If somebody had told me about Sykes when I was a young JW, I think i would have greatly revised my view of how unique WT theology is.
Perhaps Sykes was the "real" Laodicean messenger :)
TerryWalstrom
JoinedPosts by TerryWalstrom
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25
TWO MEN who changed Watchtower History but YOU NEVER HEARD of them!
by TerryWalstrom intwo men who changed watchtower history but you never heard of them!
cults are famous for control--especially controlling information about people, places and events which are embarrassing to their self-myths.. especially is this true for two important figures in watchtower history.. .
the first man is william f. hudgings.
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Now this is weird, ever heard of the "Mandela Effect" ??? What if... ?
by Greybeard innow this is weird, ever heard of the "mandela effect" ???
i know how crazy it sounds but i got to tell you, this article about the governing body finally admitting the "faithful slave" was not divinely appointed by jesus in 1919 was epic to me.
like a mandela effect feeling.
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TerryWalstrom
This is a huge deal. It is EPIC!
The only---I said ONLY reason Watchtower leaders have ever given for anybody having to listen to them is that we BELONG to them!
But--you see--We do NOT because Jesus hasn't given themdoodly squat!
They have "run ahead" of Jehovah. The tried to give us "food" at an IMPROPER time.They have beaten their slaves (US) and have proven themselves
the EVIL SLAVE who has gotten away with all this shit simply because all their Chronology is unjustified and THE MASTER HAS DELAYED.
Watchtower leaders have been acting under FALSE PRETENSES.
The are illegitimate and have not proven worthy.
Yes, it is a big deal but the JW's (most of them) cannot appreciate what a big deal it is because NOBODY has any in-depth understanding of Watchtower teachings, except a few Ex-JW's.
The rank and file are more or less, idiots. -
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NAILING DOWN the fraud of John 1:1 by demonstration
by TerryWalstrom incall me crazy, but i love to watch seminary classes when sharp teachers are in charge of the instruction.. in the following video, the teacher really nails jehovah's witnesses on john 1:1 with utter simplicity.. begin at 1 hour and 20 minutes in.. i've never seen or heard of this before.. .
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_5qkj7tmbg.
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TerryWalstrom
John is typically thought to have been influenced by the Stoics, and their account of the logos as the active, rational force that pervades the universe is one of the classic references. Or perhaps one could draw on Philo’s account of the logos as the divine reason, which may be in the background of John’s text. But ultimately I think it is misleading to emphasize the rational aspect of logos as John uses it, and I have lots of details from the text to support this reading. What I’m looking for at the moment is a good reference from Plato to make it clear how he understands the term. I remember that in the Thaeatetus there is a discussion of knowledge as true belief with logos, and a natural account here might count logos as something like rational justification or explanation. And perhaps Glaukon’s request in the Republic for an explanation or account (logos) of the claim that Justice is a good in itself is a clue.
https://allthingsshiningbook.wordpress.com/2011/10/13/logos-in-plato-and-john/
Sean D. Kelly -
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NAILING DOWN the fraud of John 1:1 by demonstration
by TerryWalstrom incall me crazy, but i love to watch seminary classes when sharp teachers are in charge of the instruction.. in the following video, the teacher really nails jehovah's witnesses on john 1:1 with utter simplicity.. begin at 1 hour and 20 minutes in.. i've never seen or heard of this before.. .
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_5qkj7tmbg.
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TerryWalstrom
Rattigan3504 hours ago
IF it is that complicated to where he needs 1 hour 40 minutes and a white board all marked up and tracing history, then it is all BS.
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This is an Interesting standard you raise!I suppose Algebra, Calculus, auto mechanics, TV repair, scuba diving, and Chess are a waste of time because the instructors would probably exceed the time limit you've imposed :)
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TWO MEN who changed Watchtower History but YOU NEVER HEARD of them!
by TerryWalstrom intwo men who changed watchtower history but you never heard of them!
cults are famous for control--especially controlling information about people, places and events which are embarrassing to their self-myths.. especially is this true for two important figures in watchtower history.. .
the first man is william f. hudgings.
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TerryWalstrom
TWO MEN who changed Watchtower History but YOU NEVER HEARD of them!
