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Friday, October 28, 2016

We need ...

We need a better example of this ... Do you have one?


8 comments:

Andrew Martin said...

Wow. This would sure be a bit "over the top" by today's standards, wouldn't it? I think WT has found they can help people reach the same conclusions in the past by a different path: less direct, fewer histrionics, but more logical, and ultimately more convincing and more satisfying.

Of course, I'm sure there are a handful who miss the "foot-in-the-door" approach and the "message of doom" focus. I am not one of them. :)

jerome said...

This comes from a bit later than the era normally considered by this blog. The Adams Street address and the advertisement for ten full sized cloth-bound books by Judge Rutherford date this flyer from the early 1930s.

Gary Perkins said...

I would also much appreciate a good quality scan of this material if you happen to have one please Jerome?

As Andrew suggests, the up front method adopted by early Bible Students and Witnesses certainly ruffled the feathers of the clergy. However controversial it may have originally appeared to be, their conclusions as to the way Christendom whored with national politics in the First World War, and the disastrous consequences which resulted, seems to be supported by several modern historians and commentators such as Richard Gamble, Philip Jenkins and Peter Hitchens. It is also remarkable how in America so many fundamentalists who had previously taken an anti-war stand prior to 1917 were keen to jump ship soon after the US entered the war.

It is astounding that the Bible Students of this period are given so little attention by modern historians. Those that do study Witnesses tend to concentrate their efforts largely on stands made under extreme right or left wing political regimes. This is most valuable, especially in the light of what is presently happening in Russia. However, because the WW1 period is so neglected, it is forgotten that the roots of their stand developed in the persecution experienced under democratic governments such as Britain and America.



Andrew Martin said...

Thanks for mentioning that, Jerome. Volume One of Vindication was published in 1931, with the remaining two volumes following in 1932.

Of course, the flyer could have been used for some time thereafter...

jerome said...

I don't think I have this particular flyer, but the content and artwork is typical of much of the Golden Age magazine in the 1930s. A lot of this material can be downloaded or purchased on CDs if you are so inclined and do a search on the net.

Andrew Martin said...

For Gary Perkins - thanks for sharing those deep thoughts. Reminds me of an article I read tonight on The New York Times online, about Martin Luther:

Kaywin Feldman, director and president of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, whose show is “Martin Luther: Art and the Reformation,” said a surprising element in some materials on view were the insults that Luther — and his opponents — hurled. “I am shocked by the vitriol of his words; they packed a punch,” Ms. Feldman said. “But I have been struck by the incredible conviction and courageousness of Luther; he took a stand on something he felt so passionate about.”

Indeed he did, as did the Bible Students during World War I.

Andrew said...

I have this flyer. I will scan it in high resolution and send you an email with it.

Andrew Grzadzielewski

muffy said...

Hi there Andrew,
would you be kind enough to put a link to the scan for the rest of us as well please ?