Having walked away from the organization in 1977, I long ago put all that JW stuff behind me. But just recently, I've been re-reading some things and looking at all the great ex-JW sites on the Internet. With the perspective that middle age brings, it seems quite clear now that Rutherford was one of the biggest con men ever!!
I don't think Russell was out to deliberately scam anyone--the tone of his writings *seems* to indicate that he was a religious crank who thought--at age 23, mind you--that he had uncovered God's big secret. But although he parlayed that inside info into a prosperous publishing company, still, he seems to have had a rather gentle personality, apart from whatever flaws were in his thinking (and there were plenty!).
But Rutherford! That charlatan saw a golden opportunity and grabbed hold of the presidency to rule with an iron fist. As far as I can tell, he was just out for all he could get from the word go, and "the brothers" be damned. Just making up doctrines out of thin air (like the "other sheep" not going to heaven) and instituting DF'ing to keep the rank and file in line, and the contributions coming in. Then had the arrogance to send JW's out to picket churches and drive around in sound cars denouncing the clergy for their misdeeds. Can you say HYPOCRITE?
I think many aspects of the organization that troubled or wounded us ex-slaves are traceable directly back to Judge Rutherford's intolerant, arrogant, and off-the-rails personality. He will have a lot to answer for when he meets the Big Judge.
My grandparents were never JW's, but they always took some literature when Witnesses came by. They had an old bookcase with stray WT and Awake mags from long ago, including some old Consolation mags from the 1930's, written by Rutherford himself. They are something else, y'all--definitely recommended reading for the ex-slave class. It is all so clearly a con job--the rantings and ravings of one man who was out for all he could get!
My dear late father tried to tell me that when I first got hooked by the Witnesses--I think he even remembered hearing about JW's selling their homes, etc., in 1925. But of course, like most teenagers, I just knew dear old Dad was clueless about things--while I, of course, knew it all. Sorry, Papa--thanks for trying.
Since then, I've come to understand a lot more about human nature. There are people who have charismatic personalities--a strange kind of magnetic attraction, even when they are spouting pure hogwash. Rutherford and Hitler are two outstanding examples of the type, able to sucker in many otherwise decent, intelligent people. The scary part is, I've also seen this same phenomenon occur on a much smaller level, in a large business office. Those charismatic types are very ugly, very dangerous--wherever they pop up.
Oh, and did the rest of you know there was ANOTHER mansion built by Rutherford in San Diego? You've heard of Beth-Sarim, but I just recently learned about Beth-Shan, on the same property. Built in 1939 by the Judge and guarded by young JW men on horseback--it had not one, but TWO bomb shelters, fully stocked with provisions to survive the world war Rutherford saw coming, I believe, and the rest of the flock be damned!
Just another little piece of history the Society doesn't want you to know about.
"If we all loved one another as much as we say we love God, I reckon there wouldn't be as much meanness in the world as there is."--from the movie Resurrection (1979)
