IN THEIR OWN WORDS: The mean-spirit of Russell's sham marriage

by Terry 14 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  Listener

  Thanks for the link Terry. I had a fair deal of respect for Russell until I found out about his wife and how he treated her towards the end of their relationship but particularly more so after their seperation. As the leader of a religious organization he had no excuse for not monetarilly supporting his wife but he went even further by shifting monies from his personal accounts into business structures in order to avoid reasonable payments to her.

  Even though these words were written more than 100 years ago it is uncanny as to how much of Mrs Russell's statements are so true of the organization and its leaders today.
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  BluesBrother

  It is commonly known by Jehovah's Witnesses, the marriage of Pastor C.T.Russell and his wife Maria (Moe-rye-uh) was an uneasy one.

  Sadly, most of the dubs today, those under say, 50 years old have heard little of CTR, they are unlikely to be aware of Maria and have no knowledge of ,or interest in,his domestic affairs. They only want to hand out leaflets and "don't like studying"
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  Calebs Airplane

  I don't know. They seemed really happy together.

  
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  Focus

  lol @ Calebs Airplane.

  Let's not get away from the mean-spiritedness to which Terry refers. We must not lose sight of the nature of person Russell was - a low-down swindler who evidently took satisfaction from pulling a fast one on others.

  You thought you've heard all the bad things about Russell that there are?

  Betcha you haven't.

  Here's a grab from the good old Brooklyn Daily Eagle from 1911

  

  As far as I know, this is New Light by Bro. Focus, as this particular scandal doesn't seem to be mentioned anywhere else, or be included in the anthologies of cuttings from the Eagle, a brave exposure of the deviant "Pasta".

  I'm sorry about it size, but without splitting it up, this is the maximum size this DB supports. I'll be exploring Russell and Rutherford "New Light (of Scandals) in forthcoming threads, and I will OCR it for that purpose which will render it searchable.

  So, keep your eyes on the prize or pies or whatever, more Watchtower dirt on the way!

  __

  Focus

  ("Brooklyn Daily Eagle" Class)
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  Quendi

  The only information I had about CTR's marriage was from the 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. The information presented there can scarcely be called credible. The Yearbook quoted CTR as saying that he and Maria were separated but not divorced and that Maria Russell brought a bouquet of flowers (lilies-of-the-valley) to his funeral. The Yearbook also stated that Maria had fallen under the influence of "The Great Adversary" in opposing some of CTR's teachings and wanting to take over writing and editing The Watchtower.

  The publication also hinted that Maria Russell felt that women should have a larger role in the congregations of the International Bible Students. In those days, congregations were autonomous but CTR let his opposition to that thinking be made known and nothing ever came of it. After CTR's death in 1916, the Yearbook never mentions her again, effectively erasing her from the history of the organization. The Yearbook does touch on the marital difficulties of the couple although it categorically denies that CTR was unfaithful to Maria. It brings up the allegations only to dismiss them out of hand saying that all such stories were completely false.

  Other postings on this site have looked at the role Maria played in the early days of the WTS. She authored most of its original charter and contributed much to the columns of Zion's Watch Tower back then. I don't doubt she was the real brains in the marriage and may well have chafed at the restrictions CTR wanted to put on her life and contributions. I had never heard of CTR's refusal to consummate their marriage until I found this website. If that is true, I wouldn't be surprised. When you look at the teachings of CTR himself, especially their appropriation from sources like pyramidology, free masonry and Millerism, it would come as no wonder that his marriage was similarly messed up. I'm left with the question of what part of this cult/religion has any sound basis? Even its fundamentalist theology has suspicious roots.

  Quendi