"glenster: so what you say is that the following things was thought
up by russell and is still believed today:"
? No--I meant anyone could be right in claiming relative
exclusiveness by stringing together such a silly combination
and requiring agreement with it just to be in his little group.
"global warming [if you tilt your head and squeeze your eyes together, anyway
:-)]"
You'd have to squint till your eyes close and let daydreaming take over.
Global warming is a fact, but I meant that it's weird that the
Wikipedia article on Russell credits him for predicting global
warming, which could only be the conclusion after quote-mining and
changing what Russell actually wrote.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming
The claim that what he predicted was remarkably like a current scientific
understanding of global warming (especially if the claim includes that Russell
was so accurate he must have had a communication from God) is false. See his
actual predictions in the article at the next link.
http://www.pastor-russell.com/legacy/warming.html
He made a prediction about the "close of the Millennial Age," which is when?
When the accuracy of Russell's predictions can be determined (the time of the
creation of the earth, when 144,000 Jews would live in Palistine, etc.), he got
his dates wrong. Otherwise, appearances by invisible people are hard to prove
as better than arbitrary. Russell claimed the weather changes he described were
beginning to happen as he wrote (1883-1913) and were leading to Paradise.
He predicted the world would become more like the Garden of Eden--"cyclones,
earthquakes, thunderbolts, and alternations of drouth and deluge, and of bliz-
zards of cold and simoons of heat" would disappear. Not that I've noticed.
According to Wikipedia: "An increase in global temperature will cause sea
levels to rise and will change the amount and pattern of precipitation, probably
including expansion of subtropical deserts. The continuing retreat of glaciers,
permafrost and sea ice is expected, with warming being strongest in the Arctic.
Other likely effects include increases in the intensity of extreme weather
events, species extinctions, and changes in agricultural yields."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming
It also says global warming, which we currently speak of and which it gives as
detrimental, has been noticed "since the mid-20th century," not the start of it.
Russell claimed the orientation of the polar ice caps would move toward the
equator. I haven't heard anything about that in the news.
The size of polar ice, notably in the Artic, has gotten bigger and smaller
over the years, currently smaller. But he claimed both ice caps were steadilly
decreasing as he wrote (1883-1913) and would move toward the equator, which
would get cooler as tempertures over the earth equalized. He predicted God
would cause all these things to continue until the Paradise Russell described
would result, which isn't what happened nor what an alarmed scientific community
predicts.
According to a Wikipedia article about the "Instrumental temperature record":
"The period for which reasonably reliable instrumental records of near-surface
temperature exist with quasi-global coverage is generally considered to begin
around 1850." "Most of the observed warming occurred during two periods: 1910
to 1945 and 1976 to 2000; the cooling/plateau from 1945 to 1976 has been mostly
attributed to sulphate aerosol."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_temperature_record
Russell probably just saw a report of Alaska or the Artic going through a
warming period and took the idea out of context, embellished it, and added it to
the rest of his hokey prophet routine. He didn't try to be so exclusive that he
defined God as sulphate aerosol, either, although that would be different.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_shrinkage
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctica#Effects_of_global_warming
Russell predicted temperatures around the world would become the same, which
he claims was the case before the flood of Noah's ark, which he interpreted
literally and described as preceded by even temperatures around the earth due to
a water canopy that fell to create the flood. None of that is taken seriously
in science, which also doesn't see it as developing since the early 1900's or
expect it to happen later, either..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flood_geology
"Christianity should not be about charity [pretty vague]"
Again, I meant that one of the silly things anyone could use as part of their
combo meant for exclusiveness as a Christian leader is to come out publicly
against Christian churches which believe in the Golden Rule and perform charity.
(Actually, that was a weird way for Russell to claim Christian authenticity....)
See the section on "Love and money: Miracle Wheat and Charles' divorce from
Maria" after 1908 on the timeline at the next link.
http://gtw6437.tripod.com/id12.html
Russell criticized mainstream Christianity for charity drives and claimed
taking money to publish his literature was more important:
"The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society was held up to scorn because it
did not have any hospital work, nor draw any revenue from taxations, and
because the female members of the Society do not visit the workshops of
the land weekly or monthly on pay day and exact donations to its work. Our
society was held up to scorn because we do not send a wagon around the
city collecting groceries and provisions for the upkeep of our work; be-
cause we do not take up collections, even on Sunday; because we have never
solicited a penny or a dollar from anybody; and because we never have
fairs, grab-bags, 'chances,' or 'raffles.' Our society was held up to rid-
icule because it offers its literature free to the poor while other simi-
lar societies charge both rich and poor alike for their tracts and other
publications."
He probably felt that adding his fondness for socking the money away in
dummy companies, etc., as a way to avoid paying higher alimony might be
considered too controversial for people not so close to the light.
