Heresy and the great apostasy

[reslight]

Great post–interesting and informative.

Many Protestants refer to the Mormons, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists, etc, as ‘cults.’ As in Walter Martin’s book, ‘The Kingdom of the Cults.’ These cults have set themselves up as authoritative interpreters of scripture, something that the Protestant Reformers said did not exist. It is because the founders of these cults, Joseph Smith, Charles Taze Russell, et al, recognized the need for an authoritative interpreter, that they established religious organizations that do interpret the bible authoritatively for its members. There is no ‘individual interpretation of scripture’ in these churches!

Charles Taze Russell did not establish an authoritarian religious organization. He did not believe in such an organization, and accepted the authority of Jesus and the apostles as all that was needed.

Russell wrote:

In our day, the natural tendency in this direction is greatly accentuated by the long established custom of all denominations of Christians to regard the ministers or servants of the Church as of a different class from the others of the flock,–a class vested with authority from God, and not amenable to the same regulations which govern all the members of the body. But how great a mistake this is! The Apostle distinctly points out that a servant is not a ruler, that a servant has no authority. Indeed, so far as the true Church is concerned, the only authority in it is the Lord, the Head of the Church, and his Word, and the words of those whom he specially chose to be his mouth-pieces, the apostles.

– The Watch Tower, July 1, 1900, page 195 (Reprints page 2654)

Russell’s view, which he held to his death, was that each individual congregation was to take care of its own affairs, and was not to be in subjection to any human “authority”.

The one who began to claim authority was Joseph Rutherford, who after Russell died, immediately had the by-laws changed, so that, in effect, authority for the legal entity, the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, was taken away from the Board of Directors, and given to the President of the Society. Rutherford then proceeded to create an authoritarian religious “organization” with himself as the high authority of that organization, something which Russell never sought to do. Overall, the majority of the earlier Bible Students movement rejected Rutherford’s “new organization” and made an official statement to that effect in 1933.

See Russell’s references to “only authority”:
tinyurl.com/ctr-onlyauthority

Christian love,
Ronald

 

[jackregnier]

This topic has been on my heart for a long time now. Let me give you my thoughts from an Evangelical persceptive. What is the problem? One, Only a small minority even go to church, and this includes Evangelicals. Two, Only a few study the Bible. I am sorry to say that Catholics have a major problem in this area. Why? Because many rely on what you would call the Majesterium, which are just men. Remember the Bible says to study and show thyself approved, and not a bunch of men. Three, People everywhere seem to be lovers of themselves. Four, most don’t understand that we are living in the end of times. Bible prophesy tells me this, and this is why many will fall away.

Oh, what a tragedy for Catholics and Evangelicals. We need revival like never before. Please pray for this to happen.
Peace, Jack

 

[mackbrislawn]

Charles Taze Russell did not establish an authoritarian religious organization. He did not believe in such an organization, and accepted the authority of Jesus and the apostles as all that was needed.

That’s right, it wasn’t Russell, but Rutherford. There was indeed quite a schism at the death of Russell. I wonder how many Jehovah’s Witnesses are aware of that.

The Watchtower Society is now an extremely authoritarian and hierarchical religious body. No dissent is allowed. All bible interpretation comes from the ‘faithful and discreet slave.’ No individual Witness may question that interpretation and very little room for personal opinion is permitted.