A Comparison
You know, a lot of people say that Charles Taze Russell started the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and it’s such a common belief that you might be surprised to hear someone argue against it. Sure, he was a key player in establishing the original Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, but when it comes to the Jehovah’s Witnesses, that’s a different story.
Let’s read what Russell himself said about church organization, and compare it with the organization of the “Jehovah’s Witnesses” and see if the two are compatible.
“There is no organization to-day clothed with such divine authority to imperiously command mankind. There is no organization doing this to-day; though we are well aware that many of them in theory claim that they ought to be permitted to do so; and many more would like to do so.” – Watch Tower, September 1, 1893, page 262; R1574
“Beware of “organization.” It is wholly unnecessary. The Bible rules will be the only rules you will need.” – Watch Tower, September 15, 1895; Reprints 1866.
“There would be nothing to come out of, as an organization, if one is an International Bible Student. You cannot get out of anything you have not gone into. If any one can tell me how he got into Babylon by getting interested in the affairs of the WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY, let him show me how he will jump out, and I will jump with him.” – The Watch Tower, July 15, 1915, pages 218, 219; Reprints 5730
“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 2654)
“Thus, no sect today either can or does claim to be all wheat, and free from tares. Much less would any earthly organization (except Christadelphians and Mormons) be bold enough to claim that it contained all of the wheat. Hence, they are without any excuse for their organizations, theological fences, etc.” – Thy Kingdom Come, page 138
Today, Russell could surely add more than the Christadelphians and Mormons, including the Jehovah’s Witnesses.”
“These shackles of sectarianism, so far from being rightly esteemed as shackles and bonds, are esteemed and worn as ornaments, as badges of respect and marks of character. So far has the delusion gone, that many of God’s children would be ashamed to be known to be without some such chains – light or heavy in weight, long or short in the personal liberty granted. They are ashamed to say that they are not in bondage to any sect or creed, but “belong” to Christ only.” – Thy Kingdom Come, page 185.
“No earthly organization can grant a passport to heavenly glory. The most bigoted sectarian (aside from the Romanist) will not claim, even, that membership in his sect will secure heavenly glory. All are forced to admit that the true Church is the one whose record is kept in heaven, and not on earth. They deceive the people by claiming that it is needful to come to Christ through them – needful to become members of some sectarian body in order to become members of “the body of Christ,” the true Church.” – Thy Kingdom Come, page 186.
We could apply this quote today to Jehovah’s Witnesses.
“If [a Christian} still continues to grow in grace and knowledge and love of truth, and into an appreciation of the liberty wherewith Christ makes free, you may by and by find him outside of all human organizations, joined merely to the Lord and to his saints, bound only by the tender but strong ties of love and truth, like the early Church.” – Thy Kingdom Come, page 186.
“The one true Church, dear friends, is the church of the Bible. There never has been but that one true Church. All others are false, and if I built up another church I would be building up another false one. That is not our proposition at all. The I.B.S.A. holds out the proposition which the Bible stands for, namely, that all people who are trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ, and consecrated to follow in his steps, are of the church of the living God whose names are written in heaven. The I.B.S.A. recognizes no other church. It does not say that only those in the I.B.S.A. constitute the church.” – What Pastor Russell Said, page 348.
“Taking, therefore, the Scriptural view of the Church, we recognize it as the “Body of Christ” of many members, over which he is the head. It is composed of consecrated followers of Christ, irrespective of all denominational lines – those who, turning from sin, accept Jesus as their Redeemer, through whom they have forgiveness of sins and reconciliation to the Father – those who have become disciples of Christ, taking up their cross to follow him, and who have received the begetting of the holy Spirit. Who could dispute that these are the Church of Christ? Who shall say that they must belong to this communion or that, or lose their relationship to the Head, Christ Jesus? The apostles never referred to Baptist Christians, Methodist Christians, Catholic Christians, Presbyterian Christians, etc., but merely to those whom we have described and whom they styled saints – “the Church of the living God, whose names are written in heaven.” (Hebrews 12:23; 1 Timothy 3:15.) Let us keep strictly within the lines of God’s Word, and avoid the errors of the past.” – 1910 Convention Report Sermons, page 79.
“Let it be borne in mind that the Society exercises no authority, makes no criticism, but merely gives advice; and that in the interest of the Lord’s Cause and the Lord’s people.” – The Watch Tower, August 15, 1916, page 248; Reprints 5941
So, about that last quote, things really started to shift a few weeks after Russell passed away in 1916. Basically, Rutherford went ahead and messed with Russell’s original Watch Tower in a pretty shady way. He got some new by-laws pushed through, which were totally illegal, just to sidestep the original, permanent charter of the WTS. These new by-laws stripped the Board of Directors of their corporate authority and handed it all over to the president. And get this—the only person who could even be nominated for president was Joseph Rutherford. So, there were no other nominees, and they just called the vote unanimous without even counting any votes. To really establish his power, Rutherford had to set up the exact kind of organization that Russell had warned against. Plus, Russell’s message about the great joy for everyone just didn’t cut it when it came to scaring people into submission for Rutherford’s authoritarian claims. So, he switched it up and replaced that message with some “good news” that was actually all about the bad stuff—like how most people would face the second death at Armageddon if they didn’t hop on board with his organization, which was pretty much the opposite of what Russell taught. Given all this, it’s pretty misleading to say that Russell founded something he spent around 40 years speaking out against. The real founder of Jehovah’s Witnesses was Joseph Rutherford, who built the organization by tossing aside the core Biblical teachings that Russell stood for.