1) Brother Moyle wrote an open letter to the Bethel community in which he announced his resignation from Bethel, giving as his reasons various criticisms of the conduct of brother Rutherford in particular and the Bethel members in general. (He did not attack nor denounce any of our beliefs and his letter makes it evident he still considered Jehovah’s Witnesses to be God’s chosen people.)
2) Brother Rutherford and the board of directors chose not to accept this resignation, but rather to oust brother Moyle on the spot, denouncing him by resolution adopted by the entire Bethel membership. He was labelled as an evil slave and a Judas.
3) Brother Moyle returned to private practice and continued to associate with the Christian congregation.
4) Brother Rutherford then used the Watch Tower magazine on repeated occasions in both articles and news or announcement pieces over the following months to denounce brother Moyle before the worldwide community of subscribers and readers. (Circulation: 220,000)
5) Brother Rutherford’s actions gave Moyle the basis to launch his libel suit.
6) Brother Rutherford died before the suit finally came to court and was concluded in 1943. There were two appeals. In all three verdicts, the Watch Tower Society was found guilty and ordered to pay damages, which it eventually did.
Before continuing, a brief caveat
Using the court transcript, it would be very easy to attack personalities, but that is not the purpose of this forum, and it would be very unfair to question the motives of individuals long dead who cannot defend themselves. There are individuals in this world who try to persuade us to leave Jehovah’s organization because of what they claim are bad actions and motives of prominent members of the leadership. These individuals forget their history. Jehovah created his first people under Moses. Eventually, they demanded and got human kings to rule over them. The first one (Saul) started off good, but went bad. The second one, David, was good, but committed some whoppers and was responsible for the death of 70,000 of his people. So, overall, good, but with some really bad moments. The third was a great king, but ended up in apostasy. There followed a line of good kings and bad kings and really bad kings, but through it all, the Israelites remained Jehovah’s people and there was no provision for going off to other nations in search of something better, because there wasn’t anything better.
Then came the Christ. The Apostles held things together after Jesus ascended to heaven, but by the second century, oppressive wolves had moved in and began treating the flock abusively. This abuse and deviation from truth continued for hundreds of years, but through all that time, the Christian congregation continued to be Jehovah’s people, just as Israel had been, even when she was apostate.
So now we come to the Twentieth Century; but we now expect something different. Why? Because we were told that Jesus came to his spiritual temple in 1918 and judged the flock and cast out the evil slave and appointed the good and faithful and discreet slave over all his domestics. Ah, but we don’t believe that anymore, do we? Just recently, we have realized that the appointment over all his belongings comes when he returns at Armageddon. This has interesting and unexpected ramifications. The appointment over all his belongings is the result of his judgment of the slaves. But that judgment happens to all the salves at the same time. One is judged faithful and appointed over all his belongings and the other is judged as evil and cast out.
So the evil slave was not cast out in 1918 because the judgment did not occur then. The evil slave will only become known when the master returns. Therefore, the evil slave must still be among us.
Who is the evil slave? How will he become manifest? Who knows. In the meantime, what of us individually? Will we allow abrasive personalities and perhaps even legitimate injustices to cause us to leave Jehovah’s people? And go where?? To other religions? Religions who openly practice war? Who, rather than die for their beliefs, will kill for them? I don’t think so! No, we’ll wait patiently for the master to return and judge the righteous and the wicked? While we’re doing that, let’s use the time to work on getting and keeping the Master's favor.
To that end, a better understanding of our history and what got us to where we now are can’t hurt. After all, accurate knowledge leads to everlasting life.
An unexpected benefit
One thing that is evident from even a cursory reading of the court transcript is that if Rutherford had simply accepted Moyle’s resignation and left it at that, there would have been no grounds for a libel suit. Whether Moyle would have kept to his stated objective and continued to be a Jehovah’s Witness, even offering his legal services to the brotherhood as he stipulated in his letter, or whether he would have eventually turned apostate is something we may never know.
By giving Moyle just cause to bring a lawsuit, Rutherford exposed himself and the Society to public scrutiny. As a result, historical facts have come to light that might otherwise have remained hidden; facts about the makeup of our early congregation; facts which affect us to this day.
As things turned out, Rutherford died before the suit ever came to trial, so we can only guess at what he might have had to say. However, we do have the sworn testimony of other prominent brothers who later served on the Governing Body.
What can we learn from them?
