RESLIGHT2:
Russell never believed the JW-type of Armageddon at all.
Russell was indeed clear that the 1,000 years began in 1874.
Terry: "God's dates--not ours!" the passengers were assured in no uncertain terms.
What Russell actually stated: "They are, we believe, God's dates, not ours." -- The Watch Tower, July 15, 1894, page 226.
He was stating this as HIS belief. He was not stating that all the Bible Students had to so believe (many of them did not agree with Russell.) I also believe that these dates are "God's dates."
Russell expressed in the same short article: "But bear in mind that the end of 1914 is not the date for the beginning, but for the end of the time of trouble. We see no reason for changing from our opinion expressed in the View presented in the WATCH TOWER of Jan. 15, '92." It seems that some of the Bible Students were suggesting at that time that the time of trouble would not be until after 1914. Russell at that time felt that they were wrong, but in 1904 -- ten years before 1914, after further study, he actually adopted the view that 1914 was to see the beginning, not the end, of the time of trouble.
For the purposes of this Topic an encylopedic examination of minutiae would not be pithy enough to make the point I was making.
Russell, Rutherford, Franz, et al always tried to have it both ways: Certainty and attribution to divine channels and wiggleroom for changes as their
pronoucements went awry.
As you cogently point out the flip-flops could fill up the Grand Canyon!
The fact remains strikingly evident the most dishonest factor in Russell and Rutherford's teachings was the effort at ironclad certainty concomitant with the "oops--we made a mistake" naive apologia.
An honest "mistake" would not entail finessing the errors. Honest mistakes bring about confession, deep regret, repentance and a NEW course of approach.
JEHOVAH'S WITNESS LEADERS are incapable of confession, deep regret, repentance and a NEW course of approach when they err!
Take the 1975 drumbeat from 1968 through 1975 and look at how the utter failure of their wink-wink, nudge-nudge hints, indications, suggestions and weird enthusiasms for what amounted to empty silliness and shameful hype FELL FLAT WITHOUT A WORD OF ADMISSION OF FAILURE, ERROR AND REPENTANCE for getting people worked up for NOTHING!
Amazingly, they simply right on with business as usual AS THOUGH it were a mere blip on the radar!
If the point of your correction is to suggest Pastor Russell was an honest man trying really hard to get things right I cannot share your naive opinion. Russell's treatment of his wife is startling indication enough of his personal integrity. His egoism amounts to a hubris that bleeds into his writings on a grand scale. The Great Pyramid computations were fudged and he constantly "adjusted" later printings of publications AS THOUGH they had never been wrong in the first place.
What value to others is an "honest crackpot" speaking in the name of God? That's about the best case that can be made PRO Russell.
Or, do you hold another opinion?
