by cedars 26 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Pyramid Scheme - that book looks fascinating. I've been reading some info about it. I had no idea that Charles Russell and his father were both married to sisters after his father was widowed! That's just plain weird!!
Anyway, I appreciate the heads up. I may well buy the book and use it in my research.
Cedars
Thanks, this was interesting, and the "hundred years" comment is certainly eyebrow-raising. Just a side question, what does Russell mean by Christ being born in 4004? Was he saying that Jesus was only created just before Adam? I'm baffled. That almost sounds like young-earth creationism, sinc Jesus was supposed to be God's first creation.
Apognophos - well observed, I noticed that too. I have NO idea what Russell is on about there. I suspect he's referring to the actual birth of Christ as a human, but why he uses such strange numbers to express the year is beyond me. You would need to ask a scholar I suppose!
Cedars
Usher's Chronology said that the Earth was created in the year 4004bc at 6pm 23rd October.
My place is in disarray so cannot find the book "Aeons the Search for the Beginning of Time" by Martin Gorst which discusses this and how Ussher arrived at the date.
And here we are a hundred years later - and it is certainly of interest how little of Russell's crap survived.
HB
Usher's Chronology said that the Earth was created in the year 4004bc at 6pm 23rd October.
My place is in disarray so cannot find the book "Aeons the Search for the Beginning of Time" by Martin Gorst which discusses this and how Ussher arrived at the date.
And here we are a hundred years later - and it is certainly of interest how little of Russell's crap survived.
HB
Despite Russell plainly stating "... bear in mind that the end of 1914 is not the date for the beginning, but for the end of the time of trouble", the Watchtower in fact did end up teaching that 1914 is the beginning of the time of trouble.
You have to wonder about the organization's desperate need to keep trying to prove it never said the end would occur in 1914.
Besides, there's a monumental difference between (1) unabashed pure speculation about the end and (2) demanding all members submit to the pure speculation under threat of expulsion. The Watchtower Society is guilty of both 1 and 2.
Unfounded speculation I can tolerate but expelling members who question the unfounded speculation? The latter is what stamps the Watchtower Society as monstrously hypocritical and damned by its own self-important religious pride.
Some explanation - perhaps:
I often wonder if Russel knew what would become of his beloved bible students, if and what he would do differently.
I'm familiar with Ussher's chronology, but I'm confused as to why Russell wrote that it "shows the birth of our Christ in the year 4004". As opposed to something like "man's creation occurred 4004 years before the birth of our Christ". He seems to be saying that Jesus was created right before Adam was. Since Jesus was supposed to be the first creation of God, that doesn't make sense unless Russell believed in a 6000 year-old universe.
It'll be 4004 A.M. - Anno Mundi. The change from 'BC' to 'AD' occurred at 4004 A.M. - take 2 or 4 years. That's what Russell would've had in mind.
