TAZE CHARLES RUSSELL (b. Pittsburgh, 1852 - Pampa, 1916)
Some blog readers ask me occasionally what's the method used to select the characters. The truth is that no method. The reason why today I will write about the founder of Jehovah's Witnesses is an unexpected visit I had a few months ago, which cost me one morning and thanks to that found this funny article about the times that the world had to be finished, in turn, made me read some things about the Rev. Russell and his sympathetic followers. The thing usually works something like this, except that the "boot" of curiosity produces more times I read something that a middle-aged woman in meat appetizer trying to convince me that I can still save me for Christ mistress in the doorway of my home and at this time. Anyway, here goes: Charles T.
Russell was the son of a Presbyterian of Scottish descent and his Irish wife. Apparently it was a very intelligent boy because his father was associated with her clothing business when he was only twelve years. At thirteen he left the Presbyterian Church and became a Congregationalist. At sixteen he suffered such a crisis of faith that he abandoned his beliefs and went on to study other religions such as Buddhism or Hinduism. In 1870 he joined the Adventist church through the preaching of Jonas Wendell . Adventists were a millenarian group created by William Miller who in 1813 had predicted the end of the world for 1843. The disappointment that followed that date was about to end Adventists, but there were groups that weathered the storm in different ways, that of Wendell did propose a new date, 1874. Thanks to Wendell, Russell regained his interest in the Bible and began to systematically study while forming a circle close to discussing their readings. Between 1870 and 1874 designed together with several ministers Adventist their particular corpus of beliefs. In 1876 he received a copy of the Adventist magazine The Herald of the Morning , through which he met his editor Nelson H. Barbour who think he conveyed the idea that Christ had actually back in 1874 but an invisible and it was very likely to manifest in 1878 worldwide. Barbour's idea actually came very well Adventists, who had been a bit disappointed when Christ did not return in 1874, leaving the majority church. But above all Russell had greatly excited because, become a new kind of Peter Valdo , sold all his possessions and went to finance the publication of Barbour, while writing several books with ideas and trying to raise awareness among these most influential pastors.
In April 1878 the world did not end, so Russell decided to look in the Bible which was the cause of failure while claiming that there was still much to preach to people to be prepared for the return of Christ. The debate over what had happened ended his friendship with Barbour. In 1879 Russell founded his own magazine Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, separated definitely Adventists and married Maria Frances Ackley.
In 1884 he founded the Zion's Watchtower Tract Society and formed several Bible study groups whose members were obliged to disseminate the brochures that came edited since 1881. In 1890 was about 400 fans in the states adjacent to hers and had made a name as preacher. His ideas went against the Trinity, and the commonly accepted concept of hell among other things, but certainly the crucial part of his teachings were the millenarian. Reinterpreted Russell famous chronology of Bishop Ussher and using techniques as "sophisticated" as the pyramidology (thought history dates could be obtained from the measurements of the Great Pyramid) concluded that the world would end in 1914. This last eccentricity of the pyramids has made means to come to the Catholic Church, with which he always took particular evil Jehovah's Witnesses, accuse him been Mason.
In 1896 the company changed its name to become Watch Tower Bible Tract Society an , which is the name now. Russell was known at that time virtually all United States for his continuous trips that constantly founded new communities and for his articles that appeared in many newspapers. But not everything was so nice, in 1897 his wife filed for divorce on the grounds that there was not enough participation in the direction of society. Following the separation process came to light all sorts of allegations against Russell, from adultery with multiple women to relationships indecency with a young pupil, through cruelty to his wife who he forced to maintain a celibate relationship apparently. In addition, between 1911 and 1913 was involved in a scandal over the sale of an alleged miracle wheat turned out to be a scam. In 1914, the beginning of World War I made him to hope that the world would end after all, although his death, which occurred in Pampa (Texas) during one of his travels, the thing was so bad paint that had to delay it to 1918 with the old excuse of invisible coming in 1914.
His successors continued to make accounts and since then have pointed to the end of the world for 1925, 1940, 1975 and 1995. Despite such a record of "hits" the cult renamed by the first of them, Joseph Franklin Rutherford , as Jehovah's Witnesses now live in an excellent state of health and its millions of faithful talkative and always ready to save a soul who does not want the thing across the world. Some of them are neighbors of mine, but I do not visit much.
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