___________________Cults are famous for control--especially controlling INFORMATION about people, places and events which are embarrassing to their self-myths.
Especially is this true for two important figures in Watchtower history.
The first man is William F. Hudgings
Here is his story.
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Did you know?
The 1st case heard by the Supreme Court of the United States concerning the Watchtower Society involved a Director (an officer) of the Watchtower, William Franklyn Hudgings.
Hudgings was an attorney, quack doctor, self-identified ‘scientist’, pro-Zionist, and religious enthusiast who over the years held various Director and Officer positions in the WatchTower Society, and the affiliated People's Pulpit Association and International Bible Students Association.
At the time of this case, William Hudgings acknowledged being Corporate Secretary of the People's Pulpit Association, and acknowledged that his daily duties included administrative charge of printing of the WatchTower magazine, the Bible Student's Monthly, the Kingdom News, and other WatchTower publications.
(Hudgings was also re-elected to the WatchTower Society Board of Directors in January 1919.)
Although not charged in the RUTHERFORD case, Hudgings was the WatchTower official who applied for the copyright on THE FINISHED MYSTERY book.) Hudgings was subsequently a key figure in the trial in which Rutherford and all but one of the Society’s Directors faced prison on charges of sedition and obstructing the military draft in violation of the Espionage Act of 1917.
In the course of J.F. Rutherford’s trial, Hudgings was charged with Perjury.
He, his wife and other various secretaries refused to answer truthfully when questioned. The Judge (Howe) gradually became so infuriated with the duplicity of the Bethel secretaries and the waffling of Hudgings,, he responded (over-reacted) by shouting at Hudgings, "I am not going to allow you to obstruct the course of justice here."
Thanks to this fit of temper, a Writ of Error was filed by Watchtower lawyers. At the end of WWI, that Writ of Error overturned the prison sentences of Rutherford and the others!
(Note: the strong feelings toward patriotism during the war had subsided enough for the court to forego the expense of another prosecution effort.) Note: President J. F. Rutherford and his seven WatchTower co-conspirators were NEVER ACQUITTED of the criminal charges which they were previously convicted, despite the fact that the WatchTower Society has repeatedly claimed such, and despite the fact that that FALSE CLAIM has been picked up and repeated by reporters, authors, and scholars for decades -- including a British historian as late as 2014.
On July 8, 1918, Judge Howe ordered that Hudgings continue to be committed until Hudgings was willing to purge the contempt charge by admitting he was withholding honest testimony before the court. Unwilling to acknowledge that his testimony had been less than truthful, Hudgings languished in jail for months.
In 1925, after the public failure of another Watchtower prophecy, Agnes Hudgings fled from WatchTower HQ, disassociated herself, and filed for divorce.** Only a few years thereafter, William Hudgings also left WatchTower HQ and disassociated himself from the WatchTower Society.
What became of Hudgings?William F. Hudgings was fined and sentenced to 6 months in the workhouse in 1930, prosecuted in New York for practicing Medicine without a licence. He wrote two books; one on Einstein and the other on Zionism.
He died in 1936.
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What was important about Hudgings?He infuriated Judge Howe by playing dumb, causing an outburst resulting in Rutherford and the Watchtower Directors release from maximum security prison. If it weren’t for that Writ of Error--Jehovah’s Witnesses might never have existed! Remember, the Watchtower officials were sentenced to serve 20 years in prison!
** Agnes Hudgings divorce complaint alleged that her work as Joseph F. Rutherford's secretary led to her suffering a nervous breakdown only a few months after they were married in February 1917. Agnes also claimed that living in the communal setting of Brooklyn Bethel adversely affected her health. Agnes further claimed that when he was angry with her that William F. Hudgings would not speak to her for days and even months at a time -- writing notes when communication was absolutely necessary. Agnes further claimed that her husband would sometimes leave Bethel without informing her, and thereafter, not inform her where he had been. Agnes also claimed that her husband frequently called her vile names. Finally, she claimed that he told her that he did not love her, and that he wished that he had married another Bethelite female._________________________________
Who is the 2nd historic figure in Watchtower history?Joshua. W. Sykes Pentecostal minister
What follows is most intriguing and suggestive as to the enormity of his influence on President J.F.Rutherford’s doctrinal innovations between 1916 and 1942 and perhaps, Nathan Knorr and Fred Franz afterward.