Our view of obedience
Under cross-examination by the Plaintiff’s attorney, Mr. Bruchhausen, Nathan Knorr, Rutherford’s successor, made the following revelation when being questioned about the fallibility of those who reveal Bible truth through our publications: . (From page 1473 of the court transcript)
Q. So that these leaders or agents of God are not infallible, are they? A. That is right.
Q. And they do make mistakes in these doctrines? A. That is right.
Q. But when you put out these writings in the Watch Tower, you don’t make any mention, to those who get the papers, that “We, speaking for God, may make a mistake,” do you? A. When we present the publications for the Society, we present with it the Scriptures, the Scriptures set forth in the Bible. The citations are given in the writing; and our advice is to the People to look up these Scriptures and study them in their own Bibles in their own homes.
Q. But you don’t make any mention in the fore part of your Watch Tower that “We are not infallible and subject to correction and may make mistakes”? A. We have never claimed infallibility.
Q. But you don’t make any such statement, that you are subject to correction, in your Watch Tower papers, do you? A. Not that I recall.
Q. In fact, it is set forth directly as God’s Word, isn’t in? A. Yes, as His word.
Q. Without any qualification whatsoever? A. That is right.
This was, for me, a bit of a revelation. I have always worked under the assumption that anything in our publications was below the word of God, never on a par with it. That is why the recent statements in our 2012 district convention and circuit assembly programs bothered me so much. It seemed that they were grasping at an equality with God’s Word which they had no right to and which they had never before attempted to do. This, was for me, something new and disturbing. Now I see that this isn’t new at all.
Brother Knorr makes it clear that under Rutherford as well as under his presidency, the rule was that anything published by the faithful slave[i] was God’s Word. True, he admits that they are not infallible and that, therefore, changes are possible, but only they are allowed to make the changes. Until such time, we must not doubt what is written.
To express it simply, it appears that the official position on any Bible understanding is: “Consider this the Word of God, until further notice.”
Rutherford as the Faithful Slave
Our official position is that the faithful and discreet slave was appointed in 1919 and that this slave is made up of all the members of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses at any point in time from that year onward. It would therefore be natural to assume that brother Rutherford was not the faithful slave, but rather only one of the members of the body of men that made up that slave during his tenure as legal president of the Watch Tower, Bible and Tract Society.
Fortunately, we have the sworn testimony of another brother who eventually served as one of the presidents of the Society, brother Fred Franz. (From page 865 of the court transcript)
Q. I understand that you say that in 1931, the Watch Tower discontinued naming the editorial committee, and then Jehovah God became the editor, is that correct? A. Jehovah’s editorialship was indicated thereby citing Isaiah 53:13.
The Court: He asked you if in 1931 Jehovah God became editor, according to your theory.
The Witness: No, I wouldn’t say so.
Q. Didn’t you say that Jehovah God became the editor of this paper at some time? A. He was always the one guiding the course of the paper.
Q. Didn’t you state that on October 15, 1931, the Watch Tower discontinued the naming of an editorial committee and then Jehovah God became the editor? A. I didn’t say Jehovah God became the editor. It was appreciated that Jehovah God really is the one who is editing the paper, and therefore the naming of an editorial committee was out of place.
Q. At any rate, Jehovah God is now the editor of the paper, is that right? A. He is today the editor of the paper.
Q. How long has he been editor of the paper? A. Since its inception he has been guiding it.
Q. Even before 1931? A. Yes, sir.
Q. Why did you have an editorial committee up to 1931? A. Pastor Russell in his will specified that there should be such an editorial committee, and it was continued down till then.
Q. Did you find that the editorial committee was in conflict with having the journal edited by Jehovah God, is that it? A. No.
Q. Was the policy in opposition to what your conception of an editing by Jehovah God was? A. It was found on occasions that some of these on the editorial committee were preventing the publication of timely and vital, up-to-date truths and thereby hindering the going of those truths to the people of the Lord in his due time.
By the Court:
Q. After that, 1931, who on earth, if anybody, had charge of what went in or did not go in the magazine? A. Judge Rutherford.
Q. So he in effect was the earthly editor-in-chief, as he might be called? A. He would be the visible one to take care of that.
By Mr. Bruchhausen:
Q. He was working as God’s representative or agent in running this magazine, is that correct? A. He was serving in that capacity.
From this we can see that up until 1931 there was an editorial committee of faithful individuals who were able to exercise some control over what was published in the magazines. Still, the origin of all our doctrine was from a single man, brother Rutherford. The editorial committee didn’t originate doctrine, but they did exercise some control over what was released. However, in 1931, brother Rutherford disbanded that committee because it was not allowing what he felt were timely and vital truths originating from him to be disseminated to the Lord’s people. From that point forward, there was nothing even remotely resembling a governing body as we know it today. From that point forward everything published in the Watchtower came directly from the pen of brother Rutherford with no one having any say whatsoever into what was being taught.
