Jehovah's Witnesses are a breakaway

by HowTheBibleWasCreated 24 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  vienne

  I'm not ignoring your reply. My mom's very elderly uncle went into the hospital. So we're away from home for a while. When I return home, I'll post a reply. Please be patient.
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  slimboyfat

  All the best for Bruce and the family.

  I found the article you mentioned:

  Jan Stilson: An Overview of the Leadership and Development of the Age to Come in the United States: 1832-1871, Journal from the Radical Reformation, Fall 2001. Jan is a Church of God, General Conference (Atlanta) historian.

  Online here:

  http://www.focusonthekingdom.org/An%20Overview%20of%20the%20Leadership%20and%20Development.pdf
  

  For anyone interested in the topic.
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  Phizzy

  Thanks for Posting that PDF Slim, most interesting !

  One quote in it from a work of 1861 interested me because of the writers use of the word " Truth" ,

  "The number of those in Rochester who love the truth is small. Those comprising the little ecclesia have mostly come to the truth through much tribulation of Millerism, Marshism, Cookism and Storrism and I judge from the bad road they have travelled they have had sufficient experience to enable them to endure hardness as good soldiers and to contend earnestly for the faith."

  I wondered if he was using it that way, the same way JW's and Mormons do, because already these various groups referred to their interpretations as " The Truth" ??

  The conclusion of the PDF is nicely done, the writer stressed the honesty of belief of the men from the various factions, and says " they just could not agree on the details" . How similar to the various groups today who have sprung from Adventist roots ! they only vary one from another in small details.
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  slimboyfat

  Christadelphians to this day use “truth” in exactly the same way JWs do.

  I’ve not noticed Mormons using it that way, but I may have missed it. Although I have attended at least a dozen Mormons meetings I find them very boring. One turn of phrase I noticed is they prefer to use the term “heavenly father” for God over any other description or title, and they use it like a proper name, as in “yesterday I prayed to Heavenly Father to give me strength”.
  

  Phizzy you may be interested to know that all the articles from the Journal from the Radical Reformation are online and many of them deal with issues related to nineteenth century groups such as Christadelphians, Church of God of Abrahamic Faith, various expressions of Biblical Unitarianism and so on, including articles by Anthony Buzzard—all fascinating stuff if you like that kind of thing!

  http://www.focusonthekingdom.org/JRAD.html#10
  
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  joe134cd

  I have to agree with slim, as regard to Adventisism. WT portrays Russel as the man who was a great thinker and an influence to Barber, and Stores. I tend to think it was the other way around with Barber and stores been the great thinkers and influencing Russel. What circumstantial evidence do I have to support this. Russel incorporated many adventist ideals, and it was intially Stores and Barber who had the adventist leanings. Russel mearly borrowed and incorporated it into one organisation.