Another deep cut . . . Walter Salter

BereanThinker7

As Ive mentioned before I like digging into obscure Watchtower characters of the past. So todays topic will be W.F. Salter. He started writing and distributing material questioning the invisible presence via the Canadian branch in the 30's and I read he even walked away with some Watchtower real estate that was somehow in his name.

Ive read most of the posts I could find on here about him and was suprised the Org even saw fit to write 3 different articles to counter him. I also managed to get a copy of a little booklet he wrote called "Truth As I See It".

So what Im curious about is does anyone know what became of him after he left? His booklet seems like many of his doctrines moved extremely close to Christadelpianism after his exit. And also if any one knows what was it that he read all the way back in the 30s that made him realize the ”parousia" invisible presence doctrine is nonsense? (He refers to it in a letter to Rutherford posted somewhere on this site.) There must have been some decent Watchtower refutations circulating even back then.

slimboyfat

What doctrines moved closer to Christadelphians? I’m a bit of an expert of Christadelphians these days.

I can’t find “Truth As I See It”, is there a link?

Vanderhoven7

Slim

..its available on Amazon Books in the US

..but out of print on Amazon uk

dropoffyourkeylee

Ok, I have never heard of him. Can you please give some background?

BereanThinker7

Some of the positions he took in the book, if I remember correctly, I finished it about 2 months ago and I should have done this post right away while it was fresh in my mind, were. . .

No literal devil, the charecter is used as a symbolism of the evil in all

Most times holy spirit refers to god the father

Christ was not pre existant as the logos

That Jesus will return to Isreal and the jews will largely convert and lead the world into a kingdom under christ on earth

Different from Christadelphians he belived in a final universal salvation of all humans

smiddy3

Apparently Walter Salter

left JW`s / WT`s Altar

long before he could

falter.

slimboyfat

Well those are pretty distinctive Christadelphian doctrines, to be sure. So much so that one suspects direct influence, rather than mere coincidence. However universal salvation is pretty incompatible with Christadelphianism, so not sure how it sits.

Another interesting teaching, I found out, related to the devil thing, is that Christadelphians believe only humans have free will. They believe angels don’t have free will, therefore Satan cannot be an angel who rebelled, because angels cannot rebel.

Anna Marina

Hi Slimboyfat

Are you aware of the connection of the Christadelphians to Benjamin Wilson who wrote the Emphatic Diaglott?

I am not an expert like you but I put this here in case it is of use/interest to you.

Benjamin Wilson joined the Cambellite movement (followers of Thomas Campbell) but he split from that movement circa 1850 due to doctrinal disagreements.

In a publication by John Thomas (founder of the Christadelphians) called, The Herald of the Future Age, Benjamin Wilson expressed his views on the immortal soul. This was the initial cause of Wilson's break with Campbell.

So Benjamin Wilson, who wrote the Emphatic Diaglott agreed with the founder of the Christadelphians on matters to do with the soul.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Wilson_(biblical_scholar)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Thomas_(Christadelphian)

BereanThinker7

https://www.amazon.com/Truth-as-I-See-It/dp/B00IGLEUP6

I got the book for like $3 but for any one whos interested. Also if you just search W.F. Salter on this site you can get the backround and story on here through old posts. There is alot of information and more than I care to go back through and then copy and paste here to rebuild the story.

However I am still curious if anyone knows whatever became of the guy.

My Name is of No Consequence

Walter Salter...love that name!

Another deep cut . . . Walter Salter

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