The saga of Russell and Rutherford

by Terry 25 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  Finkelstein

  Its clearly easy to see that Rutherford with his legal knowledge and capability bullied himself into taking over the WTS., from then on it is was all gravy.
  

  How he got away with living a lavish lifestyle behind the eyes of most JWS, particularly during the Great Depression, is somewhat of a puzzling mystery.
  

  The Watchtower Corporation is a causative result of when idealistic and opportunistic men by virtue of their own amateur theological background, start up their own publishing house and exploit the belief in the bible to serve their own literature proliferation agenda.

  Without the freedom of self expression through religion in America and the imposing life or death, Christ has returned propagation the WTS would never have taken off as it did, drawing in its adherents, that's why the WTS's leaders had to create some theological bullshit to draw in the Great Crowd.
  
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  Terry

  I think the Judge had two constituencies in the WT religion

  1. Those who looked at him like a fellow who had whipped the Federal Government by getting released from prison after a few months. He was a scrapper like Donald Trump. Full of piss and vinegar, others took a shine to the fact he wasn't such a softy as was Pastor Russell.

  2. Those who were 'waiting on Jehovah' and swallowed hard and put on a brave face. When Rutherford suffered from cancer and his temperament flared, the folks around him were only too happy to see him leave for the opposite coast. A collective sigh of "Good riddance!" They couldn't care less if he lived in a mansion as long as it was far away.

  Let's keep in mind, after Russell's demise, the number of those who would NOT go along with Rutherford was extraordinary.
  
  
  
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  Vidiot

  Terry - "...Let's keep in mind, after Russell's demise, the number of those who would NOT go along with Rutherford was extraordinary."

  We've had two major mass exits from the WTS... when Rutherford took over, and when 1975 failed.

  These things tend to happen in threes, which (among other reasons) make me think that the third exodus is kind of what's happening now.

  What's more, I think the GB do, too, and are doing all things they're doing to "manage the decline" to stay solvent.

  I could be wrong.
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  Finkelstein

  In the next couple of years we will be able to see if there is positive decline.

  Right now I think the WTS wants to focus or target countries where there is less education and where is there is little preconceived knowledge of their organization by the existing general population.
  

  ie. Africa,. South America, Indonesia etc.

  For the WTS, a lack of education is a virtuous blessing .
  
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  Terry

  I have to wonder when the day will come (or has it already) when the Society will fudge its statistics to shape reality.

  How would we ever know it was happening?
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  EdenOne

  Marked