by frankiespeakin 35 Replies latest watchtower bible
O G,
So some time after Rutherford is president that they start raking in the doe ray me? No doubt his death and going around speaking to the companies when in a near death state brought down profitablity for a time, and so Rutherford must have improved on its finacial dealings thru reform.
Russel inherited the business off his old man. That might have something to do with how easily he could let go of it? Shop keeper or unbelievably wealthy, powerful, "charismatic" cult leader with lady opportunities! And all tax free 'n all! Not a difficult choice for the likes of him. And he took full advantage of all I listed, research his divorce.
That Russell inherited business interests from Joseph Russell is an overblown statement. Russell was partners with his dad in one store only. All the rest of his business interests were developed on his own or in partnership with others. Bet you didn't know he owned a furniture store? Oil and other interests too? And that he managed his father's used equipment and scrap iron business? His dad was worth almost nothing at his death. His dad's probate records are available. You'll find that his net worth at death was very small. Other than a contribution to the watch tower, what there was went to his widow. By the time J. L. Russell died in 1897, he had exhausted most of his money, some of it in poor investments.
View him as a crank if you wish. But a huge amount of what you find online is just contrived. Schulz and deVienne are the true exerts in this field. Contact them through their blog. The link to it can be found in an earlier post.
I haven't researched Rutherford enough to answer your question. However when I was in college the first time (decades ago. you probably weren't even born) the society's net worth could be accounted for by compounding interest on a six thousand dollar investment made in 1879. It didn't happen that way, of course. The Watch Tower Hemoraged money in the 1880s, most of it from Russell's own pocket. The claim that Conley financed the society is also overstated. If you saw the historical exhibit in Brooklyn, you would have noticed that his donation was 4000 US Dollars to Russell's initial 7000 USD. By 1882 Conley was already involved in the faith-cure movement and no longer contributing. Russell thought his translation was near in 1881, and he expended money as if it were water. He started selling his shirt and hat stores in 1884, selling them over time. But he continued to invest to raise money for the Society and on which to live. By 1896 or so, his net worth had declined some, but was fairly stable.
He invested in real estate in his own and in the society's name. He had oil interests and turpentine interests. He was defrauded twice by A. D. Jones who turned into a criminal of the worst sort, short of murder and mayhem. Russell invested in a furniture company, in oil drilling and extraction equipment, in typesetting equipment. Online somewhere is the claim he had an interest in a gold mine. The facts do not sustain the claim though there is a story behind it. The names of some of his business partners are fairly easy to find. He had some wall street investments, though they seem to have been small. (Sole source is the Russell v. Russell transcript). If Russell had invested the money derived from the sale of his stores (1884-1896) he would have died a wealth man. He put it all into the publication and circulation of WatchTower literature. He wasn't a charlatan, but he was convinced he had the truth. Sometimes those who believe fervently in something are the most deluded.
one additional thought. An industrial rating service rated the Watchtower Society of NY as worth just over a million dollars in the early 1960s. The listing was in a book entitled Million Dollar Companies or something similar. So Rutherford didnt' turn it into a money machine. It's current wealth comes from property carefully bought and owned for ages. The property has appreciated greatly. I think the see this as an unexpected but welcome development.
Thanks OG
By watching these videos you can see that Russell used the 'subject by subject' aproach to interpet the Bible from Adam to Armegeddon to come out with his interpetations of the Bible that never came true.
http://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/jehovahs-will/bible-truth-rediscovered/
Sincere men carefully studied the Bible. Those earnest Bible Students, our predecessors, pursued a method of study that we still use today. They discussed the Bible subject by subject.When they came across a Bible passage that was difficult to understand, they looked for other verses to explain it. When they arrived at a conclusion that harmonized with the rest of the Scriptures, they wrote it down. By thus letting the Bible interpret itself, they rediscovered the truth about God’s name and Kingdom, his purpose for mankind and the earth , the condition of the dead , and the hope of the resurrection . Their search set them free from many false beliefs and practices. — John 8:31, 32 .
As we see in Russell's case this studying the bible subject by subject and jumping from genesis to revelation leads one down a winding road to who know where with all kinds of room for heavily biased interpetations where you might even see yourself as some type of messenger from God because you think your'e doing such a good job at it and comming to conclusions that have great leaps in logic or faith.
Also as noted above the Governing Body still use this method aof study and interpetation of the Bible even though it has never proven to be reliable. I guess that's what they call insanity namely: 'repeatedly doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.'
O G,
If Russell had invested the money derived from the sale of his stores (1884-1896) he would have died a wealth man. He put it all into the publication and circulation of WatchTower literature. He wasn't a charlatan, but he was convinced he had the truth. Sometimes those who believe fervently in something are the most deluded.
I concur that could be the case but there also is the possibility that he could have been both a charlatan & deluded, sorta like what goes around comes around, IOW in being a charlatan he did it so well he deluded himself as well, beleiving your own lies is a human trait for a convincing deception that we are all capable of in the right circumstanses. Like a failing business you are always sinking money into and your wife goes on a tour telling everyone that you are the Faithful Steward in the bible and business starts picking up because of this idea being spread by your wife, and so increases sales of your product, the tendancy to beleive the lie becomes very tempting and then unconsciously belief happens. As Russell has to deal with opposing ideas that his controversial bible interpetations bring from opponents(even inside his group) he thus becomes a master at rationalizing away any oppossing arguements and facts, leaveing him in a highly biased and subjective state of mind, more prone towards self deception.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-deception
Self-deception is a process of denying or rationalizing away the relevance, significance, or importance of opposing evidence and logical argument . Self-deception involves convincing oneself of a truth (or lack of truth) so that one does not reveal any self-knowledge of the deception.
Trivers' theory of self-deception [ edit ]
It has been theorized that humans are susceptible to self-deception because most people have emotional attachments to beliefs, which in some cases may be irrational. Some evolutionary biologists, such as Robert Trivers, have suggested [7] that deception plays a significant part in human behavior, and in animal behavior, more generally speaking. One deceives oneself to trust something that is not true as to better convince others of that truth. When a person convinces themself of this untrue thing, they better mask the signs of deception.
In my opinion I see nothing in Pastor Russell as noble or worthy of imatation. His subject by subject method of studying the bible was highly flawed and caused him to waste his life chasing a delusion that in the end was a complete lie! Studying the bible useing his method is bad for your mental health and can turn you into a religious fanatic, reck your marriage, and leave you barking at the moon.
FACT: Pastor Russels beard was stuck on with flour and water glue and despite it giving him long, hard service, he would not permit it be washed! Instead he chose to dust it with a kind of chalky powder of unknown ingredients to maintain the creamy beige colour we all know and love.
