Charles Taze Russell
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| Charles Taze Russell | |
|---|---|
 Russell in 1911. | |
| Born | 16 February 1852  Allegheny, Pennsylvania |
| Died | 31 October 1916 (aged 64) Pampa, Texas, Texas |
| Spouse | Maria Frances Ackley |
| Parents | Joseph Lytel Russell Ann Eliza Birney |
Charles Taze Russell (February 16, 1852 – October 31, 1916), or Pastor Russell, was a prominent early 20th century Christian Restorationist minister from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA and founder of what is now known as the Bible Student movement,[1][2] from which Jehovah's Witnesses and numerous independent Bible Student groups emerged after his death.
Beginning in July, 1879 he began publishing a monthly religious journal Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence. The journal is now published semi-monthly under the name, The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom. In 1881, he co-founded Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society and in 1884 the corporation was officially registered, with Russell as president. Russell was a prolific writer, producing many articles, books, tracts, pamphlets and sermons, totaling approximately 50,000 printed pages. From 1886 to 1904, he published a six volume Bible study series originally entitled Millennial Dawn, later renamed Studies in the Scriptures, nearly 20 million copies of which were printed and distributed around the world in several languages during his lifetime.[3] (A seventh volume was written and published by Joseph Rutherford in 1917.) The Watch Tower Society officially states that it ceased publication of Russell's writings in 1927,[4] though his books have been continuously published by several independent groups since then.
Russell was a charismatic figure, but claimed no special revelation or vision for his teachings and no special authority on his own behalf.[5] He stated that he did not seek to found a new denomination, but instead intended merely to gather together those who were seeking the truth of God's Word "during this harvest time."[6][7][8] He wrote that the "clear unfolding of truth" within his teachings was due to "the simple fact that God's due time has come; and if I did not speak, and no other agent could be found, the very stones would cry out."[9] He viewed himself—and all other Christians anointed with the Holy Spirit—as "God's mouthpiece" and an ambassador of Christ.[9] Later in his career he accepted without protest that many Bible Students viewed him as the "faithful and wise servant" of Matthew 24:45,[10] and was described by the Watch Tower[10] after his death as having been made "ruler of all the Lord's goods".
After Russell's death, a leadership crisis arose surrounding the new president of the Society, Joseph Rutherford, resulting in a movement-wide schism. As many as three-quarters of the approximately 50,000[11][12] resulting in the formation of several groups that retained variations on the name Bible Students. Those who maintained fellowship with the Watch Tower Society adopted the name Jehovah's witnesses in 1931, while those who severed ties with the Society formed their own groups including the Pastoral Bible Institute in 1918, the Layman's Home Missionary Movement in 1919, and the Dawn Bible Students Association in 1929. Bible Students who had been associating in 1917 had left by 1931,
Contents[show] |
[edit] Early life
| Part of a series onBible Students | |
| Communities | |
| IBSA | |
| Free Bible Students | |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | |
| Laymen's Home Missionary Movement | |
| Publishing houses | |
| Dawn Bible Students Association | |
| Pastoral Bible Institute | |
| Watch Tower · IBSA | |
| Publications | |
|---|---|
| The Dawn · The Herald The New Creation Frank and Ernest (broadcast) Studies in the Scriptures The Photo-Drama of Creation The Watchtower · Awake! | |
| Biographies | |
| Charles Taze Russell Jonas Wendell · William Henry Conley Nelson H. Barbour · Paul S. L. Johnson A. H. Macmillan · J. F. Rutherford | |
| Beliefs | |
| Jehovah · Nontrinitarianism · Ransom Dispensationalism · Sheol and Hades Resurrection · Annihilationism | |
Charles Taze Russell was born to Scottish-Irish parents,[13] immigrant Joseph Lytel (pronounced /ˈlɪtəl/) Russell (d. December 17, 1897) and Ann Eliza Birney (d. January 25, 1861), on February 16, 1852 in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, USA. Charles was apparently the second of five children, and was one of only two to survive into adulthood.[14]
The Russells lived in Philadelphia, as well as Allegheny, before moving to Pittsburgh, where they became members of the Presbyterianhaberdashery store. By age twelve, Russell was writing business contracts for customers and given charge of some of his father's other clothing stores.[15] At age thirteen, Charles left the Presbyterian Church to join the Congregational Church. In his youth he was known to chalk Bible verses on city sidewalks to draw attention to the punishment of hell awaiting the unfaithful in an attempt to convert unbelievers.[16] Church. In his early teens, Charles' father made him partner of his Pittsburgh
