Death, aftermath, and legacy
During his return from a ministerial tour of the western and southwestern United States, the already ill Pastor Russell died from the result of multiple ailments on the night of October 31, 1916 in a train car as it approached Pampa, Texas. He was buried in Rosemont United Cemetery, Pittsburgh. The gravesite is marked by both a headstone, and an eight-foot tall pyramid memorial gifted from friends of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society in 1924.
In January 1917 Joseph Franklin Rutherford was successfully elected second president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society despite a series of disputes over the election process. Further disputes arose over interpretation of sections in Russell’s Last Will & Testament dealing with the future contents of Zion’s Watch Tower magazine, as well as who, if any, had authority to print new literature. Nearly three-quarters of the congregations chose not to accept Rutherford’s increasing number of changes in doctrine, openly published in the pages of the Watchtower magazine, as early as 1918. For many Bible Students, Rutherford’s rejection of the Great Pyramid in November, 1928, and Russell’s role in restoration of the truth in February, 1927, was considered the last straw. Those remaining supportive, however, eventually adopted the new name Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1931, and changed the name of the Society from Watch Tower to Watchtower. As their numbers began to grow, Rutherford sought to change the organizational structure of the Watchtower Society, shifting the long-held independence of the congregations, to a more centralized role, where elders began to be chosen by the Society, instead of by the local congregations. Many of those Bible Students who had ceased association with the changing Watchtower Society attempted to regroup in 1929 with the First Annual Bible Students Convention held in the old Pittsburgh “Bible House” long used by Pastor Russell. These conventions were held yearly, but the process of regathering took nearly twenty years.
Several denominations have either formed around, or adopted some style of, Pastor Russell’s views, among them the Worldwide Church of God, the Concordant Publishing Concern, the Assemblies of Yahweh. Among the numerous Bible Student off-shoot groups include the Pastoral Bible Institute, the Layman’s Home Missionary Movement and others.
Jehovah’s Witness’ roots: An introduction to C.T. Russell
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You mention above that the JW’s share the “Armenian” view of salvation. Uhhhh, that should be Arminian. Armenia is a country.
Woops, a little typo there. Thanks for the correction.
Good read; lot’s of historical detail. Having outgrown a J.W. upbringing, this my musings as to the eclectic mix of beliefs and propagated by the Watchtower Society. Good luck getting them to fess up to chronology of Armageddon false alarms.
Russell has a beard.Today wearing a beard is frowned on among the JW’s.
True. But, I’m not exactly sure what your point is.
Russell cribbed much of his theology from a then popular religion called the Millerites, who used to stand on oppose sides of the isle and argue “Great Taste!” “Less Filling!” “Great Taste!” “Less Filling!”
While most cults venerate their founders, Jehovah’s Witnesses virtually ignore theirs. Most JWs are completely ignorant of their own history. They’ve never heard of Miracle Wheat. They’re unaware that Rutherford bought a mansion to house the bible prophets who were supposed to be resurrected in 1925. (When they didn’t show up he graciously continued living there himself.) They’re unaware of how many times their organization set dates for Armageddon. Mention any of these facts to Witnesses who show up on your doorstep and you’ll be rewarded with a “dog on the freeway” expression.
What I meant was that the JW religion of today is far removed from what Russell founded even when it came to trivial stuff like beards let alone other teachings.
I don’t understand why not one member of the congress ever did some serious research concerning the governing body of the JWs. If you read all their cheating:
>false prophesies (1799, 1874, 1914, 1915, 1918,1925, 1941, 1975…) with thereby joined the advise to sell their houses, no children, stop working and pioneering, no higher education
> sympathizing for the political views of Hitler an their anti-Semitism
> involvement for ten years in the UNO: their worst enemy
> Malawi versus Mexico
> manipulating and falsify scientific medical proofs concerning germs and surgical treatment from p.ex; appendicitis
> hiding pedophilia
> prohibition from vaccinations
> prohibition from transplantations,
>murdering blood policy and their falsifying from medical issues concerning the migration from primary blood fractions from fetus to mother and vice versa
> falsifying and misleading teachings concerning the dangers of blood transfusions
> prohibition to give blood and the permission of secondary blood fractions
>the endless list of “deaths” ; the unacceptable killing of premature, baby’s, children, adults
>prohibition of independent thinking
>disfellowship and shunning
>…..
Accusation: GENOCIDE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL MURDER
The solution: “International Court of Justice”
Proof: thousands of evidences in their literature and thousands of “witnesses” fighting against their acts of inhumanity
So should the Jehovah’s Witnesses, like the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-day Saints, be considered an Abrahamic religion of its own rather than a Christian sect?