Hand in 1889 and then his next book The Kingdom Come was the big on on the pyramid written in 1991.
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  darkspilver

  Hey Crazyguy

  In the early 1840s and author by the name of John Aquila Brown wrote a book called the Even-Tide.

  If you haven't already seen it, you might be interested in the following from a few years ago
  

  https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/186940/john-aquila-brown-pdf
  
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  Calebs Airplane

  Note: "The Even Tide" was written in 1826 (not 1940).
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  Vidiot

  Russel was obviously a Millerite fanboy, but I'm now convinced he was a Mason wannabe, too...

  ...so it's only natural that he'd try to marry Millerite theology with Mason ideology.
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  sparky1

  Russell borrowed (stole is more like it!) the pyramid theory from John Taylor and C. Piazzi Smyth and incorporated it into his own religious ideology.

  
  
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  TD

  Crazyguy

  Are you comfortable with your understanding of 19th century USA and its culture, fads, etc.?