Russell & Cracks in the Watch Tower
This is in response to “Finding Cracks in the Watch Tower” by Brianna Marecki
Since Charles Taze Russell did not believe in the beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and since he did not believe in such an organization as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, we believe that it is misleading to speak of Russell as the founder of that which he did not believe in. Nevertheless, since this idea is so generally assumed, and since most writers who write concerning this have never really studied Russell’s writings, we can see why authors keep repeating this idea.
Russell never taught against celebrating birthdays, holidays (although he may have said something against some of the practices often carried on in some of those celebrations).
The JWs, however, have rejected the core reason for which Russell began publishing the Watch Tower, and that was to defend the “ransom for all“.
Russell did believe some things similarly to the JWs, although Russell never believed in an earthly call as such during this age.
Russell certainly did not believe that millions of unenlightened men, women and children were going into eternal destruction without ever having received any benefit from the ransom sacrifice of Jesus.
Russell did show from the scriptures the fallacy of the trinity doctrine, and how that doctrine is not true Christianity at all. He showed from the scriptures how that doctrine destroys the doctrine he held as central to Biblical Christianity, that is the atoning sacrifice of Jesus.
Russell never taught that during Armageddon, Jesus will reign a thousand years (I don’t believe the JWs teach this either). Yes, we all should thank God for the second chance that Jesus has given us, for without that second chance we all are still condemned in Adam.
Russell presented the Biblical truth about the Bible hell, and showed that truth directly from the scriptures. The Bible hell is destroyed by being cast into the lake of fire; likewise, those unrepentant in the millennial age will destroyed in the lake of fire after the final testing of the “little season” when “Satan” is released for a short time.
Unlike the JWs, Russell believed that there are Christians in most, if not all, denominations; he was non-sectarian. He did not condemn other Christians to eternal destruction if they disagreed with him, and he most certainly did not condemn the heathen or Jewish unbelievers to eternal destruction. Indeed, many of his associates disagreed with him on several points. Russell often printed various viewpoints written by others in the pages of the Watch Tower, even though he may have disagreed with those viewpoints.
Russell did a wonderful work in separating and identifying many scriptural truths from human tradition. We are thankful to God through Jesus for the work of this Christian minister and the work that he did! Not that we agree with all that he taught, and we know he made mistakes (he actively and repeatedly disclaimed infallibility), but we can say that we have learned many Biblical truths that we may have never noticed were in the Bible had it not been for his writings.
We might add to that Russell did indeed believe that Jesus died for all who believe in him as well as all who did not believe in him, and he taught this from the scriptures because Jesus is not his God.
Russell certainly did believe in the resurrection of Jesus. Russell taught, as did Peter, that Christ was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit. (1 Peter 3:18) However, if Christ is still flesh, as human tradition teaches, then that flesh has never been sacrificed, and the whole basis of atonement by means of Jesus’ sacrifice is nullified.
There is no scripture that says that the sacrifice to God for human sin has to be God. Indeed, such a sacrifice would meaningless as far as satisfying justice, and rather than condemning sin the flesh, it would justify sin in the flesh, for it would mean that man has to be God Almighty in order to obey God Almighty.