Here is his story.
_______________________________J.W. Sykes was one-of-a-kind in the Pentecostal movement, but he was considered quite a maverick who went his own way with heretical teachings repugnant to the Pentecostal faith.
Joshua Sykes’ congregation was integrated, unlike Pastor Russell’s public speeches / sermons where blacks and whites both could attend in separate sections--Sykes's members were sitting side by side in the Pentecostal church. This was considered dangerous and inflammatory at the time.
Pentecostal Preacher Joshua Sykes practiced racial and gender "integration" as early as 1908 -- having both African-American and female assistant preachers, staffers, and members. (The WatchTower Society was not fully integrated until the 1970s.)During WW1, the Pentecostal Preacher Joshua Sykes forbid his followers from being employed in any kind of employment having to do with the manufacturing of military equipment, supplies, and materials. (It took the WatchTower Society until WW2 to do the same.)
Let us note the development of Sykes’ teachings and how Jehovah’s Witness’ teachings seemed to be an echo of them!
Sykes proclaimed he was an anti-Trinitarian chosen by "Jehovah" to gather together and prepare "a people" for the imminent Second Advent of Jesus Christ.
J. W. Sykes served 15 months in federal prison, and three of his associates served 10 months in prison for ‘obstructing the draft’ by means of his public teaching and preaching.
Rutherford and his WatchTower gang served less than 9 months in prison for sedition.
During WW1, at a time when Judge Rutherford was publicly straddling the fence and publicly beating around the bush regarding the military draft and fighting in the war, all while privately sending out secret "anti-draft" messages to its members, the Pentecostal Preacher Joshua Sykes was plainly and publicly teaching his followers that they could NOT join the military nor fight for the United States in the ongoing WW1."The charges that I am in any way antagonistic to the United States government are false. I stand squarely with President Wilson in this great crisis and have no sympathy with anyone who does otherwise." -- J.F. Rutherford via April 1918 press release.
During WW1, at a time when Judge Rutherford had no issues with the displaying of the American Flag, nor had any issues with saluting the American Flag, nor had any issues with reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, nor had any issues with standing for the National Anthem, Pentecostal Preacher Joshua Sykes was teaching his followers that they could NOT perform any of those patriotic acts.
However, it not until January 1926 that Joshua Sykes decided that these prohibitions should be forced onto the children within his cult. When local schools began expelling the children of Sykes cult as they gradually refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, the ACLU came running to Sykes rescue.
The ACLU proclaimed that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance was against the religious tenets of Sykes' church. The ACLU proclaimed that although the members of Sykes' church respected the Flag of the United States, as well as respected the laws and Constitution of the United States, they believed that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance was a form of "idolatry" forbidden by the Bible.
The ACLU successfully negotiated a settlement with that local school board by the start of the following school year -- within a matter of months. It was not until 9 years later, in 1935, that the ACLU and Judge Rutherford formed a partnership to repeat what the ACLU had done for Sykes' cult.
During WW1, at a time when Judge Rutherford was advising WatchTower Society headquarters staff and members to purchase Liberty Bonds, the Pentecostal Preacher Joshua Sykes was forbidding his members to do so.Interestingly, during WW1, the Pentecostal Preacher Joshua Sykes was forbidding his members to support the American Red Cross -- financially or otherwise. The WatchTower Society did not get around to that until the latter 1940s.
During WW1, the Pentecostal Preacher Joshua Sykes was teaching his followers that they were NOT citizens of the United States, but were citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. It took the WatchTower Society until the 1950s to teach its members a watered-down version of such. Sykes actually meant it. The WatchTower Society just gave the teaching unpracticed lip service.
Pentecostal Preacher Joshua Sykes and WatchTower Society President Joe Rutherford turned their religious followers into anti-government and anti-societal wingnuts who made careers of wildly attacking every human government, attacking every societal institution, and attacking every other Christian religion.
