I have seen here various articles and commentaries where these two "men" of god seem to very much demonstrate the opposite, that is they felt whites are better than coloured. However I am interested in anyone who can show otherwise.
Did Russell or Rutherford ever comment about civil rights ?
by mP 5 Replies latest watchtower scandals
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blondie
Civil rights..........nothing on the WT CD before 1964.......
Remember the WTS teaches/taught that slavery was not abolished by Christians in the first century. Christians evey owned other Christians.
*** w66 7/1 p. 391 Equality for All—Regardless of Race or Nationality ***Because it is God’s will, equality of rights and privileges for all races and nationalities is certain to be realized. However, it will not be as a result of any civil rights movement or present-day social reform. Prejudices and hatreds are too deeply engrained. Throughout human history man’s attempts to eradicate them have miserably failed, and continue to fail. Understandably, some human observers feel inequalities are inevitable.
http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/quotes/black-skin.php
Watchtower 1900 Apr 15 p.122
? “There are probably as many as a hundred colored brethren on the Watch Tower lists, some of them very clear in the truth, and very earnest in its service, financially and otherwise. We have received letters from several of these, who had intended engaging in the volunteer work, expressing surprise that in the call for volunteers in the March 1st issue we restricted the inquiry to white Protestant churches. They rightly realized that we have not the slightest of race prejudice, and that we love the colored brethren with just the same warmth of heart that we love the white, and they queried therefore why such a distinction should be made in the call. The reason is that so far as we are able to judge, colored people have less education than whites - many of them quite insufficient to permit them to profit by such reading as we have to give forth. Our conclusion therefore is based upon the supposition that reading matter distributed to a colored congregation would more than half of it be utterly wasted, and a very small percentage indeed likely to yield good results.”Now Rutherford's time
Golden Age 1929 Jul 24 p.702
"Is there anything in the Bible that reveals the origin of the Negro? It is generally believed that the curse which Noah pronounced upon Canaan was the origin of the Black race. Certain it is that when Noah said, 'Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren,' he pictured the future of the Colored race. They have been and are a race of servants.. There is no servant in the world as good as a good Colored servant, and the joy that he gets from rendering faithful service is one of the purest joys there is in the world." -
mP
@blondie
I guess those samples, make it official!
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glenster
Broaden it to genral 'centric intolerance and the propaganda is against
whoever isn't a JW, or is a woman, African American, etc.1902 Russell seemed to dislike certain racist outlooks. But at one point he
wrote: "The secret of the greater intelligence and aptitude of the Caucasian un-
doubtedly in great measure is to be attributed to the commingling of blood
amongst its various branches; and this was evidently forced in large measure by
circumstances under divine control. It remains to be proven that the similar
commingling of the various tribes of Chinese for several centuries would not
equally brighten their intellects; and the same with the peoples of India and
Africa." ("Zion's Watch Tower," July 15, 1902, p.216)1904 "CAN THE ETHIOPIAN CHANGE HIS SKIN?"
"We answer, No. But all will admit that what the Ethiopian cannot do for him-
self God could readily do for him. The difference between the races of men and
the differences between their languages have long been arguments against the
solidarity of the human family. The doctrine of restitution has also raised the
question, How could all men be brought to perfection and which color of skin was
the original? The answer is now provided."God can change the Ethiopian's skin in his own due time. Prof. H. A. Ed-
wards, Supt. of Schools in Slater, Mo., has written for the public press an
elaborate description of how Julius Jackson, of New Frankfort, Mo., a negro boy
of nine years, began to grow white in September, 1901, and is now fully nine-
tenths white. He assures us that this is no whitish skin disease; but that the
new white skin is as healthy as that of any white boy, and that the changed boy
has never been sick and never has taken medicines." ("Watchtowers Reprints,"
Feb.15, 1904, pp.3319,3320)Russell taught that the skin color of Adam and Eve, originally perfect, was
Caucasian.
http://glenster1.webs.com/gtjbrooklyn1a.htmThe example of Rutherford's bigotry blondie gave above...
1929 "Is there anything in the Bible that reveals the origin of the Negro?
It is generally believed that the curse which Noah pronounced upon Canaan was
the origin of the Black race. Certain it is that when Noah said, 'Cursed be
Canaan, a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren,' he pictured the
future of the Colored race. They have been and are a race of servants.. There
is no servant in the world as good as a good Colored servant, and the joy that
he gets from rendering faithful service is one of the purest joys there is in
the world." ("The Golden Age," July 24, 1929, p.702)...also serves to show the JWs leaders revisionist history efforts, such as
criticizing that it was as recent as 1873 when Pope Pius IX expressed disagree-
ment with the racist curse of Canaan idea for black people. It's hypocritical
since Watchtower leaders (Rutherford, I suppose) showed a belief in the curse of
Canaan idea even more recently.