What does this mean for us? Our understanding of prophetic fulfillments that are believed to have occurred in 1914, 1918, and 1919 all come from one man's mind and understanding. Almost, if not all, of the prophetic interpretations regarding the last days that we have abandoned over the past 70 years have come from this period of time as well. There remains a good number of beliefs that we hold as true, indeed, as the word of God, which originate from a time when one man enjoyed a virtually uncontested rule over Jehovah's people. Good things came from that time period. So did bad things; things we had to abandon to get back on track. This isn't a matter of opinion, but of historical record. Brother Rutherford acted as "God's agent or representative" and was viewed and treated as such, even after he had died, as can be seen from the evidence brothers Fred Franz and Nathan Knorr presented in court.
Given our latest understanding of the fulfillment of Jesus' words concerning the faithful and discreet slave, we believe that he appointed that slave in 1919. That slave is the Governing Body. However, there was no governing body in 1919. There was only one body that governed; that of Judge Rutherford. Any new understanding of Scripture, any new doctrine, came from him alone. True, there was an editorial committee to edit what he taught. But all things came from him. In addition, from 1931 onward to the time of his death, there was not even an editorial committee to check and filter the veracity, logic, and Scriptural harmony of what he wrote.
If we are to wholeheartedly accept our latest understanding of the "faithful slave", then we must also accept that one man, Judge Rutherford, was appointed by Jesus Christ as the faithful and discreet slave to feed his flock. Apparently, Jesus changed from that format after Rutherford's death and began to use a group of men as his slave.
Accepting this new teaching as the word of God is made more difficult when we consider that during the 35 years following his death and resurrection, Jesus used, not one, but a number of individuals working under inspiration to feed his flock. However, he didn't stop there, but also used many other prophets, both men and women, in the various congregations who also spoke under inspiration—though their words did not make it into the Bible. It is hard to understand why he would depart from that means of feeding the flock and use a single human who, by sworn testimony, was not even writing under inspiration.
We are not a cult. We must not allow ourselves to follow men, especially men who claim to be speaking for God and want us to treat their words as if from God himself. We follow the Christ and humbly work shoulder to shoulder with like-minded men. Why? Because we have God's word in written form so that we can individually "make sure of all things and hold fast to what is fine"—to what is true!
The admonition expressed by the apostle Paul in 2 Cor. 11 seems fitting for us in this instance; especially his words in vs. 4 and 19. Reason, not intimidation, must always guide us in the understanding of Scripture. We do well to prayerfully consider Paul's words.
[i] For purposes of simplicity, all references to the faithful and discreet slave in this post refer to our official understanding; i.e., that the slave is the Governing Body from 1919 onward. The reader should not infer from this that we accept this understanding as Scriptural. For a fuller understanding of what the Bible has to say about this slave, click the forum category “Faithful Slave”.
Archived Comments
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Comment by apollos0falexandria on 2012-12-31 11:52:03
Thanks Meleti. This is another very thought provoking article.
There is an irony to the recent development of the official identity of the "faithful and discreet slave". You will recall that up to Rutherford's presidency the members of the IBSA believed Russell to be the "faithful and wise servant". However, in the 1920's Rutherford determined to do away with what he called "creature worship", and he disbanded this idea. However the first irony is that Rutherford himself appears to have been much more of a self-promoter than Russell. Just read any issue of the Messenger from the period to get a flavour of that. Rutherford put down the idea of Russell being the "faithful and wise servant", but to what end?
Secondly, after all these years we have placed Rutherford as the "faithful slave" in 1919. We may not explicitly say that, but your presentation of the history is spot on, and the conclusion is inescapable that he was the sole leader and had complete control over doctrine and policy from that year until he died in the 40's.
I did not know about the move to axe the editorial committee in 1931 though. Funny that it occurred right before the most revolutionary changes to doctrine - the official formation of "Jehovah's witnesses" along with the two hopes for Christians excluding Christ as mediator for the majority. Were these the truths that the editorial committee would have hindered? If one reads the articles that originally built those doctrines it is not hard to imagine the concerns they might have had with the scriptural foundation.
Today we celebrate these new revelations as the revealing of absolute truth, with little regard for how they actually came into being and how much solid foundation they have in God's Word. Looking at the climbing number of memorial partakers for several consecutive years now it seems apparent that not everyone is buying the story.
ApollosReply by Pauline Spearing on 2013-01-06 18:04:19
Just to correct a point... but quite a significant one... regarding the letter from Brother Moyle to Brother Rutherford...
Brother Moyle's letter was, the first instance, a private letter, addressed - in confidence - solely to Brother Rutherford, explaining why he and his wife felt they could no longer tolerate life in the Bethel, and why they were leaving.