At age sixteen, a discussion with a childhood friend on faults perceived in Christianity (such as contradictions in creeds, along with medieval traditions) led Charles to question his faith. He then began to investigate other religious views and philosophies, including Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, but concluded that they did not provide the answers he was seeking.[17] In 1870, at age eighteen, he attended a presentation by Adventist minister Jonas Wendell. During his presentation Wendell outlined his belief that 1874 would be the date for Christ's second coming, a conclusion which Russell considered to be logical and well reasoned. He later stated that the presentation had left him with a renewed zeal and the belief that not only was the Bible the word of God, but that all Christians had a personal responsibility to preach its gospel.[18]
[edit] Marriage
On March 13, 1879, Russell married Maria (pronounced /məˈraɪ.ə/) Frances Ackley (1850–1938) after a few months' acquaintance.[19] In 1897 they separated, following disagreements over her insistence for a greater role in the management of Zion's Watch Tower magazine, after which he provided her a place to live and means of maintenance.[20]
In June 1903, Mrs. Russell filed a suit for legal separation in the Court of Common Pleas at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1906, she filed for divorce under the claim of mental cruelty as a result of their marriage agreement of perpetual celibacy[citation needed]. During the trial she alleged sexual misconduct between Charles and a then teenaged Watch Tower stenographer whom the Russells had cared for as a foster child. Her own lawyer asked Mrs. Russell whether she believed her husband was guilty of adultery. She answered, "No". In 1908, the judge granted a divorce from bed and board, with alimony.[20]
She paid her respects at his funeral on November 1, 1916, placing lilies of the valley, his favorite flower, on his casket, with a ribbon attached that said "To My Beloved Husband".[21][22] Maria Russell died at the age of 88 in St. Petersburg, Florida on March 12, 1938 from complications related to Hodgkin's disease.[23]
[edit] Ministry
[edit] Beginnings
From 1870 through to 1875, the Russell family, and others, undertook an analytical study of the Bible and the origins of Christian doctrine, creed, and tradition. "Millerite" Adventist ministers George Storrs and George Stetson were closely involved. Russell's group believed they had found significant errors in common Christian belief. As a result of such study, the Russell family believed they had gained a clearer understanding of true Christianity, and were re-baptized in 1874.[24][25]
In December 1875 Nelson Barbour mailed a copy of Herald of the Morning, to Russell. Russell contacted Barbour to set up a meeting. The first response was a visit by John Henry Paton to Allegheny in March 1876. Russell arranged to meet Barbour in Philadelphia to compare notes. Russell sponsored a speech by Barbour in St. George's Hall, Philadelphia in August 1876 and attended other lectures by Barbour.[26]
Barbour introduced him to some new views that convinced Russell, amongst other things, that those Christians who were asleep in death would be raised in April, 1878.[27] Russell was moved to devote his life to what he believed were now the last two years before the return of Christ. He sold his five clothing stores for approximately $300,000 (US$ 7 million in 2010). With Russell's encouragement and financial backing, Barbour wrote an outline of their views in Three Worlds; or Plan of Redemption, published in 1877. A text Russell had written in 1874, The Object and Manner of our Lord's Return, was published the same year.[28] Russell's desire to lead a Christian revival was evidenced by his calling two separate meetings of every Christian leader in Pittsburgh. Russell's ideas, particularly stressing the Rapture's imminence, were rejected both times.[29][30]
[edit] Split with Barbour
See also: Nelson H. Barbour
When 1878 arrived, failure of the expected rapture of the saints brought great disappointment for Barbour and Russell, and their associates and readers. According to one of Russell's associates, A.H. Macmillan:
While talking with Russell about the events of 1878, I told him that Pittsburgh papers had reported he was on the Sixth Street bridge dressed in a white robe on the night of the Memorial of Christ's death, expecting to be taken to heaven together with many others. I asked him, "Is that correct?" Russell laughed heartily and said: "I was in bed that night between 10:30 and 11:00 P.M. However, some of the more radical ones might have been there, but I was not. Neither did I expect to be taken to heaven at that time, for I felt there was much work to be done preaching the Kingdom message to the peoples of the earth before the church would be taken away.—A.H. Macmillan, Faith on the March, 1957, page 27
