Lets face it Russell was a religious fanatic who new how to run a business. He figured out how to sucker people into devoting their time to sell his printed goods to the public for free. Also he took advantage of the tax free status granted churches and religions in general to built a nice little empire of devotees(free labor) and printing presses.
Watchtower Corporation End Of The World Religious Nonprofit Marketing Scam
by frankiespeakin 2 Replies latest watchtower bible
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Jude77
They're worth multiple billions, no doubt about it. They own tens of thousands of properties all over the world. They don't pay taxes. They don't pay their workers (aside from a laughable "allowance" at Bethel for the grunt workers). Who knows how much they make via donations every year?
A business for sure - and an extremely successful one at that.
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frankiespeakin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Taze_Russell
About 1870, Russell and his father established a group with a number of acquaintances to undertake an analytical study of the Bible and the origins of Christian doctrine, creed, and tradition. The group, strongly influenced by the writings of MilleriteAdventist ministers George Storrs and George Stetson, themselves frequent attendees, came to the conclusion that many of the primary doctrines of the established churches, including the trinity, hellfire and inherent immortality of the soul, were not substantiated by the scriptures. [ 24 ] [ 25 ] [ 26 ] [ 27 ]
Split with Barbour [edit]
See also: Nelson H. Barbour
When 1878 arrived, failure of the expected rapture of the saints brought great disappointment for Barbour and Russell, and their associates and readers. According to one of Russell's associates, A.H. Macmillan:
While talking with Russell about the events of 1878, I told him that Pittsburgh papers had reported he was on the Sixth Street bridge dressed in a white robe on the night of the Memorial of Christ's death, expecting to be taken to heaven together with many others. I asked him, "Is that correct?" Russell laughed heartily and said: "I was in bed that night between 10:30 and 11:00 P.M. However, some of the more radical ones might have been there, but I was not. Neither did I expect to be taken to heaven at that time, for I felt there was much work to be done preaching the Kingdom message to the peoples of the earth before the church would be taken away. Confused by what was perceived to be an error in calculation, Russell re-examined the doctrine to see if he could determine whether it had biblical origins or was simply Christian tradition. He concluded that it was Christian tradition and so he began teaching, through the pages of the Herald, what he believed to have discovered on the subject. Barbour, embarrassed by the failure of their expectations, rejected Russell's explanation and a debate ensued in successive issues of the journal from early 1878 to mid-1879. In a matter of months, Barbour's embarrassment led to a recanting of some of the views he and Russell had previously shared, including any reliance upon prophetic chronology. Their disagreements turned into a debate over Christ's ransom, resulting in a split between the two. Russell removed his financial support and started his own journal, Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, with the first issue published in July 1879. Barbour formed The Church of the Strangers that same year, continuing to publish Herald
Watch Tower Society [edit]
In 1881, he founded Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society, with William Henry Conley as president and Russell as secretary-treasurer, for the purpose of disseminating tracts, papers, doctrinal treatises and Bibles. All materials were printed and bound by Russell's privately owned Tower Publishing Company for an agreed price, [ 35 ] then distributed by "colporteurs" (persons who travel to sell or publicize Bibles, religious tracts, etc.). The Society was incorporated in 1884, with Russell as president, and in 1886 its name was changed to Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.
In 1908, Russell transferred the headquarters of the Watch Tower Society to its current location in Brooklyn, New York
Controversies [edit]
Leadership style [edit]
As early as 1892, Russell's views and management style were strongly criticized by certain individuals associated with his ministry. In 1893 a paper was written and circulated to Bible Students in Pittsburgh by associates Otto van Zech, Elmer Bryan, J.B. Adamson, S.G. Rogers, Paul Koetitz, and others. It accused Russell of being a dictatorial leader, a shrewd businessman who appeared eager to collect funds from the selling of the Millennial Dawn books, that he had cheated one of them out of financial gains, and that he issued thousands of Millennial Dawn books under a female pseudonym. A booklet entitled A Conspiracy Exposed and Harvest Siftings was written by Russell and issued as an extra to the April 1894 Zion's Watch Tower magazine in order to preempt attempts to have their views circulated to a wider audience of Bible Students. Russell printed copies of letters he had received from these former associates in order to show that their claims were false, and that those involved 'were guided by Satan in an attempt to subvert his work' as a "minister of the gospel". [ 73 ] [ 74 ]
Allegation of immoral conduct [edit]
In 1897 Russell's wife, Maria, left him after a disagreement over the management of Zion's Watch Tower magazine. She believed that, as his wife, she should have equal control over its administration and equal privilege in writing articles, preaching, and traveling abroad as his representative. [ 75 ] In 1903 she filed for legal separation on the grounds of mental cruelty, because of what she considered to be forced celibacy and frequent cold, indifferent treatment. The separation was granted in 1906, with Russell charged to pay alimony.