Brother Moyle was forced to make it a public letter after Brother Rutherford went off the deep end, accusing him publicly of being a Judas and in league with Satan, within the publications, without revealing the contents of the letter...
In my humble opinion, I think he was justified in making it public and in bringing a libel suit... and it was Brother Rutherford who brought reproach on the, "Organisation...", not Olin Moyle.
Who can blame him for being disillusioned...!?
Comment by Alec Holmes on 2012-12-31 15:24:40
Wow, thank you so much Meleti for the excellent article, and Apollos for the great comment. I couldn't agree more!
Like Meleti I had always known the Society had never claimed infallibility, I just had no idea our publications were to be viewed as the Word of God. I'm sorry, but as pointed out in a previous post in this blog:
"21 And in case you should say in your heart: “How shall we know the word that Jehovah has not spoken?” 22 when the prophet speaks in the name of Jehovah and the word does not occur or come true, that is the word that Jehovah did not speak. With presumptuousness the prophet spoke it. You must not get frightened at him.’ (Deuteronomy 18:20-22)
From this we see that it isn’t the ability to make a true prophecy that distinguishes the prophet of God, but the inability to make a false one. All the prophecies, without exception, must come true, not just some. The man, or group of men, laying claim to being God’s appointed channel cannot make mistakes, because God does not make mistakes."
Now, we should prayerfully take an objective, bias-free, pragmatic look at our history with our "power of reason" and "clear thinking faculties", and be wise "because the days are wicked."—Romans 12:1; 2 Peter 3;1; Ephesians 5:15.Reply by apollos0falexandria on 2013-01-01 08:20:03
Hi Alec,
When reading your comment a thought that occurred to me was that our primary defence when we are criticized for false predictions is Acts 1:6. But there is a polar difference between 1) an open minded question directed to the Lord in person and 2) a demand that people believe a human prediction during the absence of the Lord.
Now in fairness to Russell he did not demand belief in his predictions. But that is primarily because he also did not demand a belief in an organization - he only directed people to God and His Word.
ApollosReply by Alec Holmes on 2013-01-01 14:51:42
Exactly Apollos, I hadn't thought of Acts 1:6 in such a clear-cut way. And you're right, Russell told people to beware of 'organization'.
I firmly agree and believe in this part of the post:
"We have God’s word in written form so that we can individually 'make sure of all things and hold fast to what is fine.' "
Your comment makes me wonder, did the apostles ever demand that people believe them unquestionably? I don't think so. And another thing—"by their fruits you will recognize those men." Whilst we as a people do do Jehovah's will, work hard to put on the Christian personality, cultivate the fruitage of the spirit, display Christlike love, and preach the good news 'to the most distant part of the earth', our fruits as regards some of our predictions about the end as an organization have failed miserably and done a disservice to our brotherhood and our to claim that the organization speaks for God.
This really is a time to be cautious as serpents and innocent as doves, keep looking, keep awake, and to be loyal first and foremost to Jehovah.
Reply by Jude on 2013-01-02 12:35:17
Incidently, Jesus, at Acts 1:7 told his followers that it did not belong to them to get knowledge of when the Kingdom will be established. Who are we to say that we know it was established in 1914?
Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2013-01-02 12:42:28
Precisely!
Reply by Alec Holmes on 2013-01-03 13:16:40
A thought occurred to me when reading Matthew 24 again. Jesus said in v. 48 onwards:
"48 But if ever that evil slave should say in his heart, 'My master is delaying,' 49 and should start to beat his fellow slaves and should eat and drink with the confirmed drunkards, 50 the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect and in an hour that he does not know."
I was thinking about what the evil slave says to himself, 'my master is delaying'. At face value it would seem that almost 100 years later this slave would now be able to say that. That would seem to support our 1914, 1918, and 1919 official doctrines.
But then I chanced upon something I had not considered before: "a day that he does not expect" and "an hour that he does not know." That is when the master will come.
The evil slave beats up his fellow slaves before the master comes because he thinks the master is a long way off. He will be caught off balance. So he won't be able to calculate the time of the master's arrival, because if he does Jesus's words would just not make sense.
And he warned us all, not just the evil slave, in v.23: "At an hour that YOU do not think to be it, the Son of man is coming."Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2013-01-03 13:20:37
Very sobering thoughts indeed, Alec. Thanks.
Reply by apollos0falexandria on 2013-01-03 13:46:13
Hi Alec
I agree. There is logically only one way that we can fall into the trap of thinking that our master is delaying. That is to set an expectation as to the period in which he would definitely return, or to say that he had returned already and so his millennial rule must be imminent, which would be in contravention of Jesus' direction not to do that. If we simply live our lives with the CERTAINTY that Jesus will return and govern mankind, rather than create a theology that is concerned with it's IMMINENCE, then we can avoid that pitfall.