Confused by what was perceived to be an error in calculation, Russell re-examined the doctrine to see if he could determine whether it had biblical origins or was simply Christian tradition. His conclusion that it was tradition led him to begin teaching, through the pages of the Herald, what he believed to have discovered on the subject. Barbour, embarrassed by the failure of their expectations, rejected Russell's explanation and a debate ensued in successive issues of the journal from early 1878 to mid-1879. In a matter of months, Barbour's embarrassment led to a recanting of some of the views he and Russell had previously shared, including any reliance upon prophetic chronology. Their disagreements turned into a debate over Christ's ransom, resulting in a split between the two. Russell removed his financial support and started his own journal, Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, with the first issue published in July 1879. Barbour formed The Church of the Strangers that same year, continuing to publish the Herald of the Morning.[31][32][33]
[edit] The Watch Tower Society
In 1881, he founded Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society, with William Henry Conley as president and Russell as secretary-treasurer, for the purpose of disseminating tracts, papers, doctrinal treatises and Bibles. All materials were printed and bound by contract with local printers, then distributed by "colporteurs" (persons who travel to sell or publicize Bibles, religious tracts, etc.).[34] The Society was officially chartered in 1884, with Russell as President, and in 1886 its name was changed to Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.
In 1908, Russell transferred the headquarters of the Watch Tower Society to its current location in Brooklyn, New York.
[edit] Publications
With the formation of the Watch Tower Society, Russell's ministry intensified. His Bible study group had grown to hundreds of local members, with followers throughout New England, the Virginias, Ohio, and elsewhere, who annually re-elected him "Pastor", and commonly referred to him as "Pastor Russell". Congregations that eventually formed in other nations also followed this tradition.[35][36]
In 1903, newspapers began publishing his written sermons. These newspaper sermons were syndicated worldwide in as many as 4,000 newspapers, eventually reaching an estimated readership of some 15 million in the United States and Canada.[35] Russell, however, had many critics and was often labeled a heretic.[37]
[edit] Studies in the Scriptures
Russell devoted nearly a tenth of his fortune, along with contributed funds, in publishing and distributing Food for Thinking Christians in 1881. In the same year followed The Tabernacle and its Teachings and Tabernacle Shadows of the Better Sacrifices. In 1886, after reportedly not making back most of the money spent publishing these three titles, he began publication of what was intended to be a seven-volume series. The volumes were collectively called Millennial Dawn, later renamed Studies in the Scriptures to clarify that they were not novels. Russell published six volumes in the series:
- The Plan of the Ages – later renamed The Divine Plan of the Ages (1886)
- The Time is at Hand (1889)
- Thy Kingdom Come (1891)
- The Day of Vengeance – later renamed The Battle of Armageddon (1897)
- The At-one-ment Between God and Men (1899)
- The New Creation (1904)
The delayed publication of the seventh volume became a source of great anticipation and mystery among Bible Students. Following Russell's death in 1916, a seventh volume entitled The Finished Mystery was published in 1917, which was advertised as his "posthumous work". This seventh volume was a detailed interpretation of the Book of Revelation, but also included interpretations of Ezekiel and the Song of Solomon. Immediate controversy surrounded both its publication and content, and it soon became known that much of the contents were written and compiled by two of Russell's associates, Clayton J. Woodworth and George H. Fisher, and edited by Joseph Franklin Rutherford, by then the new president of the Watch Tower Society.
[edit] Photo Drama of Creation
Main article: The Photo-Drama of Creation
Russell directed the production of a worldwide roadshow presentation entitled The Photo-Drama of Creation, an innovative eight-hour religious film in four parts. Production began as early as 1912, and the Drama was introduced in 1914 by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. It has the distinction of being the first major screenplay which incorporated synchronized sound, moving film, and color slides.[38][39] A book by the same name was also published. The project's expenses put the organization under some financial pressures; the full cost was estimated at about $300,000[40][41][42] (US$6 million in 2007).
