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Jehovah’s Witnesses – An American Cult |
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Charles
Taze Russell, the founder of the cult which would eventually become
Jehovah's witnesses, adopted Adventist views after a congregational
boyhood and temporary loss of faith.
He became distressed at the thought of hell and his Bible searching
convinced him that the Hebrew word sheol should invariably be
translated “grave” instead of “hell.”
He began his preaching activities in 1872 and many people found
comfort in his flat denial of everlasting punishment.
“Pastor” Russell toured the nation preaching his novel Biblical
interpretations. Two scandals rocked his new movement. His wife sued him for divorce charging him with infidelity
and cruelty and the court agreed. Russell
contested the divorce five times without success and transferred his
property to corporations that he controlled in an attempt not to pay
alimony. He was involved in a
phony $60 a bushel miracle wheat scam and a “cancer cure” which
consisted of a caustic paste out of zinc, been, and cotton seed.
Russell died in 1916 on a Santa Fe Pullman after requesting an
associate to fashion him a Roman toga whereupon he “drew up his feet
like Jacob of old” and passed away. His
successor, Joseph F. Rutherford, was a small town Missouri lawyer who
preferred writing to preaching. His
scripture-heavy polemics (the practice of theological controversy to
refute errors of doctrine) soon formed the bulk of the cult’s printed
propaganda. Later he recorded
the short talks which witnesses played for householders on their portable
photographs. He also shrugged
pyramidism, a system by which the founder claimed to be able to foretell
history by measuring the rooms of the Great Pyramid in Egypt.
Shortly after his release from Atlanta federal prison for sedition,
the “Judge” coined the slogan “millions now living will never
die.” Rutherford’s followers were known by various names until
1931 when Rutherford disclosed that their new name would be “Jehovah's
witnesses”, since any mention of “witness” in the Bible could now be
adduced as evidence of the antiquity of the cult.
The “Judge” was not among the millions now living who will
never die. He died in 1942
after dictating the affairs of the cult for more than 25 years. The
hierarchy in place at the time, chose 36-year-old Nathan Knorr succeed
Rutherford. Knorr left the
reformed Church while in high school and was employed in various business
capacities in the cult until his election to the top position. In recent years under the Knorr administration witnesses have
learned how to smile, to treat householders with courtesy and tact, to
inquire about the children and pet the dog.
To many bibliolaters the scriptural gymnastics of a trained witness
is a sure sign of godliness. What
matter if the “minister” never finished high school, knows no Biblical
languages, and chooses to quote out of context?
As a matter of fact anyone who itches to engage an experienced
witness in a biblical duel had better make sure he has spent as much time
memorizing proof passages and persuading doubters as his opponent. The witnesses want no inactive or “associate” members. Everyone save the blame and blind is expected to devote many hours a month to door-to-door preaching. A convert completes courses in the Bible, speech, salesmanship, and missionary techniques before being assigned to ring doorbells with an experienced witness. The local congregation or “company” meets in a kingdom hall. Sunday and Thursday evening meetings resemble discussion groups more than worship services. A full time pioneer, known as the company servant, may conduct the meeting. Few
college graduates join the movement and cult members are not encouraged to
extend their formal education beyond high school. The main appeal has been to the socially, economically, and
intellectually disinherited. Racial
equality has been one of the longtime policies of the cult, but no Black
or minority has held a top administrative position. Evidently to many people the advantages of cult membership
outweigh the burdens. Without
spending years in college and seminary they can become “ministers”,
sitting in people's living rooms commanding respect as they spin their
peculiar doctrines and impress their listeners with heavy doses of proof
texts. The witnesses oppose blood transfusions, business, Catholics, Christmas trees, communism, civic enterprises, the doctrines of hell and immortality, evolution, flag saluting, higher education, liquor, lodges, Protestants, Priests, the Pope, public office, military service, movies, Mother's Day, religion, Sunday schools, the Trinity, tobacco, the United Nations, voting, the Y.M.C.A., Wall Street, and women's rights. This list does not pretend to be complete. The witnesses consider all religious bodies, Catholic and Protestant, to be tools of Satan and deceivers but they reserve a special hatred for Roman Catholicism. Witnesses
do not vote in local or national elections, hold public office, salute the
flag, or enter military service. They
consider all governments including the United States government, an
instrument of the devil. Oddly
enough, they have never objected to paying taxes.
Witnesses have been stoned, imprisoned, fined, sent to
concentration camps, tarred and feathered.
They have become involved in dozens of lawsuits over their refusal
to salute the flag, their peddling books without a license, their
slandering of religious groups, and their denial of blood transfusions to
their sick children. A
passage in Leviticus condemning the eating of blood is taken to refer to
blood transfusions although the practice condemned was obviously a
primitive tribal right rather than a medical technique.
They have won about two thirds of the 40 cases which have reached
the Supreme Court and in most instances they were supported by the
American civil liberties union. In
witness gratitude, they have branded the A.C.L.U. an agent of the devil. Witnesses reject many fundamental Christian beliefs such as original sin, the divinity of Christ, His resurrection, immortality, and the Trinity. They believe that Christ was originally Michael the Archangel, lived and died a man, and is now an exalted being. That Jesus Christ returned to earth invisibly in 1941, and that the great battle between Satan and Christ, Armageddon, may occur any day now. Only
a fraction of Jehovah's Witnesses can be members of the invisible Church
since they believe its number has been set at 144,000, no more, no less.
Only those belonging to this select “brides class” can
entertain hopes of reaching heaven. The
best the other witnesses can hope for is to be counted among the Jonadabs
or “other sheep” who will protect and assist the “brides class”
from their earthly habitation. To
summarize the final disposition of mankind according to
Russell-Rutherford-and-Knorr: 144,000 will attain heaven and reign with
Christ, the wicked will be annihilated, the righteous will live on earth
forever. Neither scandals nor
persecution have stopped the growth of this American-born cult. Unfortunately and as usual, the poor and uneducated
provide a happy hunting ground for this band of dedicated fanatics. One could say that this is the devil's cult. The main principal of the diabolic, the devil, is to divide. I don't doubt that their special hatred of Roman Catholicism is due to the fact that the Church makes this known. The Church is Satan’s greatest enemy. The witnesses, in their obvious misinterpretation of the Bible, are playing right into the devil’s hands. By dividing, confusing, and lying, the devil tries to persuade you away from God. But beware; the devil is a cruel master. Don't buy the lie.
Sources
for this page include excerpts from Nihil
Obstat: Rev. Lawrence Gollner, Censor Liborum Imprimatur:
Bishop Leo A. Pursley, D.D. Bishop
of Fort Wayne - South Bend Nihil obstat
are Latin words meaning "there is nothing to be objected to" and is
used by the Roman Catholic censor when reviewing a book or movie. They are
used in lieu of the word "approved" -- which is understood to imply
much more of an endorsement of whatever is being referred to. Imprimatur
is Latin for "let it be printed." When a Roman Catholic bishop grants
his imprimatur to a printed work, he assures the reader that nothing therein is
contrary to Catholic faith or morals. This imprimatur is not given lightly; only
after a thorough review process. |
