We Built a Great Religion....Didn't We?

watson

My maternal and paternal grandmothers fell in love with this amazing and charismatic gent named J.F. Rutherford......the rest is history.

I can go a couple of grandparents further than you: My paternal and maternal grandparents were converted whilst Rutherford was at the helm, although my mother's parents fell under the spell a good 10 to 12 years before my father's parents. I'm not sure why I seem to wear that double-up as a badge of distinction I'm not sure.

My maternal grandparents were sucked in around 1924 - 1925, about the time the 1925 debacle was playing out even in New Zealand. Quite why they came in then when hundreds were about to leave, who knows. My maternal grandmother prided herself on having been one of the original Bible Students. It mattered to her but few in our congregation even knew or cared about hwhat she was talking about. She developed early-onset dementia and was truly a mad delight and certainly fitted in with the individuality of those who claimed the heavenly hope. She may never have put her foot in the door but with her winning ways she sure was memorable.

To be fair, my grandparents were actually pretty decent folk. Blissfully uneducated and very simple in outlook (if expecting the world to be destroyed by a loving "God" can be called "Simple"). My grandmothers in particular were extremely kind-hearted women. To be fair yet again, my own JW parents - now deceased - were very loving parents - deluded absolutely but very loving. It's kind of "freeing" to look back on my upbringing and be able to verbalize what a crock of shit the religion was. I believe my grandparents were decent, hardworking, loving folk way before they were gullible enough to give their lives and their children's over to mad men in Brooklyn. I am possibly deluded myself in believing that it was probably the family gene pool of virtuous qualities that "blessed"me with warm-natured parents even though I damn well knew of the miserable lives of so many others of my age who were raised by screw-up jobs for parents.

watson

Grandparents, awesome people....parents, awesome people....

They just fell prey to the PT Barnum of religon.

We built a great religion.

My grand parents are gone now. My parents are fading.

I guess we just need to wait on Jehovah, eh?

mrquik

My first father-in-law knew Rutherford. I'm sure he'd get a kick out of me realizing it was all bulls**t.

steve2

I guess we just need to wait on Jehovah, eh?

Each time I wait on Jehovah, he changes his order...... the service industry is tough on "waiters".

watson

It's an even better organization!

MrFreeze

Do you think Rutherford would have given up waiting by now?

Chariklo

Don't you think he'd just bring in a new rule, like maybe eating apples offends Jehovah because of Eve? That. Would explain Jehovah's delay, wouldn't it?

I can see that working, can't you?

steve2

Do you think Rutherford would have given up waiting by now?

Hell, he should have given up following the debacle of what happened after Russell died in 1916!

We ought never underestimate the astonishing ability of religious charalatans to make a lifestyle out of flogging one dead horse after another....

Slidin Fast

My uncle drove Rutherford around in Australia past placards that said "millions now living wish Judge Rutherford was dead"

We Built a Great Religion....Didn't We?

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