[edit] Theology and teachings
Following his analytical examination of the Bible, Russell and other Bible Students came to believe that Christian creeds and traditions were harmful errors, believing they had restored Christianity to the purity held in the first century. Such views and conclusions were viewed as heresy by many Church leaders and scholars in his day. Russell agreed with other Protestants on the primacy of the Bible, and justification by faith alone, but thought that errors had been introduced in interpretation. Russell agreed with many 19th century Protestants, including Millerites, in the concept of a Great Apostasy that began in the first century AD. He also agreed with many other contemporary Protestants in belief in the imminent Second Coming of Christ, and Armageddon. Some of the areas in which his Scriptural interpretations differed from those of Catholics, and many Protestants, include the following:
- Hell. He maintained that there was a heavenly resurrection of 144,000 righteous, as well as a "great multitude", but believed that the remainder of mankind slept in death, awaiting an earthly resurrection.
- The Trinity. Russell believed in the divinity of Christ, but differed from orthodoxy by teaching Jesus had received that divinity as a gift from the Father, after dying on the cross. He also taught that the Holy Spirit is not a person, but the manifestation of God's power.
- Christ's Second Coming. Russell believe that Christ had returned invisibly in 1874, and that he had been ruling from the heavens since that date. He predicted that a period known as the "Gentile Times" would end in 1914, and that Christ would take power of Earth's affairs at that time. He interpreted the outbreak of World War I as the beginning of Armageddon, which he viewed to be both a gradual deterioration of civilized society, and a climactic multi-national attack on a restored Israel accompanied by worldwide anarchy.
- Pyramidology. Following views first taught by Christian writers such as John Taylor, Charles Piazzi Smyth and Joseph Seiss, he believed the Great Pyramid of Giza was built by the Hebrews (associated to the Hyksos) under God’s direction, but to be understood only in our day. He adopted and used Seiss's phrase referring to it as "the Bible in stone". He believed that certain biblical texts, including Isaiah 19:19–20 and others, prophesied a future understanding of the Great Pyramid and adopted the view that the various ascending and descending passages represented the fall of man, the provision of the Mosaic Law, the death of Christ, the exultation of the saints in heaven, etc. Calculations were made using the pattern of an inch per year. Dates such as 1874, 1914, and 1948 were purported to have been found through the study of this monument.[43]
- Christian Zionism. Expanding upon an idea suggested by Nelson Barbour, Russell taught as early as 1879 that God's favor had been restored to Jews as the result of a prophetic "double" which had ended in 1878 (favor from Jacob to Jesus, then disfavor from Jesus until 1878). In 1910, he conducted a meeting at New York's Hippodrome Theater, with thousands of Jews attending. Jews and Christians alike were shocked by his teaching that Jews should not convert to Christianity. Russell believed that the land of Palestine belonged exclusively to the Jewish race, that God was now calling them back to their land, and that they would be the center of earthly leadership under God's Kingdom. Early in Russell's ministry, he speculated that the Jews would possibly flock to Palestine and form their own nation by the year 1910. Shortly before his death, he utilized the Jewish press to stress that 1914 prophetically marked the time when Gentile nations no longer had earthly authority with the result that all Jews were, from that time onward, permitted and guided by God to gather to Palestine and boldly reclaim the land for themselves.
