World War 1 and 1914 (page 4)

City Fan

Schizm

it's somewhat striking that such a great war took place inside a year that Russell had pointed to for so long

Sorry, I'd have to disagree. It's just luck.

Neo's argument is what you should seriously consider. It shows you a logical link between turbulent historical times and a flurry of end-time predictions. So one could expect there to be a close range of predicted dates focussing on those very times. That drastically cuts down the possible dates to use if something were to happen.So by a simple and logical prosaic mechanism, you've made a hit much more likely. Its not that hard to attribute it to chance then.

Now if you're looking for a prosaic explanation that would be so specific as to pinpoint "1914", then I don't have one. But there's all their number juggling with 0 and 607 that strongly suggests it was all just chance, but they wanted to believe it was a real hit.

Schizm

thus you have a prob of 27% of hitting one of the events. compare to this the prob of hitting two 6 with the dice = 1/6 * 1/6 = 3%
so which is more likely?

You're assuming though that Satan's doesn't have his hands on the dice, aren't you. Anyway, stop trying to confuse me with calculus. Or is that trig-er-nom-a-tree? ;-)

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Schizm

His attitude was "sooner or later someone has got to say yes."

Isn't that how AIDS got started? Some "friend" eh? *LOL*

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Happy Guy :)

What are you trying to say Schiz that somehow e-watchman is some sort of oracle? Please

Somehow e-watchman has got some kind of magical mystical insight? ROFL

My points still stand and stand strongly inspite of your attempt to evade them by simply trying to rebutt but it's the great e-watchman who says it (paraphrasing) :

Firstly Schiz my freind I was simply trying to add some silly humour and secondly, I don't find my humour of Satan trying to destroy family units and children any more implausible than the idea of Satan trying to mislead.

Now for some serious answer: I find it no more than coincidental. There have been many dates before 1914 and many dates since that have conversely proved fruitless.

Here's an idea. Let's compare the other crackpot Nostradamus and see who was more accurate between the two.

Schizm

What are you trying to say Schiz that somehow e-watchman is some sort of oracle? Please
Somehow e-watchman has got some kind of magical mystical insight? ROFL

My points still stand and stand strongly inspite of your attempt to evade them by simply trying to rebutt but it's the great e-watchman who says it (paraphrasing) :

Actually, I think e-watchman is a huge idiot with a severe mental problem. They say he burned his brain taking drugs some years back. He thinks he's going to be a king for a thousand years ... so he's headed to heaven, ya know. Perhaps he should think about getting his feet on the ground here first.

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Happy Guy :)

RoFl i hadn't heard that...RFOL ROFL ROFL

Realist

schizm,

indeed, i assume satan does not control all dice on the planet or probability theory. do you?

Midget-Sasquatch

here's some interesting quotes from this website: http://members.aol.com/beyondjw/itow.htm

Note one is a magazine just after Oct. 1914.

"Studying God's Word, we have measured the 2520 years, the seven symbolic times, from that year 606 B.C. and have found that it reached down to October, 1914, as nearly as we were able to reckon. We did not say positively that this would be the year." (Watchtower, November 1, 1914, p. 325)

Does that sound like they were impressed with their "hit"? Or just trying to ride through whatever came their way?

This next quote shows how they were trying to keep a bit of a range or time buffer for their prophetic speculations, but would have to concede it was all wrong if things didn't go as they said.

".... Suppose that A.D. 1915 should pass with the world's affairs all serene and with evidence that the "very elect" had not all been "changed" and without the restoration of natural Israel to favor under the New Covenant (Rom. 11:12,15). What then? Would not that prove our chronology wrong? Yes, surely! Would not that prove a keen disappointment? Indeed it would! It would work irreparable wreck to the parallel dispensations and Israel's double, and to the Jubilee calculations, and to the prophecy of the 2300 days of Daniel, and to the epoch called "Gentile Times," and to the 1,260, 1,290, and 1,335 days.... none of these would be available longer." (w1907, 10/1, p 295)

TD

Are you just kidding? Surely you must be. Did not Russell think a "great upheaval" was to take place in 1914, as based upon his understanding of the 2520-year theory (Da 4). And wasn't such 2520 years considered to be the period of the Gentile Times, which was thought to end in 1914?

Meaning no offense, but are you familiar with what Russell really believed? The Witnesses have indulged in a great deal of revisionism and very, very few who's knowledge of Russell was obtained through association with the Witnesses have actually read his books from cover to cover.

Russell envisioned the "Time of the End" (1799 - 1914) as a steadily worsening class struggle between capital and labor where society would gradually unravel into chaos. This protracted upheaval was to happen in the years prior to to 1914.

Ending this upheaval, bringing order out of the confusion and essentially rescuing mankind from itself would be the earthly millennial reign of Christ, which would start in 1914. In other words, 1914 was to be the dawn of the Golden Age.

1914 was to be the end of the upheaval, not its beginning. Further, the upheavel was to be primarily economic, not military in nature. Although Russell felt that wars could occur in the period leading up to 1914, he felt that all human institutions would have collapsed prior to 1914 and so a major war was not at all what he envisioned because the nations that participated in it weren't supposed to exist at this point.

When one considers how completely tangential the Great War was to Russell's teachings, I don't think simple coincidence can so easily be written off.

World War 1 and 1914

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