Posts by Terry

25

The saga of Russell and Rutherford

by Terry in

i think little charlie russell having been born after many miscarriages by his mother, was doted on and coddled beyond normal.

his mother died of a fever epidemic when he was about 9 and he may have associated burning with fever with burning in hell.he seemed to be obsessed about hell for awhile even to the point of graffiti on sidewalks marking scriptures as warnings.he was privately tutored and brought into the men's clothing business and given and adult's responsibilities.

although the family was presbyterian, there appears to be a streak of insubordination in the genes because they switched to a congregational church with an autonomy of leadership and no organizational oversight.why was this a big deal, do you think?

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?

44

My "best" friend (active JW) has just died

by Terry in

jw
friends

johnny santa cruz and i met around 1959 at a movie theater in fort worth, texas.. the purpose of that meeting was to create a fanclub for horror movie director william castle.

a week or so later, johnny stopped me as i was walking home from elementary school.. "hey--i think i know you.

weren't you at the william castle fanclub thing?".

Terry

Yes, thank you all for your expressions of moral support. It is an odd emotion to nurture because I can't connect directly to a solid feeling due to our estrangement. I think it is my distant memory of Johnny more than my recent memory which saddens me.

His intransigence really frustrated me. He would admit so many failings on the part of the Watchtower religion and simultaneously excuse each of them. He claimed thousands of people left the Society in 1975's aftermath because "they weren't in it because they loved Jehovah, they were in it to save their own ass."

He was an intelligent fellow with lots of tricks up his sleeve to avoid losing an argument;)

I got what must be characterized as a "panic attack" last night at bedtime because I realized how many times a day--a week--a month--each year some little thing I learned or saw or felt I wanted to SHARE with him.

It won't ever happen and that is the most final reckoning death has to offer.

13

Catholic encyclopedia misquote

by alcyone in

i do not know if this misquote has been discussed here already.. new catholic encyclopedia says this about jw:.

"judge" rutherford introduced important changes in the witnesses' creed and transformed the congregational structure of the sect as it was under "pastor" russell into a rigid theocracy.

the third leader, "brother" nathan h. knorr, gradually replaced the offensive convert-making tactics of the rutherford era by suave manners that have gained the witnesses their current reputation as one of the best-behaved groups in the world.

Terry

How does an encyclopedia make a statement about what is "known"?

Wouldn't this sloppy statement be better served with a citation of quotations to the effect?

Sounds like a JW press release accepted as proof of a true fact, to me.

16

A Brief History of MONEY and the Watchtower religion

by Terry in

watch tower corp has changed a long-standing policy in regard to donations which had been in place a long, long time.

to appreciate how drastic these changes have been, you'd have to know how it was from the beginning.. .

watch tower corp has changed a long-standing policy in regard to donations which had been in place a long, long time.

Terry

Watch Tower Corp has changed a long-standing policy in regard to donations which had been in place a long, long time. To appreciate how drastic these changes have been, you'd have to know how it was from the beginning.

To understand the original policies (about money) and the changed (new policy) we have to take a peek into the past.

I don't want to bog you down in history. You can research on your own using Google.

Here are salient facts.

_________________________________________________

Charles T. Russell, age of 13, joined the Congregational church (dumped Presbyterian).

He went (like Girl Scouts are sent out with cookies to sell) door to door to RAISE MONEY for the Church.

Russell hated fund raising. He had to ask poor people to part with their money. He said he felt he was "fleecing the flock."

Russell sold 5 men's clothing stores for: $6,521,739.13

$300,000 of 1876 dollars would be worth : $6,521,739.13 in 2016.

http://www.davemanuel.com/inflation-calculator.php?

_______________________________________________________________

He threw his money into publishing End Times writings. He spent the family fortune like a drunken sailor on his favorite topics.

If somebody wrote something Russell agreed with he'd pay for the publishing.