The wording of the parable suggests an erroneous estimate as to the LIMIT of when the master might arrive rather than the setting of a specific date. Otherwise the slave would likely say "the master failed to come" rather than the "master is delaying".
When we set upper limits by calculating generations in terms of years (whether overlapping or not) we surely create the environment for the evil slave prophecy to come true.
We have always been a date oriented organization. What other religion has the attachment to dates that we do? Given Jesus' directive it seems to be such dangerous ground.
Apollos
Reply by Alec Holmes on 2013-01-03 14:23:33
Hi Apollos,
I wholeheartedly agree. You're right, we've never said we were able to calculate the date of the end, but we have set limits for it. Like the generation(s) teaching.
We really need to heed Jesus's words both in Matthew 24 and Acts 1:7. Here is what the Awake! said about the latter:
*** g98 5/8 p. 21 How Significant Is the Year 2000? ***
Clearly, the “knowledge of the times or seasons,” especially when it comes to the future fulfillment of Bible prophecies, is not under human jurisdiction. God has chosen not to reveal such information to us.
--
Well, dangerous ground indeed.
Comment by Dorcas on 2012-12-31 17:06:43
Thank you for the well-researched article. Without the Internet, many of us would not know the true history of our organization, only the sanitized version we receive through our organization.
I am shocked to see that Brother Franz in actuality professed that Jehovah was the editor of the Watchtower. Did he honestly believe that or was he backed into a corner and couldn't see his way out?
My family has a history with Rutherford and I find it difficult not to put down the man himself, sorry. Some of our most controversial beliefs and the ones with which most people find fault came from Rutherford's pen. There were no checks and balances in place when he ruled with an iron fist, I'm sorry to say.
Some say the hard line arguments and controversial doctrines defined by Rutherford were simply to defy the clergy of Christendom because he blamed them for the imprisonment of our brothers (including Rutherford himself) in leadership position in 1918. A little vendetta against the clergy, if you will. Whatever the clergy taught, Rutherford opposed it.
I would not be a Witness today if I did not believe that Jehovah has straightened "The Way" more than a bit since Rutherford's time. Nevertheless, Brother Moyle would be labeled an apostate and mentally diseased were he alive today. No one is allowed to disagree with our official teachings and this is what I find so disturbing.Reply by apollos0falexandria on 2013-01-01 08:29:11
"Whatever the clergy taught, Rutherford opposed it."
I couldn't agree more with this. When the primary motivation becomes differentiation rather than objective truth, it can get us into all sorts of trouble. The pendulum can often swing too far.
Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2013-01-02 07:51:02
I'm with you on this, Dorcas. Rutherford's over-reaction to Moyle's criticism, even if it were completely unfounded, was deplorable. Jehovah has been falsely criticized on many occasions, but he never lashes out. How thankful we can all be for that. It is lamentable that over-reaction to criticism from within out brotherhood is not a thing of the past.
When someone lashes out at a critic, it merely serves to give credibility to the critic. If nothing else, we should have learned that lesson from the Olin Moyle law suit.
Comment by Urbanus on 2013-01-01 07:14:35
When Jesus was enthroned as King over the Christian Congregation in 33 CE, he made an appointment as an “Apostle to the Nations” the unlikely personage of Saul of Tarsus. (Romans 11:13)
That “Apostle Paul” did not consult the “twelve” in Jerusalem as to the content of his letters to the Congregations, which became scriptures and accepted as the inspired word of God. However he did present questions and evidence in behalf of congregations and submit to their decision in the matter of circumcision, as recorded in Acts 15. He later no doubt participated in transmitting news of the decision by the “governing body” in Jerusalem to the congregations he traveled to, as lead and directed by the “spirit of Jesus” (Acts 16:7; Phil 1:19).
Therefore, it is not inconsistent that the slave class established in 33 CE again for a few years accepted the personal direction of one man, Joseph F. Rutherford, during the period 1931 to 1941, as being the human author revealing will of Jehovah, although without full revelation of the truth and with personal prejudices added.
Rutherford appears as the principal agent in the adoption of the name “Jehovah's Witnesses” in 1931, as well as announcing the linkage and class identity of the “other sheep” with the “great crowd” of Rev. 12 in 1935.