http://www.freeminds.org/doctrine/ethics/blacks-and-the-watchtower.html1982 about 1873: "Have the churches of Christendom always treated 'everyone
on the same basis'? Consider how the Catholic and Lutheran Churches supported
Hitler's scheme to produce a 'master race.' And for centuries the Catholic
Church taught that Negroes were a cursed race. John F. Maxwell states in his
book Slavery and the Catholic Church that this view 'apparently survived until
1873 when Pope Pius IX attached an indulgence to a prayer for the "wretched
Ethiopians in Central Africa that almighty God may at length remove the curse of
Cham [Ham] from their hearts."' And even to this day some church organizations
openly practice racial discrimination.""Regardless of how politicians and religionists view the matter, the Bible and
science indicate that all races are equal and descend from a common source. In-
terestingly, The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 1970, Vol. 2, page 149, refers to
the 'scientific concept of the equality of the races' and admits the 'scientif-
ic validation' of humanity's single origin."
"Awake!" Feb. 8, 1982 pp.14,15 "The Races—-What Is Their Origin?"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamitic1931 Thanks to Leolaia, at the Jehovah's Witness Discussion Board web site
message board, for a fuller set of Rutherford quotes than I had from his 1931
book "Vindication," Vol.1:
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/65627/1/Rutherfords-Views-on-Women"It was in 1919 that the Federation of Churches of the United States issued a
paper endorsing the League of Nations as the political expression of God's king-
dom on earth. In that same year the Congress of the United States enfranchised
women, and this act was ratified by such legislators in 1919 and early in 1920.
Note that this was after the World War had ended and Satan had been cast out of
heaven and had begun to prepare his forces for Armageddon. (Rev. 12:12; 16:13-
16) The women of America in particular began to compete with the men as pro-
phets of peace and to have a part in guiding and dictating the policies and pol-
itical operations of Christendom. Since then they have wielded a great influ-
ence in the church organizations and in the councils of state. God foreknew
this, to be sure, and caused his prophet Ezekiel to write concerning them:
'Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people,
which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them.'—13:17."The women make monkeys or dupes of men. The men have before effeminate, soft
and easily influenced and have lost their real manhood and sturdiness in the af-
fairs of state and home. For instance, when men are sitting at a table and a
woman approaches, all the men arise and pay her homage and thereby elevate her
to a place above men. The men remove their hats upon entering an elevator, if a
woman is present; and these things are said to be acts of respect and to show
that man is a gentleman. But it is subtle, and the real meaning is much differ-
ent from that. It is a scheme of Satan to turn men away from God and from his
announced rule of the proper position of man and woman. The Lord has declared
that no effeminate man shall inherit the kingdom of heaven (I Corinthians 6:9).
This proves that the scheme or habit of paying homage to women is not of God,
but from the great enemy of God. It is a veneer of being a proper thing, and
therefore it is more subtle than otherwise."The so-called 'Mother's Day' was observed in America first in 1914, the very
year that Satan's world ended and when he knew his time was short to get ready
for the great battle of Armageddon. To induce the people to bestow special hon-
or and worship upon mothers would be one step towards turning the people away
from the worship of God, and this is one of his means of preparing for Armaged-
don. In all the churches today much is made over 'Mother's Day', but in not a
single one of them are the people ever told that God is the Father, and that the
'mother' is his organization, and that all honor and worship is due to Jehovah
God. On the contrary, the men of Christendom are taught to pay their honor to
creatures, and not to the Creator; and this by the clergymen, whose duty and ob-
ligation is to teach the people the truth of God's Word.
http://glenster1.webs.com/gtjbrooklyn1a.htmVarious views Russell and Rutherford had about Jews, Catholics, Hitler, etc.,
are at the next link:Controversies about JWs leaders and the fatalities of followers during WWII
The Declaration of Facts
Timeline of JWs leaders in regard to human government, war, propaganda, and
persecution
http://gtw6437.tripod.com/id20.html1934 Joseph Rutherford wrote "Favored People." On p.5 it says:
"The people now on earth called Jews are a commercial people. Among
them are some of the richest and most avaricious men the world has
ever known. Some of the chief men of Big Business are called Jews.
Many of these people are very arrogant, self-important, and extremely
selfish. They have little or no faith in God's Word and do not be-
lieve at all in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Savior of man."
http://home.broadpark.no/~jhauglan/rutherford.htm#_Toc493437579
http://205.134.162.24/downloads/Even if that were true, it would only be grounds for a bonding experience.
During Knorr's leadership--why Martin Luther King couldn't be a JW:
1952 The JWs leaders' published a long article which, while describing segre-
gation in the U.S. as evil, seems meant to reassure whoever of the more preju-
diced white people of the 1950's that the JWs leaders wouldn't give them any
trouble by motivating any effort against it. In that regard, it seems like an
update to Rutherford's Declaration of Facts and related letter to Hitler, in
which Rutherford admitted some theological distinction from the mainstream views
but was meant to appease Hitler that he wouldn't cause Hitler any trouble.The main objection given is that white people's lives could be put at danger
entering black communities or that it would incite mob violence and risk lives
to buck the segregation laws."Why do we tolerate the segregation laws and policies of certain governments
and organizations of this world? Because Jehovah has not commissioned us to con-
vert the world, which is wicked beyond recovery and hence will be destroyed.