If that somebody disagreed with Russell, he'd pull funding.

Russell finally fell in love with his own writings to the exclusion of everybody else (including his wife) and began writing 7 ambitious volumes.

He wanted to set everybody straight.

1886 the money dried up due to the immense amount of money spent in printing and distributing the first three publications.

He was spending about a million dollars a year! (In today's money.)

GUESS WHAT YEAR Russell tried to sell his books in bookstores? 1886.

_______________________________________________________________

By 1897, nearly one million Dawns had been distributed, largely by the colporteurs. DOOR TO DOOR BOOK SALESMEN.After 1931, the term “colporteur” was replaced by “pioneer.”

Pastor Russell's volumes were sold at about $2 a set or $2 of 1900 dollars would be worth: $55.00 in 2016 purchasing power.

Russell also turned to writing sermons as a newspaper columnist and built up a readership of about fifteen million people.

Having built a customer base (faithful readers) Russell went on tour giving sermons IN PERSON becoming one of the most recognized and 'famous' ministers in the world, like Joel Osteen or Joyce Meyers today.

Russell had no problems accepting private donations!

Pastor Russell had made a name for himself by refusing to take collections during meetings.

The slogan "Seats Free - No Collections" angered many clergymen because it was a slam on the traditional collection plate process.

_______________________________________________________________

The Watch Tower turned to advertising miraculous beans as a free giveaway and then switched to Miracle Wheat for a dollar.

In 1911, the market price for wheat was 59 cents to $1 a bushel. In Charles Taze Russell's Hicks Street Tabernacle, "miracle wheat" was being sold for $60 a bushel, or $1 a pound.

(The beans and wheat had been DONATED to Russell's ministry)

$1 of 1911 dollars would be worth: $24.39 in 2016 buying power.

Miracle Wheat brought in $1,800 of 1911 dollars would be worth: $43,902.44 in 2016

_______________________________________________________________

1897: When his wife Maria petitioned the court for a LEGAL SEPARATION (not a divorce) it was granted with Alimony.

Russell transferred his funds into the WTS account and strung Maria's alimony out torturously to make her dependent and to teach her a lesson.

Russell was litigious if he thought he could win a lawsuit.

The Washington Post partially quoted Maria's testimony about his claim "he floated from woman to woman like a jellyfish."

Russell sued and was awarded one dollar in damages. But--he relentlessly pursued an appeal making himself a legal nuisance and the case was settled for $15,000. $15,000 of 1915 dollars would be worth : $348,837.21 in 2016.

_______________________________________________________

http://www.watchtowerdocuments.com/documents/1915_A_Great_Battle_in_the_Ecclesiastical_Heavens.pdf

Russell's attorney was Judge Rutherford who wrote a pamphlet: Great Battle in the Ecclesiastical Heavens defending Russell's reputation.

"This is a non-stock corporation; it pays no dividends, no salaries, and no one has ever, as its books clearly show, reaped any financial benefit therefrom. It is supported entirely by voluntary contributions made by those who are interested in the promulgation of Bible Truths. Its work is exclusively religious.

For each contribution of $10.00, the contributor is entitled to one voting share. While there are nearly two hundred thousand shares, and it would be an easy matter to elect some other man as president, there never has been cast a vote against Pastor Russell."

Ten dollars times two-hundred thousand shares = $2,000.000 $2,000,000 of 1915 dollars would be worth: $46,511,627.91 in 2016

Bingo! (Note: 1913 Federal Income Tax was passed into law.)

_______________________________________________________________

NINE MILLION people saw the PHOTO DRAMA of CREATION (a slide show) presented to audiences around the world. Stop and consider:

No collection plate was passed--however--DONATIONS were accepted. (A donation box in plain sight.)

On September 23, 1912, the Eagle ran a cartoon called "Easy Money Puzzle."

Russell sued the Eagle for libel, demanding $100,000 in damages for "injury to his reputation, good name, fame and standing."

