wasasister,
I'm very interested in having a copy of the book. Please e-mail me at [email protected] Thanks for offering it!
ALEXANDER H. MACMILLAN
by bj 23 Replies latest jw friends
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Maximus
Too complicated to go into here, so let me be simplistic.
In the view of JW culture, the Elijah-like "mantle" ostensibly passed from Russell to Rutherford--thence to Knorr, supported by Franz, as Knorr was not an author but an organizer (no, not a businessman) and Fred was the oracle.
Jan is quite right in citing Jim Penton's excellent summarizing what the charismatic Mac did as "Macchiavellian." He was the enforcer. Don't measure internal feelings by external actions. Happens all the time. The end justifies the means. (If you have not read Penton, you should.)
Remember, David did not touch the 'hem of Saul's garment,' Saul being the Lord's anointed, but "waited on Jehovah." That's JW tradition and culture at Bethel. Figured in what happened when Ray Franz and Ed Dunlap were clearly coming up with inconsistencies. The GB was not about to accord the mantle to Ray, no matter how much sense he made. Knorr chafed at having been reduced himself in the elder arrangement; and Fred was, of course, challenged in theological authority.
I'm sure he knew that Ray was right in his facts, but like a good lawyer Fred could strenuously argue both sides of an issue--invariably coming down on the side of expediency IMNSHO. I have personal knowledge of specific situations in which Fred knew the facts but felt it his duty to support the man with the mantle, as he saw it, despite his personal feelings.
One of their problems today is that no one really has the mantle of real authority to cut through the crap, although there are good men around who clearly know what to do. One GB member can despise another, yet do nothing about it. All very Byzantine, this palace intrigue.
Enough said.
M
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JAVA
Hi Maximus,
Jan is quite right in citing Jim Penton's excellent summarizing what the charismatic Mac did as "Macchiavellian." He was the enforcer. Don't measure internal feelings by external actions. Happens all the time. The end justifies the means. (If you have not read Penton, you should.)
It's been a few years since reading Penton's work, so the information is a little foggy. I'll need to review it again to bring some points back into focus. From what I remember, Russell didn't want the mantle of leadership passed to Rutherford, and many (if not most) Bible Students were loyal to Russell. I assume MacMillan felt the same way, yet he was a great force in maneuvering the mantle of leadership against the wishes of the Elijah-like Russell. I wonder why MacMillan helped sabotage the Elijah-like mantel of leadership that rested with Russell by redirecting its intended shoulders (which was not Rutherford)? If MacMillan really believed God was backing this Elijah-like mantel through Russell, why did he sabotaged the process Russell had in place after he died. Wouldn't MacMillan think he was going against the arrangement God had in place?
Guess I better take another look at Penton's work.
--JAVA
...counting time at the Coffee Shop -