Jehovah has commissioned us to preach the gospel. Now what should we do? Drop
preaching to fight racial issues? We never have separate meetings and baptisms
when we can have them together. But when impossible, shall we have separate
meetings and baptisms, or none at all? Shall we serve spiritual food to all,
even if separately, or serve it to none? Shall we provide baptism for all, even
if separately, or provide it for none? Should we buck Caesar’s segregation
laws, when they do not force us to violate God’s laws? God does not forbid sep-
arate assembly and baptism, and he commands assembly and baptism. (Matt. 28:19;
Heb. 10:25) So should we disobey God to fight a racial issue? To buck the seg-
regation laws would bring on disruption of the witness work, halting of it, mob
violence, and possible loss of life. Only laws prohibiting gospel-preaching
will we buck at that price.""Some may argue segregation is prohibited by God, citing Galatians 3:28 (NW):
'There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor freeman, there is
neither male nor female; for you are all one in union with Christ Jesus.' That
Paul spoke in a spiritual sense and not in a literal, physical sense is obvious,
since actually there were male and female, slave and free, Jew and Greek. Be-
cause of the existence of Jew and Greek he specially accommodated himself and
his preaching to such classes. (1 Cor. 9:19-22) His recognition of slave and
freeman we will consider in more detail, since it bears directly on segregation.
How so? Because segregation is rooted in slavery, is the outgrowth and hangover
of slavery. Segregation, the stain left by slavery, is a lesser evil than slav-
ery. So if the Bible does not instruct Christians to fight slavery it would not
sanction them to battle the lesser evil of segregation, at the expense of gos-
pel-preaching." ("The Watchtower," Feb.1, 1952, p.95)"Jehovah is no respecter of persons. Neither are his people. But the world
in which we live is. Whites are prejudiced against colored, colored are preju-
diced against whites. In some colored communities after nightfall a white per-
son would enter at the risk of his very life. To justify this on the grounds
that the whites started the discrimination is not Scriptural. (Rom. 12:17) Now,
where the danger is extreme should white persons enter these hostile communi-
ties and suffer beating and possibly death to prove they have a democratic right
to be there? Should a white witness endanger his life to attend a meeting of
colored witnesses in such places, or stay overnight with his colored brothers
there, just to prove his democratic right to do so?""Many colored persons practice color-prejudice against their own people.
Lighter-colored Negroes will shun the darker ones. Some from the Western Hemi-
sphere look down upon the very dark ones from Africa. In South Africa, whites
discriminate against the mixed coloreds, the mixed coloreds against the native
blacks, the native blacks against the Indian coolies, and in their native India
the Indians discriminate against the no caste or outcasts. Who is innocent to
throw the first stone? Can we not see that all classes of the human race are
evil, that if we start reforming we shall be lost in an impossible task, with
endless discriminations and many varieties or injustices to beat down, which
crusading social and political organizations of this world have hopelessly
fought for years? For us to become like them would be to fail with them, con-
sume our time in such reforms, lose out as Jehovah’s witnesses, and please only
the Devil.""So let us please God by preaching the gospel despite the undesirable condi-
tions the Devil’s world may make for us. Let us not be sidetracked by Satan and
caught in a subtle snare camouflaged in lofty motives and ideals. Can we not
wait upon Jehovah to avenge the wrongs we suffer now? Really, our colored
brothers have great cause for rejoicing. Their race is meek and teachable, and
from it comes a high percentage of the theocratic increase. What if the worldly
wise and powerful and noble look down on them as foolish and weak and ignoble,
not on an equality with self-exalted whites? It is to God’s ultimate honor, for
he confounds the wise of this world by choosing those the world considers fool-
ish and weak and ignoble. Let us boast in Jehovah and in our equality in his
sight, rather than wanting to boast in equality in the world’s sight. (1 Cor. 1:
26-31, NW) In due time the exalted ones will be humbled, and the humble ones
will be exalted. (Matt. 23:12) All of us await this vindication from God, which
will come in his due time. Until then, as Paul advised concerning slavery we
advise concerning its lingering trace, segregation: 'Do not let it worry you.'
(1 Cor. 7:21, NW) When possible we will meet together, when not possible we
will meet separately; but in either event we are always united in spirit, broth-
ers equal in our own sight, in Christ’s sight, and in God’s sight." ("The Watch-
tower," Feb.1, 1952, p.95)
http://glenster1.webs.com/gtjbrooklyn6.htm -
Farkel
These excellent old quotes from WTS publications reveal the simple-minded (read "idiotic") thinking of WTS leaders and shows as much as anything else they are no more inspired by any Creator as they are about being honest with their worshipering members when being honest with members is the least they should be.
Farkel
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mP
Its truely amazing that god worries about the big issues like skin colour.