However, there is a serious conflation of two classes in this matter. Jesus spoke of the “other sheep” in the context of an obvious reference to the ”people of the nations,” to whom his preaching activity was NOT directed prior to his death. However, by the year 36 CE, there was a major re-direction of disciple-making by Holy Spirit under the control of Jesus to “the people of the nations” “to the ends of the Earth.” (Acts 3:29-31; Psalm 59:13)
The Apostle John saw in vision the “Day of the Lord” with the judgment of the great tribulation, and coming out of it with salvation [ “owed to our God...and to the Lamb”] a great crowd “standing before the throne and before the Lamb.”
Since the Watchtower issue of Jan 15, 1971 we have believed this to be a future event. Therefore, when Rutherford addressed the 1935 convention with “Behold the Great Crowd,” he really was presenting the household of domestics of Matt 24:45, assembled and ready to receive “their food at the proper time.”
Rutherford spawned many other religious organizations and web-site now active, most of which hold Russell as the “faithful” slave. During the 1942 to 1946 era, Knorr and Franz put the Society on a corrective course, which lead to adjustments and the opening of the greatest and most far-reaching preaching campaign, producing over 100,000 congregations in our day.Reply by apollos0falexandria on 2013-01-01 08:15:10
Hi Urbanus,
Thanks for your comment, but I am quite confused on where you stand in the matter of the two classes. On the one hand you have (correctly in my view) noted that Jesus did not talk of two classes of Christians - only that gentiles would be united with Jews as "one flock under one shepherd". This would mean that a core doctrine of Rutherford's that we still retain today is fundamentally flawed. And yet you seem to imply that this was done as a revealing of Jehovah's will.
Perhaps I am misunderstanding your view on this.
Apollos
Comment by Urbanus on 2013-01-01 10:19:33
Rutherford's administration and personality must be evaluated by all those trying to understand theocracy and its modern history. Either he led us away from the truth on balance, or he "lead" the congregations of God's people across the critical years from the death of Russell in 1916 to the appreciation of the "New World" that developed in reaction to Rutherford in the 1942-46 era. Page 221 of the 1993 Proclaimers book is in denial as to Rutherford's leadership status in 1941.
Moyle's letter of July 1939 cites a publishing issue regarding C.J. Woodworth and a new calendar at the outset. Woodworth in the trial identifies himself as editor of "Golden Age" in the period 1935 to 1939. The full calendar change study appeared in three parts, starting with issue No. 404 on March 13, 1935 "The Second Hand in the Timepiece of God."
Woodworth flat out denies Moyle's charge regarding this subject on pages 1090-1091 of the trial transcript. Therefore, we can ask whether Moyle's making this accusation of "trimming" or "humiliation" of Woodworth as the lead charge against Rutherford rings true. To write this letter four years after the publication of a three-part series in 1935 does not make sense. There were until recently many in the way of eye witness accounts of this era. Thus on balance one must conclude that Rutherford was no more the single "faithful and wise slave" than Russell, but that he was the one "serving the food" in his day.
As to the classes of Christians, since October 2012 the governing body members now address the assembled Bethel families at morning worship across international boundaries as "all the domestics." Thus, the governing body claim to be the stewards serving the food in our day. My comments were designed to simply identify this parallel - and not to hold forth on its correctness.
In 1935 Rutherford regarded the tribulation halted for the sake of gathering the anointed and then seeing (like John in vision) the salvation of the great crowd. This equalization of the great crowd with the other sheep confused the fact that the single household of faith is cared for even now by stewards, good and bad, who provide for the domestics.
Clearly that was a time error on Rutherford's part, corrected in the Jan 15, 1970 WT with the changed position to a "coming Great Tribulation." That article posits a disappearing anointed remnant, which decreased radically in numbers until that year. With the several changes in understanding on "this generation shall not pass away" since 1992, it is now an open question as to who and what the classes are.
In Matt. 25 we see that the Master himself judges the stewards first (vs 13-30) and then the sheep who did good to Christ's brothers (vs 31-40) with the judgement of "inherit the Kingdom... [and] everlasting life." Finally, to those who failed to feed, clothe or minister to Christ's brothers (vs. 41-46), a judgement of "everlasting cutting-off."
Comment by Meleti Vivlon on 2013-01-01 10:51:29
It is quite evident from the court transcript that the majority of Jehovah's Witnesses at the time did believe that Judge Rutherford was "revealing the will of Jehovah". LIkewise today many feel that the Governing Body is revealing Jehovah's will for us. The trouble with such a belief is that it creates an irreconcilable conundrum. If the Governing Body as a group is revealing God's will, then how can they err. If they err, as they self-admittedly do, then how can they say they are revealing God's unerring will. We can say that when they err, they are revealing their own will, but when they are correct, it is God's will. Very well, but how can we tell the difference?