The case was brought before Justice Charles H. Kelby and a jury in the Kings County Supreme Court.

One of the juicier allegations made against the Watch Tower Society was that it had coerced an insane man, Hope Hay, into contributing $10,000 to its funds. William E. Van Amburgh, secretary-treasurer of' the Watch Tower Society, acknowledged that Mr. Hay was in an "insane asylum" and that the Watch Tower Society was footing his bills, but denied that Mr. Hay had not given his money of his own free will.

The jury of twelve men was out for less than forty-five minutes before it returned a verdict of not guilty in the Eagle's favor.

This is just a historical snapshot of how money and the Watch Tower had their beginnings.

44

My "best" friend (active JW) has just died

by Terry in

jw
friends

johnny santa cruz and i met around 1959 at a movie theater in fort worth, texas.. the purpose of that meeting was to create a fanclub for horror movie director william castle.

a week or so later, johnny stopped me as i was walking home from elementary school.. "hey--i think i know you.

weren't you at the william castle fanclub thing?".

Terry

Johnny Santa Cruz and I met around 1959 at a movie theater in Fort Worth, Texas.

The purpose of that meeting was to create a Fanclub for horror movie director William Castle. A week or so later, Johnny stopped me as I was walking home from elementary school.

"Hey--I think I know you. Weren't you at the William Castle Fanclub thing?"

And in that encounter, my entire life was fated to change forever.
____________

I soon discovered, Johnny Santa Cruz was a Jehovah's Witness and the continuity of our friendship, I would also discover, hinged upon his converting me.

This process took him about 4 years before I was baptized.

Because of my direct connection to Johnny and his family, I went to Federal prison as a conscientious objector and afterward married his sister.

My 1st three children are his sister's children.

___________

Johnny and I were best friends. He was my FIRST friend of any consequence.

His influence was boundless. He was larger than life in many ways.

He was six feet three inches tall and ponderous! He had one eye, red hair, freckles and large flat feet.

The laugh of his could fill a stadium. We kept each other laughing a lot in those early years. His personality was irrepressible. By imitating his aggressive nature, I learned to emerge from my super-shy backwardness socially. I thank him for that.

But, he also broke my heart eventually. Maybe we broke each others' hearts.

_________________

I did not remain Jehovah's Witness. His sister and I divorced and she died in a car wreck. We stayed in touch in violation of JW shunning policies.

When I moved back to Ft.Worth from California and he moved back from Corpus Christi, the first thing he did was contact me and invite me (although I was disfellowshipped) to a family reunion.

Later, he would sneak off and visit me at least once each week at my place of employment and we'd sit and talk for hours. . . usually arguing over JW's being False Prophets.

He admitted many (if not all) of the Watchtower failures, but shrugged them off. He admitted "most of the Elders are idiots" but shrugged that off too.

"I know how to play the game." He once told me, and he meant he saw through the pretentious rules and set his own course carefully within bounds.

One of his DF'd kids discovered he had been visiting be regularly. His son saw my postings and figured out the "Johnny" I was talking about was his dad.

When he confronted his father, Johnny lied and said that I was just a lying Apostate trying to get him in trouble!

He never admitted otherwise, but many people knew about it and did not report him. He had a golden bubble of protection around him. He was the male in the Santa Cruz family and was the little Prince. The daughters didn't seem to count for as much. I think most of them would tell you that.

After Johnny was 'outed' and he cut me dead, I never heard from him again. When I wrote my book, I Wept by the Rivers of Babylon, much of that book was devoted to Johnny. As far as I know, he never read it.

I have asked to be invited to the funeral. I'm sure they'll tell me to go pound sand--but that would not be right and they know it.

I'm shocked at his death--but, not surprised.

His health was lousy. He weighed over 300 pounds and was the sort of person who sneaked the wrong foods behind his wife's back.

