James Penton speaks about the origins of the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses

– posted by J_Penton
Witnesses are taught that Charles Taze Russell originated all the teachings that make Jehovah's Witnesses stand out from the other religions in Christendom. This turns out to be untrue. In fact, it will surprise most Witnesses to learn that their millenarian teachings come from a Catholic priest, a Jesuit no less. James Penton, a Canadian history professor and author of several scholarly books on Jehovah's Witnesses takes us back three centuries to the origin of many of the doctrines Witnesses mistakenly believe are theirs alone.

[embed]https://youtu.be/cuZMD4Uzn7M[/embed]

Archived Comments

We have moved to the Disqus commenting system. To post a new comment, go to the bottom of this page.

  • Comment by Leonardo Josephus on 2019-12-28 12:09:46

    Hi Eric. Thanks so much for arranging this. All the background stuff is so helpful. Interesting to note the connection to the Plymouth Brethren, which I was totally unaware of.
    Thanks for the Aldbury Park link too.
    A lot about Russell was what I had concluded, namely that he hi-jacked ideas from others.
    Am I right that much of this information is in James Penton's book ?

    • Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2020-01-09 13:34:46

      That's correct. It's in Apocalypse Delayed

  • Comment by Chet on 2019-12-30 11:51:09

    Great information. What I find most interesting is that many religions are now finding their teachings scrutinized as the Internet makes information more readily available.

    It’s obvious that the Witnesses are not what they would claim to be. Their origins are not nearly so concise as they would have us believe. There’s nothing surprising about this. The 18th and 19th centuries were a time when many religious speculations were born and all sorts of new ideas came to light. I don’t think of this as bad, in and of itself, because people were resisting the hegemony of the religious establishment and paving the way for reform.

    The bad part is when people decide that these new movements should be followed without question. I can see no evidence that God is behind any of these movements. What is good, is that people are questioning and striving to see beyond the traditions of men.

Recent content

What does it mean to Be Baptized in the Name of Jesus?

Are you one of that precious minority of former Jehovah’s Witnesses who has left the Organization because you love truth? If so, you are worthy of Jesus Christ. He said:“He that has greater affection for father or mother…

To Shun or Not to Shun? That Is the Question. Love Is the Answer.

In the previous video, we established that dealing with sin in the congregation is not accomplished through the rigid application of rules, but through the loving application of biblical principles. Central among those…

This One Scripture Utterly Destroys the 1914 Doctrine of Jehovah’s Witnesses

There is a very simple way to disprove 1914. I don’t know how I missed it before. It’s so obvious. You don’t have to get into long scriptural discussions. You don’t have to worry about the validity of 607 BCE, or whether…

Using SARA AI to Prove that the Governing Body Is Lying to You about 1914

Hello, everyone. We're continuing our discussion of the pivotal doctrine of the invisible presence of Christ that Jehovah's Witnesses believe began in 1914, after which he appointed a faithful and discreet slave to share…

The Truth Is in the Stars: Astronomy Disproves the 1914 Presence of Christ

Hello, everyone. We're going to be looking at a series of videos, starting with this one, exploring the foundation or lack thereof of the 1914 doctrine that Jehovah's Witnesses use to establish that the governing body…

Sara AI Defends Going Beyond What Is Written: JWs Baptismal Dedication Vow

Okay, here we are again. I wanted to have a little more fun with Sarah, and so I thought I'd ask her what the scriptural understanding is regarding baptism based on JW theology. So here goes.  Okay, so I'm asking, according to Jehovah's…