If they require us to accept their word as the will of God, as Rutherford did, and as the recent convention and assembly parts have stated, then it puts us in a very difficult position, because to challenge anything they say would be, in their eyes, to challenge Jehovah God himself. The irony is that the very tactics we use to reveal error in other Churches, we are forbidden to use in our own religion.
From the Catholic Encyclopedia: "The Vatican Council has defined as "a divinely revealed dogma" that "the Roman Pontiff, when he speaks ex cathedra — that is, when in the exercise of his office as pastor and teacher of all Christians he defines, by virtue of his supreme Apostolic authority, a doctrine of faith or morals to be held by the whole Church — is, by reason of the Divine assistance promised to him in blessed Peter, possessed of that infallibility with which the Divine Redeemer wished His Church to be endowed in defining doctrines of faith and morals; and consequently that such definitions of the Roman Pontiff are irreformable of their own nature (ex sese) and not by reason of the Church's consent""
(Does this definition hit close to home?)
Catholics believe in the Trinity and Hellfire. They base that belief on the infallibility of their Church. How do we overturn such "strongly entrenched things'? (2 Cor. 10:4) The revelation of God's will, of God's truth, comes not from us, nor the revelation of man, but from his written word. We use the Bible to explain all things. We argue that they should not believe what a man says, but only what God's written Word reveals.
The Bible is the sole expression of God's will for humankind today. It is complete and needs nothing to be added to it nor can anyone take anything away. To attempt to do so brings serious consequences. (Gal. 1:8,9)
So let us not say that any man or group of men are revealing God's will for us today, because it is already revealed by God himself in his printed Word.
We can cooperate with those taking the lead today. We can support them. We can even obey them ("be persuaded" by them - Heb. 13:17, footnote) and be submissive, as long as all things are done in accord with the expressed will of our Lord and Master as revealed in Holy Scripture.
But if a man or group of men say something is so--that it is God's will--yet cannot support it in Scripture, then why should we submit to them? Would that not be surrendering to man what we only owe to God? Would it not be robbing Jehovah of what is his? Our exclusive devotion. (Acts 5:29)
Isn't that how the Catholic Church was created?Reply by Alec Holmes on 2013-01-01 18:25:53
I agree, we would become the very thing we swore to destroy, so to speak, not that we swore to destroy false religion, but that we left it not to be sharers in its wicked works.
Reply by PhantomOfTheKingdomHall on 2017-10-31 09:57:07
An interesting point is, I used to believe, many years ago, that the Gb and others in a leading position weren’t inspired but had some kind of ability to ”sense Gods wil indirectly”. And somehow we normal witnesses didn’t have that ability. I know this sounds weird, but I really thought this was how it worked. When I became a witness I also thought that the Members of the Gb were chosen by ”a representative number of anointed friends”. Maybe it was the fact that I wanted Jw to be true that my mind came up with these ideas.
Comment by FutureMan on 2013-01-03 05:12:42
Striving for Unbiased research you say, twice I have put comments on your site and as it would appear and twice they have been censored by not been allowed.
This is the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses way of doing things, but if you are striving for unbiased research then it should not be your way.
Having said that it would be of real value if you would consider reading for once what others who are not Jehovah's witnesses have to say.
But as before, I will now post this link to a site that I feel are striving for unbiased Bible research and sincerely interested in presenting the truth of God's Kingdom.
By the way, the ones who are behind this site as far as I can discern, are active Jehovah's Witnesses.
https://anointedjw.org/Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2013-01-03 06:31:39
The pages "About This Forum" and "Commenting Etiquette" explain the rules governing participation on this site. The key phrasing is "unbiased research". Everyone has opinions and, of course, has a right to them. However, Bible research makes use of scriptural citations and references to support one's point. As for the "unbaised" part of that phrase, first, we are striving for it. It is very difficult to eradicate all bias from any line of reasoning. If you wish to help us do that, then again we need not personal opinion, but reasoning on the scriptures. If you wish to share your Bible research with us--put it up to scrutiny so to speak--then we look forward to receiving your thoughts on any Bible subject.
Reply by Alec Holmes on 2013-01-28 08:03:48
It must be pointed out that anointedjw.org has an article entitled "The Little Known Twelve", on John's apostles (to which I will not link here) which appears to be an almost verbatim quotation from a certain Urantia book.
I found this on Wikipedia about its authorship:
As early as 1911, William S. Sadler and his wife Lena Sadler, physicians in Chicago and well known in the community, are said to have been approached by a neighbor who was concerned because she would occasionally find her husband in a deep sleep and breathing abnormally.[11][12] She reported that she was unable to wake him at these times. The Sadlers came to observe the episodes, and over time, the individual produced verbal communications that claimed to be from "student visitor" spiritual beings.[13][12] This changed sometime in early 1925[13] with a "voluminous handwritten document," which from then on became the regular method of purported communication.[13][14] The individual was never identified publicly but has been described as "a hard-boiled business man, member of the board of trade and stock exchange."[12]
Just thought it was worth noting.Reply by apollos0falexandria on 2013-01-28 08:38:23
Thanks Alec.