Pentecostal Preacher Joshua Sykes and WatchTower Society President Joe Rutherford BOTH dumped their wives to live alone in California, while they BOTH made "mistresses" of headquarters female staffers. The only difference between the Pentecostal Preacher Joshua Sykes and WatchTower Society President Joe Rutherford was that Sykes did not keep his adultery a secret from his members, but rather spiritualized the matter, just as Rutherford spiritualized many other less controversial matters in his own religious cult.
Prior to WW1, the ANTI-TRINITARIAN Pentecostal Preacher J. W. Sykes was teaching his followers to distinguish between"Jehovah God" and his Son, "Jesus Christ", and to openly and regularly refer to the "Father" as "Jehovah", and not just "God". By the 1920s, Joshua Sykes was making even more widespread use of the name "Jehovah", such that whenever some unidentified religious group or religious nut would make repeated use of the name "Jehovah", they were assumed to be part of Joshua Sykes' cult -- not the "Bible Students". Judge Rutherford did not make a major issue of the use of the name "Jehovah" until after Joshua Sykes died in 1929.________
Both Hudgings and Sykes are probably people you only just now heard about. The impact each had upon the religion of the Watchtower is worth considering, don’t you think?
The Watchtower religion was not the creative and innovative movement most members consider to be totally unique in its teachings. Russell and Rutherford used a buffet lunch attitude in picking a bit of this and that. Today we’d call it cut and paste. Was Jehovah using THEM as his mouthpiece alone in all the earth at a special time in history as they claim? Or, is it more likely the doctrines are bottom of the barrel scrapings? Scraps, throw-aways, and outright steals from other people’s intellectual property?
Ever hear of the famous 20th Evangelist H. A Ironside? This preacher had been using a peculiar phrase to identify his followers. He used the term “Jehovah’s witnesses.” Every hear of it?
Judge Rutherford didn't even have sufficient imagination to capitalize the "w" in "witnesses", but instead even plagiarized the use of the lowercase "w" in "witnesses", just as H. A. Ironside had already been using in his multiple Biblical commentaries and published sermons that Ironside had authored at least as early as 1909, and as was the "Jehovah's witnesses" notation in his personal Bible next to Isaiah 43:10.The deeper you dig--the less impressive JW’s become!
_______________________Thanks to these resources:
www.apostolicarchives.com/Joshua_W_Sykes.html
jwemployees.bravehost.com/NewsReportsTHE INTERNET'S BEST WATCHTOWER SOCIETY HISTORY
https://issuu.com/charismata/docs/apostolic_faith_and_pentecostal_tim
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DESTROYING the Governing Body’s claim of authority
by TerryWalstrom indestroying the governing body’s claim of authority.
begin at the beginning.
what source authority did early christians have?.
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TerryWalstrom
1919 is a revoked teaching.
It is done. Gone.
Old Light.
Now it is set as a future event.
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The Man Who Interviewed the Apostles
by TerryWalstrom inmeet papias.
if you had lived in the time of the living apostles of jesus would you have personally investigated stories about.
or, would you simply read whatever was written instead?.
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DESTROYING the Governing Body’s claim of authority
by TerryWalstrom indestroying the governing body’s claim of authority.
begin at the beginning.
what source authority did early christians have?.
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TerryWalstrom
Phizzy 3 hours ago
Sorry to be obtuse, but exactly what are the G.B basing their claim of authority on ?
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1, Maria Russell thought up a new way to authorize the work of her husband, C.T. Russell and make him part of a prophetic fulfillment of scripture by offering the "faithful and wise servant" parable as a prophecy and doctrine.2. J.F.Rutherford transferred this (now) Doctrine to himself as a kind of Apostolic Succession. He further enlarged / defined the "powers" granted to him by virtue of holding this prophetic title (FDS). The Judge said being the FDS conferred all power over Jehovah's organization. He had this voted on and guess who was granted the status of FDS with superpowers? It was claimed at the time (now revoked) Jesus had inspected the WTorg and handed everything over.
3. Nathan Knorr+ Fred Franz tag-teamed the FDS slot after squeezing out non-anointed Hayden Covington (Rutherford's choice as his successor). Knorr and Franz created a hierarchy and called it a Theocracy deriving authority cracy directly from the Theos (Jehovah).