- Climate change. In writings as early as 1883 (and through to the end of his life) Russell repeatedly expressed the view that the world's climate would gradually but significantly change as a prelude to the re-establishment of Eden-like conditions. These changes, he said, would include the gradual melting of the Greenland ice sheet, the Arctic and Antarctic polar ice caps, and the general warming of the earth.[44]
[edit] Death
Russell's health had become increasingly poor in the last three years leading up to his death. During his final ministerial tour of the western and southwestern United States he became increasingly ill with cystitis,[45] but ignored advice to abandon the tour. He suffered severe chills during his last week, and at times had to be held in position in bed to prevent suffocation. He was forced to deliver some of his Bible discourses sitting in a chair, and on a few occasions his voice was so weak as to be barely audible.[46] Russell, aged 64 died on October 31, 1916, near Pampa, Texas, while returning to Brooklyn by train.[45][47][48][49][50][51] Several long-time friends and associates of Russell's stated that at age 64 his body was more worn out than that of his father who died at age 89.[citation needed] He was buried in Rosemont United Cemetery, Pittsburgh. The gravesite (vide coordinates above) is marked by a headstone, nearby stands a 7-foot-tall (2.1 m) pyramid memorial erected by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society in 1921.[52][53]
[edit] Legacy
In January 1917, Joseph Franklin Rutherford was elected president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, despite disputes over the election process. Further disputes arose over interpretation of sections of Russell's will dealing with the future contents of Zion's Watch Tower magazine, as well as who, if anyone, had authority to print new literature. By the end of the 1920s, nearly three quarters of the Bible Student congregations had rejected[citation needed] Rutherford's on-going changes in organizational structure, doctrinal interpretations, and congregational practices,[54][55][56] some of which began to appear in material printed by the Watch Tower Society as early as 1917. Many Bible Students were disaffected by Rutherford's rejection of Russell's views regarding his role in the restoration of the "truth"[57] and support of the Great Pyramid as having been built under God's direction.[58][59]
Those remaining supportive of Rutherford adopted the new name "Jehovah's Witnesses" in 1931, and changed the keyword of their magazine from "Watch Tower" to "The Watchtower". Many of those Bible Students who had ceased association with the changing Watch Tower Society attempted to regroup in 1929 with the First Annual Bible Students Convention held in the old Pittsburgh "Bible House"[citation needed] long used by Russell. These conventions were held yearly, but the process of regathering took nearly twenty years.
[edit] Controversies
[edit] Accusations by former associates
As early as 1892, Russell's views and management style were strongly criticized by certain individuals associated with his ministry. In 1893 a paper was written and circulated to Bible Students in Pittsburgh by associates Otto van Zech, Elmer Bryan, J.B. Adamson, S.G. Rogers, Paul Koetitz, and others. It accused Russell of being a dictatorial leader, a shrewd businessman who appeared eager to collect funds from the selling of the Millennial Dawn books, that he had cheated one of them out of financial gains, and that he issued thousands of Millennial Dawn books under a female pseudonym. A booklet entitled A Conspiracy Exposed and Harvest Siftings was written by Russell and issued as an extra to the April 1894 Zion's Watch Tower magazine in order to preempt attempts to have their views circulated to a wider audience of Bible Students. Russell printed copies of letters he had received from these former associates in order to show that their claims were false, and that those involved 'were guided by Satan in an attempt to subvert his work' as a "minister of the gospel".[60][61]
[edit] Marital separation
In 1897 Russell's wife, Maria, left him after disagreeing over the management of Zion's Watch Tower[citation needed] She believed that, as his wife, she should have equal control over its administration and equal privilege in writing articles, preaching, and traveling abroad as his representative.[citation needed] In 1903 she filed for legal separation on the grounds of mental cruelty, because of what she considered to be forced celibacy and frequent cold, indifferent treatment. The separation was granted in 1906, with Russell charged to pay alimony. During the trial Maria Russell's attorney made the claim that Russell had been inappropriately intimate with Rose Ball, a young woman whom the Russells had cared for as a "foster daughter" since age ten. magazine.
Mrs. Russell alleged that Ball had told her Mr. Russell claimed to be a "jellyfish floating around" to different women until someone responded to his intimacy. Mr. Russell defended himself by claiming her accusations were false and that she was "poisoned" by the women's suffrage movement. Following her attorney's claim, page 10 of the court transcript records that Mrs. Russell was asked by the Judge to clarify if she was, in fact, accusing her husband of adultery, and she replied, "No". The Washington Post and Chicago Mission Friend reprinted the claim that Russell was a "jellyfish", and were sued by him for libel. The jury voted in his favor, awarding him one dollar. Following an appeal, Russell received a cash settlement of $15,000 (equivalent to $310,000 in 2005) as well as payment of all court costs, an agreement for an article of retraction defending his character, and an agreement that his weekly syndicated sermons be published in their newspapers.[62][63]
[edit] 'Miracle Wheat'
On March 22, 1911, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle began publishing articles accusing Russell of gaining profit from a strain of wheat named "Miracle Wheat" by its alleged discoverer, K.B. Stoner of Fincastle, Virginia. Many critics began to insist that Russell had deceived and defrauded many by selling this supposedly advanced strain of wheat for $60 a bushel, far above the average cost of wheat for the day. Throughout 1912 and 1913, the Eagle continued to report on this alleged fraud on Russell's part. Russell sued the Eagle for libel, but lost. A government expert investigated the "Miracle Wheat" and said it "was low in the Government tests". Prior to entering the court, the Eagle had published: "The Eagle goes even further and declares that at the trial it will show that "Pastor" Russell's religious cult is nothing more than a money-making scheme." [64][65][66] Russell defended himself publicly, and in writing, by claiming that the wheat was donated to the Watch Tower Society, and although sold for $1 per pound, Mr. Stoner routinely sold it for a $1.25 per pound. Russell claimed to have no financial connection to the wheat, and that any who were dissatisfied by their purchase and donation were offered a refund as much as one year following purchase. No one claimed a refund. According to official records, gross receipts from the fundraiser totalled "about $1800" (about US$35,000 in 2005), of which "Russell himself did not get a penny of this money" and "The Society itself made no claim for the wheat on its own knowledge and the money received went as a donation into Christian missionary work."
