Jehovah’s Witness’ roots: An introduction to C.T. Russell

Criticisms and controversies
As early as 1892 Russell’s views and management style were strongly criticized by certain individuals associated with his ministry. In 1893 a paper was written and circulated to Bible Students in Pittsburgh that expressed concern that Russell was a dictatorial leader, a shrewd businessman who appeared eager to collect funds from the selling of the Millennial Dawn books, cheated one of them out of financial gains, and issued thousands of Millennial Dawn books under a female pseudonym. A booklet entitled A Conspiracy Exposed and Harvest Siftings was written by Russell and issued as an extra to the April, 1894 Zion’s Watch Tower magazine in order to pre-empt attempts to have their views circulated to a wider audience of Bible Students.

In 1897 Russell’s wife left him after disagreeing over the management of Zion’s Watch Tower magazine. She expressed that, as his wife, she should have equal control over its administration, equal privilege in writing articles, preaching, and traveling abroad as his representative. In 1903 she filed for legal separation on the grounds of mental cruelty, related to what she considered to be forced celibacy, and frequent cold, indifferent treatment. The separation was ultimately granted in 1906, with Russell charged to pay alimony. During the trial her attorney made the claim that Russell had been inappropriately intimate with Rose Ball, a young woman the Russells had cared for as a foster daughter since age ten. She alleged that Ball had told her Russell claimed to be a “jellyfish floating around” to different women until someone responded to his intimacy. Russell defended himself by claiming that not only was she “poisoned” by the women’s suffrage movement, but that all her claims were false. Following her attorney’s claim, page 10 of the court transcript records that Mrs. Russell was asked by the Judge to clarify if she was, in fact, accusing her husband of adultery, and replied “No”. The Washington Post and Chicago Mission Friend reprinted the claim that Russell was a “jellyfish”, and was sued by him for libel. The jury voted in his favor, awarding him one-dollar. After appealing this decision, Russell received a cash settlement of $15,000 (the same buying power as $325,000 in 2006 ) as well as payment of all court costs, an agreement for an article of retraction defending his character, and an agreement that his weekly syndicated sermons be published in their newspapers.

On March 22, 1911, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, a tabloid newspaper, began publishing articles accusing Russell of gaining profit from a strain of wheat named “Miracle Wheat” by its discoverer, K.B. Stoner of Fincastle, Virginia in 1903. Once other newspapers read this claim, many critics began to insist that Russell had deceived and defrauded many by selling this supposedly advanced strain of wheat for $60 a bushel, far above the average cost of wheat for the day. Throughout 1912 and 1913 the Eagle continued to report on this alleged fraud on Russell’s part. Russell sued the Eagle for libel, but lost. Russell defended himself publicly, and in writing, by claiming that the wheat was donated to the Watch Tower Society, and although sold for $1 per pound Mr. Stoner routinely sold it for a $1.25 per pound. Russell claimed to have no financial connection to the wheat, and that any who were dissatisfied by their purchase and donation were offered a refund as much as one year following purchase. None claimed a refund.

During 1913, other matters of interest were addressed by John Jacob (J.J.) Ross, a minister from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in his booklet entitled Some Facts about the Self-Styled “Pastor” Charles T. Russell. Russell had taken Ross to court on the charge of libel. Ross attempted to show that when Russell was asked in trial if he possessed knowledge of the Greek alphabet he first claimed he did, then retracted the claim when cross-examined and shown the alphabet. Ross also claimed that Russell blatantly lied when asked if he was an ordained minister by answering “yes”. In answer to Ross’s accusations, Russell stated that he never claimed knowledge of the Greek language, merely the alphabet, and that due to the Judge’s objection to the line of questioning, the book was taken away before he could even see it. He believed that his ordination was “of God” according to the biblical pattern, not requiring any denominational approval, and that his annual election as “Pastor” by over 1,200 congregations worldwide constituted him as “ordained”, or chosen, to be a minister of the gospel.

In recent times, Russell has been accused of having had close ties with Freemasonry. Critics have not only attempted to connect him with any of several different rites of the Free Masons, but have also attempted to show that such associations are connected with occult practices. It has been pointed out that in later editions of his Studies in the Scriptures series a winged solar disk appears on the front cover, which some have claimed is an exclusively Masonic symbol. In his writings, Russell stated that membership in Freemasonry, Knights of Pythias, Theosophy, and other similar groups are unscriptural. He also denied having direct knowledge of Masonic practices and considered membership with these groups to be “grievous evils”. His justification for use of the winged solar-disk originated from his understanding that Malachi 4:2, which denotes a sun with wings, is a symbol that Christ’s millennial Kingdom had begun.
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