In addition I noticed in one of their replies to readers they claim that their local elders and circuit servant (!?) knows who they are. They also claim to be JWs of good standing.
Any true JW will know that these facts cannot both be true, so there is a level of dishonesty going on.
ApollosReply by Alec Holmes on 2013-01-28 08:58:17
Precisely Apollos, it would be very strange indeed, as you said, it can't be true. You're most welcome.
Reply by Kyp on 2013-08-07 08:19:50
Well, why not? I think they have a good approach to Bibel research. In their newest Q&A they write: "We are not active according to the definition by the organization and we have ceased attending meetings for a few reasons. One, because of our ministry, we believe we would be too much of a distraction to the congregation. Two, as you allude to, subjecting ourselves to what is taught from the platform would grieve our spirit far too much. Three, we do not have family ties that could cloud our judgment or extort our allegiance. And four, we believe we can do a far better service to our association in this ministry, coupled with personal association outside of congregational arrangements. We maintain a good working relationship with all. We stopped converting and started conversing. Neither do we browbeat our brothers for remaining behind, for not yet having the courage to stand up, or for their temporary visual impairment. We also keep the door open to our Body of Elders and our Circuit Overseer who keep in touch with us."
To me, it doesn't sound dishonestly. What do you think?Reply by apollos0fAlexandria on 2013-08-07 10:19:21
I wasn't commenting on their newest Q&A. I haven't looked at it. I was commenting on what they had written at the time. And to say that the local elders know who they are, but that they are at the same time in "good standing", implies that the local elders and circuit overseer have no problem with them publishing the material that they do. I did not comment on or criticize their research, but I still believe that they were capable of making a false representation in this way, so it has tainted my personal view of the authors. But each person must use his own power of reason.
When you say "well why not?", I assume you are suggesting that someone could indeed openly publish those articles and remain in good standing in the view of the elders and CO. If so then I'm afraid you are also either being dishonest, or are in some way perhaps misinformed.
ApollosReply by Kyp on 2013-08-07 11:48:09
Dear Apollos,
I know you were reffering to an older statement, so I thought a newer statement about their connections to the local congregation would be interesting. I could imagine that their elders/CO know about some of their opinions and interpretations, but not about their website.
Unfortantely I have to agree that noone can have an opinion on his own and stay in "good standing" whenever these opinions don't match the JW publications. As JW, I find myself in the same dilemma as I guess you and Meleti do.
Comment by miken on 2013-01-31 17:20:49
Both Russell, Rutherford and indeed Knorr were regarded as the Faithful and Discreet Slave as can be seen from the declaration made at the first annual meeting October 1st after Rutherford's death in January 1942.
To quote. " (5) All faithful servants of the Lord have recognized that The Theocracy, of which the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is a servant, operrates from the Top down, and not from the bottom upas in the worldly governments, and, therefore, thar instructions come to the Lord's people on earth from the office of the president of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, filled by anointed men chosen of the Lord in his organization;
(6) We recognize before the Lord that Brother N.H.Knorr is His chosen servant to fill the ofice of the president vacated by the paaing on of Brother J.F.Rutherford to a higher office and field of service in Jehovah's organization;...." Yearbook 1943, page 169.
Nathan Knorr left doctrinal matters to the vice-president Fred Franz but as president took final responsibility for what was published and taught until 1976 when the governing body was established although Franz continued to be influential in doctrinal matters.
As to the Watchtower magazine being the voice of God Rutherford had stated such a number of times before the Olin Moyle trial statements and the society have continued to do so ever since, the latest being in the April 15, 2013 issue page 30, para 11. Of course such statements are based on the belief that the FDS ( in reality a non-existent governing body) were infact appointed in 1919. Based on what was believed and practised in 1919 using the society publications Don Cameron in his book entitled Captives of a Concept proves conclusively the 1919 appointment claim to be false even though on several occasions the governing body continue to apply John 6:68 to themselves. They seem to forget Jesus words at John 14:6 and Matt 11:28-30.
Comment by this site on 2013-12-13 09:38:50
I love the content on your site. Thanks a lot.
Comment by ¿QUIÉN ERA EL “ESCLAVO” A PARTIR DE 1919? | LA TORRE VIGILADA: EL BLOG DE LAVASORI on 2014-12-19 17:58:19
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