4. Knorr and Franz screwed the pooch with false 1975 fiasco and the leadership of the Watchtower Society was wrested away by the legal department (seeing in advance a certainty of failure) to protect Watchtower assets from lawsuits. This was only possible because Knorr had changed the need for a unanimous vote into a 2/3 majority vote.
5. The Governing Body is split off from the legal / corporate running of the Org.**
______________In the year 2000, Watchtower Society formed three new non-profit corporations to run the Society's operations in the United States.
These corporations are:- The Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses - coordinate all service (i.e., proselytic) activities, including door-to-door proselytism, circuit and district conventions, etc.
- The Religious Order of Jehovah's Witnesses - coordinate the activities of those involved in full-time service, including pioneers, missionaries, and circuit and district overseers.
- Kingdom Support Services, Inc. - control construction of all new Kingdom Halls and other facilities, and hold the titles to all Society-owned vehicles.
By creating a larger number of non-profit corporations, the Watchtower Society can - should it face such a situation in the future - move its asset to a corporation that is not currently fighting a lawsuit or under governmental judgment, thus making it more difficult for complainants to collect on judgments against the Society.
This particular strategy was utilized by the Church of Scientology when a judgment for $2.5 million was rendered against it in 1986. In 1997 the plaintiffs won an amended judgment in which they "proved to the Court's satisfaction that the Church of Scientology had conducted a pattern of systematically shuffling their assets between various Church owned or affiliated corporate entities to avoid payment"
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**Furthermore, while the Governing Body no longer serves on the Board, they still control who is selected for the Board. Not only do they influence the selection of candidates for election to the Board, but they also select the voting members of the Watchtower Society corporation (up to 500 individuals) who vote upon the candidates. Therefore, while the Governing Body no longer serves on the Board, they oversee and coordinate the entire process of determining who is selected for the Board of Directors. They will perform a similar function in the selection of directors for the subsidiary corporations.
Second, it is important to remember that the Board of Directors is only involved with the business activities of the Society; all doctrine is still formulated by the Governing Body. Therefore, unless the Board of Directors stages some form of a coup in Brooklyn (which, even if such an event were to occur, would be unlikely to receive the support of rank-and-file Jehovah's Witnesses), the Board is still subject to the Governing Body. The Governing Body can still change (or refuse to change) doctrine, thereby defining the parameters within which the Board of Directors must work.
(see in depth: http://www.watchman.org/articles/jehovahs-witnesses/jehovahs-witnesses-reorganize-the-watchtower-society/)
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Best of Topics
by Simon insome people had a penchant for posting their topics directly into the "best of topics" area.
it seemed more than a little arrogant to me that some imagined their every utterance was immediately a greatest hit but maybe people weren't clear on what that area was intended for .... from now on you won't be able to start new topics there.
if anyone wants to submit a topic to be added there (perhaps an index to a curated list of other topics by a user or on a certain subject / theme) then just start one in "suggestions" and pm me and, if it is suitable, then i'll move it into there.. existing topics posted there recently have been moved to more appropriate areas..
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TerryWalstrom
We need a BEST TEXAN category.
I'm just sayin'
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42
DESTROYING the Governing Body’s claim of authority
by TerryWalstrom indestroying the governing body’s claim of authority.
begin at the beginning.
what source authority did early christians have?.
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TerryWalstrom
The Russel photo awaiting rapture on Olive tree in Jerusalem was taken on 24.april 1910 in palestine not on 1. Oct. 1914 (end of genitle times) Why they awaited the rapture to take place before 1914?
____________________________________THE TEXT itself explains the answer to your question:
The claim is being made that Charles Taze Russell took his followers to the Mount of Olives to await the rapture that didn’t happen.
Of course, Russell certainly did not take the thousands of Bible Students worldwide to the Mount of Olives at any time, nor do I know any reason that Russell would have for going to the Mount of Olives to wait “for an entrance into heaven”.
Bible Students In Palstine, April 1910
Some are using the above picture taken in Palestine in April 1910 with the claim that some of the Bible Students went there to wait for the rapture. The picture appears the September 1, 1910 issue of the Watch Tower.
