An apple doesn't fall far from the tree

by WireRider 5 Replies latest watchtower scandals

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  WireRider

  http://jwdivorces.bravehost.com/decisions/ctrdivorce.html - the founder of the WT/JW and a reflection about his views of himself and life and the religion he built. His legacy is alive and well, even today.
  

  "While professing at all times to be guided by the Word of God the undisputed evidence is that he would sulk for weeks at a time and not speak to his wife, and would resort to the pen to have any communications with her; instead of approaching her personally to try to secure reconciliation of their differences and praying with her as a godly man would have done, he went about among her associates and told them she was under the hypnotic influence of Satan in the form of her sister, who was his father's second wife." A little bent.
  

  I remember reading an article that had photo copies of a local area news paper that included the facts, from court, that she filed for divorce due to cruelty, an in part because Russell would lock himself self in a bedroom with the 14 year old "house girl" that cleaned. When she was called to testify, the court was told she was traveling - Russell had given her some cash and put her on a sloooow boat to Australia.
  

  For those that know my story - the divorced woman I was engaged to lived her entire marriage under the training of Russell's legacy. Beat her and treated her like a servant.

  I don't see much difference in the JW thinking today. Russell was the original child sexual abuse scandal. Is it any wonder that it still exists, and covered up, by the WT/JW.
  
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  Diogenesister

  Thank you for this post. we none of us are perfect & all do things at times that we feel bad about at the time or with hindsight. However as the new testament correctly points out, we cannot claim to be Christians and or decent folk if we are not kind to those closest to us - our famillies including our spouse.

  How can folk spend time spreading the message of the kingdom to strangers, claiming its done out of love, if we don't practice that message of love in our personal lives. Our spouse & children in particular, with whom we will spend our lives our owed our constant devotion . Although we will constantly stumble and make mistakes the most important thing is to own our error and try to make ammends. A Christian cannot refuse Arms yet maintain a war in his own household as Russell did or commit violent acts on his children as some JW's do. Headship in this world is a licence for cruelty & domination - equality & sharing should be the watchwords for Christians and Humanists in all family relationships including that of our children - thier voices MUST be heard as of equal merit or abuse will continue.

  The cruelty & lack of listening within these hierachical WT structures is apparent. What does the gobbledegook "because of the angels "mean anyway? The truth is the middle eastern bronze age onsessjon with womens hair is the reason. During the recent Parisian march against terroism , when world leaders stood at the front of the marchers linking arms, Angela Merkel - the German Chancellor - was airbrushed out in a right wing Ofthadox Jewish newspaper. Not because she was a women, but because her HAIR was uncovered.That silliness is continued in the wtbts today with its headship rules!
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  prologos

  was airbrushed out in a right wing Ofthadox Jewish newspaper. Not because she was a women, but because her HAIR was uncovered. diogenesister, that is an interesting detail. they could have as easily photo-shopped onto her a little hat, kerchief. What a proper example is our Queen and her entourage!

  the court was told she was traveling - Russell had given her some cash and put her on a sloooow boat to Australia. WireRider, Australia? did she start a family there, have kids? was it not there that your theory of the apple not falling far from the tree, watchtower - style had recently been validated?
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  Half banana

  In the interests of accuracy, Russell, however nutty he was and was taken to court a number of times through questionable business practice but never for sexual misconduct. After he and his wife embarked on a celibate marriage which ended about twenty years later; he had no legal evidence found against him in their divorce for dalliance with the opposite sex. The servant mentioned in the rumours was Rose Ball an orphan brought up by the Russells from the age of ten and who was treated as a daughter. She went to Melbourne Australia and had married Australian branch servant and together started their own Russellite splinter group. She died in 1950 at the age of 81. Their group whimpers on I believe in Australia.
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  Diogenesister

  Thank you for your post. I wasn't aware they had an adopted daughter - seems as if they were a good Christian couple whose extreme desire to emulate their apostle heros proved too burdensome for a normal red blooded married women to deal with.

  I have no issue with Russell, indeed with any individual bible student or witness (with the possible exception of Rutherford). I do however think that as a body of men the GB, their so called 'helpers'and branch office officials have a duty of care toward their flock & are, instead of refreshing them, constantly adding to their burdens to such a point that stress, suicide & mental illness are particularly common among witnesses. It was painful to hear one over burdened & frustrated elder talk of ignoring watchtower directives and attempting to 'remove the whip marks'from his unhappy flocks back.

  Its too tragic for words.
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  Athanasius

  Regarding Rose Ball, she was born in 1869 (same year as Joe Rutherford), and was 20 years old when she first came to live with the Russells in 1889. Nor was she an orphan, as both her parents were alive in 1897 when she married Ernest Henninges.

  Russell sent theto couple to Australia, where In 1908 Rose and her husband defected and formed the New Covenant Publishing Company and the New Covenant Fellowship. Henninges died in 1939 and Rose passed in 1950.