He sneaked around a lot as a JW and saw movies that would shock the Elders if they knew. He went his own way.

I am still processing this.

He is, as I said, a large part of my life story. It hurts to know we never got to have one last conversation.

It hurts he put out that I had lied about he and I meeting all the time.

I do understand, but I hate that I have to understand.

This will take a long time to truly get over.

I loved you, Johnny. I really really loved you.

Goodbye

29

Diddling, adjusting, changing Doctrines? Why not leave it alone?

by Terry in

i have kept on asking myself why the jw's put targets on themselves by constant diddling with their own doctrines?

why not leave it alone?.

mainstream christianity has fixed teachings.

Terry

I think they are moving toward eliminating "literature" as a source of income. The customers are the members themselves. Getting pledges to pay up works for the churches at large and the semi-TV ministry is crowd-funding of a different sort.

I saw the OLD JW's religion and I am alive to see the NEW JW religion. Folks, it just isn't the same religion.

It is a doppleganger.

29

Diddling, adjusting, changing Doctrines? Why not leave it alone?

by Terry in

i have kept on asking myself why the jw's put targets on themselves by constant diddling with their own doctrines?

why not leave it alone?.

mainstream christianity has fixed teachings.

Terry

I know cognitive dissonance is ever present inside the Kingdom Hall.

However, I also know the nagging feeling "something just isn't right" is also there. The wall between the dissonances is only so high. When the bullshit gets above it, it slops over and awareness flashes. We tend to refer to that dawning awareness as "waking up."

It comes down to the same crisis moment an ADDICT faces. If they have lost everything and are at rock bottom inside the religion--the only way out is up and through the looking glass. An inevitability suddenly appears. When and how it will become real is a test of strength of character and basic raw courage.

To choose to make your world go away is the most difficult choice imaginable. The rational side of the mind is crippled by indoctrination. The emotional side of the mind is crippled by fear. The social side of the mind is blocked by potential loss of all your friends and JW family.

So what is left?

Reality=oxygen. How long can you hold your breath?

26

Jehovah’s Witnesses are Taught to Lie but to then Lie about Lying

by Terry in

jehovah’s witnesses are taught to lie but to then lie about lying.

first off, let’s define what it means to tell a lie.

i prefer the definition offered by aristotle way back in 4th century b.c.e.

Terry

Yes, it is a highly "selective" honesty.

It is an "the end justifies the means" honesty.

Like the entire religious doctrine, it is carefully fabricated to appear

solid while remaining fluid and porous.

An amazing ability to latch on to and confirm the unconfirmable mixed with a REBOOT button to wipe it all clean--is evidence of mind control.

They will love you and give their life for you one minute and call you a "mentally diseased Apostate" and refuse to pray for you the next.

The dysfunction is sociopathological.

Smiling, organic robots are a wonder of the world. I wonder what sort of world keeps them going if not delusion and fear.

28

PAINTING THEMSELVES INTO A CORNER or WHY was the "GENERATION" teaching started in the 1st place?

by Terry in

setting the scene.

pastor russell died in 1916. those who had 'followed' him were known pejoratively as russellites.

you could call it a 'cult of personality' if you wanted to sneer.

Terry

I'll bet--and I'm not being silly--the Watchtower could publish an article explain how a circle has pointy protuberances--and the Dubs would run out the next day and insist it is true.

When you stop and think about it, word tampering is the supreme art perfected by the Watchtower.

The GB redesigns "meaning."

All "Truth" has a shelf life.

Spare parts abound!

26

Jehovah’s Witnesses are Taught to Lie but to then Lie about Lying

by Terry in

jehovah’s witnesses are taught to lie but to then lie about lying.

first off, let’s define what it means to tell a lie.

i prefer the definition offered by aristotle way back in 4th century b.c.e.

Terry

New American Standard Bible
"But let your statement be, 'Yes, yes ' or 'No, no'; anything beyond these is of evil."

Yes, evil!