During the trial Mrs. Russell's attorney alleged that in 1894 Mr. Russell had engaged in "improper intimacy" with Rose Ball, by then a 25-year old woman whom the Russells had previously cared for as a foster daughter after claiming to be an orphan. Mrs. Russell alleged that Ball had told her Mr. Russell claimed to be an amorous "jellyfish floating around" to different women until someone responded to his advances. Mr. Russell denied the accusations and stated that he had never used such terminology to describe himself. [ 76 ] When the judge asked Mrs. Russell if she was accusing her husband of adultery, she replied, "No". [ 77 ]
The Washington Post [ 78 ] and the Mission Friend of Chicago reprinted the "jellyfish" story while also accusing Russell of immoral conduct. Russell sued the papers for libel; the jury decided in his favor, awarding him one dollar. Following an appeal, Russell received a cash settlement of $15,000 (current value $383,000) plus court costs, and an agreement that the two papers publish his weekly syndicated sermons as well as a retraction defending his character. [ 79 ] [ 80 ] [ 81 ]
Rose Ball Henninges died November 22, 1950 at the age of 81 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, having for several years been an author for The People's Paper and remained associated with the Bible Students in Australia until her death. [ 82 ] [ 83 ]
'Miracle Wheat' [edit]
On March 22, 1911, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle published articles accusing Russell of gaining profit from a strain of wheat named "Miracle Wheat" by its alleged discoverer, K.B. Stoner of Fincastle, Virginia. Many critics insisted that Russell had deceived and defrauded many by selling the supposedly advanced strain of wheat for $60 per bushel, far above the average cost of wheat at the time. Throughout 1912 and 1913, the Eagle continued to report on Russell's alleged fraud. Russell sued the Eagle for libel, but lost. A government expert investigated the "Miracle Wheat" and said it "was low in the Government tests". Prior to entering the court, the Eagle declared that "at the trial it will show that "Pastor" Russell's religious cult is nothing more than a money-making scheme." [ 84 ] Russell defended himself publicly, and in writing, claiming that the wheat was donated to the Watch Tower Society, and although sold for $1 per pound, Mr. Stoner routinely sold it for a $1.25 per pound. Russell claimed to have no financial connection to the wheat, and that no one claimed a refund despite such an offer for up to a year later for any who were dissatisfied with their purchase. [ 85 ] According to official records, gross receipts from the fundraiser totaled "about $1800" (current value $44,000), of which "Russell himself did not get a penny" and "The Society itself made no claim for the wheat on its own knowledge and the money received went as a donation into Christian missionary work." [ 86 ]
Qualifications [edit]
In June 1912 Rev. J. J. Ross (1871–1935), Pastor of the James Street Baptist Church in Hamilton, Ontario, published and widely distributed a four-page leaflet entitled, Some facts about the Self-Styled "Pastor" Charles T. Russell (of Millennial Dawn Fame), alleging that Russell was involved in questionable business practices, had defrauded his estranged wife, and denounced his qualifications, legitimacy and moral example as a Pastor. [ 87 ] Russell in turn sued Ross for defamatory libel on December 2, 1912. [ 88 ] After several delays the case came before Police Court Magistrate G. F. Jelfs on March 17, 1913. During cross-examination Russell stated that he had attended public school for only seven years having left when he was about fourteen years of age after which he received instruction through private tutors. [ 89 ] He responded that he was versed in Latin terms "to an extent" but did not know Hebrew or Greek, that he had never been ordained by any bishop or minister, and had never attended a theological seminary or any schools of higher learning. [ 90 ] [ 91 ] The Hamilton and Toronto Ontario newspapers reported the claims made by Ross and provided a brief outline of the court proceedings, but made no reference to misconduct on the part of Russell, and criticized Ross for having fled Ontario when summoned and not being present during any of the court proceedings. [ 92 ] [ 93 ] On April 1, 1913 the High Court of Ontario returned a verdict of "No Bill" ruling that Russell was not entitled to damages because the libel was not likely to result in any violence within Canada. [ 94 ] [ 95 ] Following the libel case Ross published an expanded edition of 48-pages entitled Some Facts and More Facts about the Self-Styled "Pastor" Charles T. Russell (of Millennial Dawn Fame). In this work Ross claimed that during the proceedings on March 17, 1913 Russell had repeatedly lied under oath by affirming that he was ordained but then denying the same when cross-examined, by affirming that he knew the Greek language, but when shown by Counselor Staunton an extract from the New Testament in Greek by Westcott & Hort he was unable to recognize it, and that he had not been divorced from his wife, but retracted the statement under cross-examination. [ 96 ] In response to Ross's accusations, Russell stated through various printed and public sources that he had never claimed knowledge of the Greek language, merely the alphabet [ 97 ] and that early Christians were also criticized by the religious authorities for being unlearned and ignorant. [ 98 ] He believed that his ordination was "of God" according to the biblical pattern, not requiring any denominational approval or theological training indicating that his annual election as "Pastor" by over 500 congregations worldwide constituted him as properly ordained. [ 99 ] [ 100 ] Russell contended that Ross and others were attacking him because they were unable to answer his theological arguments preferring instead to resort to slander and character assassination. [ 101 ]