[edit] Qualifications
In June 1912 Reverend J.J. Ross, pastor of the James Street Baptist Church in Hamilton, Ontario, published the pamphlet, Some facts about the Self-Styled 'Pastor' Charles T. Russell, denouncing Russell, his qualifications as a minister, and his moral example as a Pastor. Russell promptly sued Ross for "defamatory libel". During the examination on March 17, 1913, Russell admitted that at most he had attended school only seven years of his life at the public school, and that he had left school when he was about fourteen years of age. As Counselor Staunton pressed him further, Russell admitted that he knew nothing about Latin and Hebrew, and that he had never taken a course in philosophy or systematic theology, and had never attended schools of higher learning.[67][68] The Hamilton and Toronto Newspapers reported the claims made by Ross, but made no charges of misconduct on the part of Russell, and instead criticized Ross for his personal behavior and unprofessional demeanor.[69][70] In answer to Ross's accusations, Russell stated through various printed and public sources that he never claimed knowledge of the Greek language, merely the alphabet. He believed that his ordination was "of God" according to the 'biblical pattern', not requiring any denominational approval, and that his annual election as "Pastor" by over 500 congregations worldwide constituted him as "ordained", or chosen, to be a minister of the gospel.[71]
[edit] Alleged connections with Freemasonry
 | This section may contain improper references to self-published sources. Please help improve it by removing references to unreliable sources where they are used inappropriately. (May 2009) |
Several decades after his death, it was alleged that Russell had links with Freemasonry.[72] Some have claimed that various symbols Russell employed in his published literature are Masonic in nature, and that such associations implied he engaged in occult activity. In later editions of the Studies in the Scriptures series a winged solar disk was stamped on the front cover, a symbol that is also associated with Freemasonry. However, Russell's use of the winged solar-disk originated from his understanding of Malachi 4:2, which denotes a sun with wings, as a symbol that Christ's millennial Kingdom had begun to emerge.[73] Some critics also claim that the pyramid near Russell's gravesite is Masonic,[53][74][75][76] because of its shape and its use of the Cross and Crown symbol, although this remains disputed.[77][78] Despite these claims, the Grand Lodge officially stated that Russell was not a Freemason,[citation needed] and the symbols used are not exclusive to Masonry but pre-date the fraternity.[citation needed] The Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology notes that Russell's supporters, along with other Christian churches have "shown a marked aversion to Spiritualism and other occult phenomena. Very early in the group’s history Russell attacked Spiritualism (which he called Spiritism)".[79]
In June 1913, during his trans-continental speaking tour, Russell gave a discourse in a Masonic hall in San Francisco, where he stated: "Although I have never been a Mason ... Something I do seems to be the same as Masons do, I don't know what it is; but they often give me all kinds of grips and I give them back, then I tell them I don't know anything about it except just a few grips that have come to me naturally".[80] Throughout his ministry he stated that he believed Christian identity is incompatible with Freemasonry,[81] and that Freemasonry, Knights of Pythias, Theosophy, and other such groups are "grievous evils" and "unclean".[82][83][84 An official Freemason website states: "Russell was not a Freemason. Neither the symbols found in the Watchtower nor the cross and crown symbol are exclusively Masonic."
