Away

Lack of interest and projects that require my attention mean that you should not expect many new posts for a few weeks. Personally, I’d shut this down and start a web page for our books, but until Mr. Schulz fully agrees that won’t happen.

As I’ve said before, one of the reasons this blog exists is to get feedback from those interested in our subject. It doesn’t need to be elaborate. It just needs to be.

If we invited you into our home for a meal, would you not thank us as the hosts? You come here to feed off what we post. ... If we said ‘come to dinner’ would you not offer to bring something? Wine, dessert?

What we expect from our guests here has never happened. I don’t expect it ever will.

J. C. Sunderlin

Sunderlin was many things: A Civil War Soldier; A photographer; A Methodist clergyman; A Watchtower evangelist and more. In the 1880s and 1890s he made and sold stereo cards. This is one.

we want ....

We want the article to which this link leads. We see the price noted on this page to be excessive. Do you have a good scan? Will you send it to us.

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/002096435601000308

From Bernard for the special attention of German Girl

I'm posting this here instead of sending an email because most readers will be interested. With some corrections to the English Grammar (English is a second language for Bernard, and no insult is intended):

Some weeks ago “German Girl” asked about Fritz Balzereit, a Bible Student in Germany during World War I. I have found some information; please pass it on.

Karl Balzereit was married to the daughter of a Baptist clergyman. They had 3 children: Paul, Fritz and a daughter. So Fritz was brother to Paul Balzereit, the German branch overseer since 1916. Fritz served in the army; Paul did not, because he was unfit. Paul, disfellowshipped in 1935, served after 1939 in the German Wehrmacht. He survived the war. In 1959 he died after an accident on the street. A Truck killed him.

Thank you Rachael.
All best
Bernhard

Temporary post

This comes down on Monday. IF you're going to comment, now is the time. Roberto requested this be up two more days. I've agreed to leave it up until Wed.

Temporary Post

This is the current version of Bruce's preface to volume 2 of Separate Identity. He asked me to post it hoping for worth-while comments. I think past experience demonstrates that won't happen, but here it is.

It will not be up long. Comment now IF you wish to. I'll take it down in not many days. Usual rules: You may copy for your own use. Do not share it off the blog, even with someone you know. Understand that it may change, though I think this is near the final version. A well-done or a critical comment are equally welcome. If you use it in your own research, please ask first. This IS copyright material. Everything on this blog is.

Introductory Essay – B. W. Schulz

            In this volume of Separate Identity you will find much that is unfamiliar to you. Some of what we present changes the narrative – call it the story line – usually presented by those who write about the Russell years. But more often we simply elaborate where others have abbreviated. A more complete narrative gifts readers with a better understanding of Russell era history. This occasionally makes us myth-busters. Occasionally reviewers have criticized our impatience with the poor work of some who’ve written on similar topics. Perhaps we should have lowered the volume when we expressed our distaste. But ultimately, we have no apology for having noted partisan, misleading, and false statements. Writers owe readers their best efforts. Not lies or sloppy research.

            Criticisms have been few. Some continue to believe that Russell was a Mason, part of a conspiracy seeking world domination. If he was, he was very ineffective. Though this conspiracy theory is dying a slow death on Internet boards, we readdress this in appendix one. Despite irrefutable evidence to the contrary, some continue to assert that Russell was an Adventist. We think the evidence presented in volume one is plain. Watch Tower adherents and other Literalist believers rejected that identity. If it was wrong to identify them as Adventist then, it remains so today. Those who identify Rusellites as Adventists should do so on the basis of some evidence other than speculation about what ‘might have been.’

            Among those who continue to present Russell era believers and descendant religions as Adventist is Zoe Knox. This is disappointing. We expected better from her, given her history of thoughtful and careful research. Her most recent book, Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Secular World, continues the myth of Russellite and Watch Tower Adventism, which she supports by citing Rogerson.[1] Rogerson did not support his claim; a critical eye would wonder why he failed to do so. The reason, of course, is his claim is insupportable. Using unsupported claims as the basis for your own work – without a minimal amount of verification – is not best work. Nothing in Rogerson’s claim can be sustained from contemporary documentation. What can be sustained is that Russell derived his doctrine from Literalist belief. Much of what we wrote in volume one of this work proves that. 

The remainder of this post has been deleted. Comments are still open.

Note the confusion

From the St. Louis, Missouri, Christian-Evangelist, Nov 23, 1899.

 

original image is here: 

https://newspaperarchive.com/st-louis-christian-evangelist-nov-23-1899-p-9/

we need a scan of this.

Anyone?

Some Problems in the Integration of Social Groups, with special reference to Jehovah’s Witnesses a dissertation [Harvard] written by Theodore Wentworth Sprague in 1942.

We need to identify to exact name the writter of this letter

St. Louis, Mo., March 7th, '87.
DEAR BROTHER C. T. RUSSELL:--I am
highly delighted with the February No.
W. TOWER, especially so with "The Time
is Short" and "No Variableness, Neither
Shadow of Turning," and with the March
No. which came in this A.M. Indeed I
am always refreshed, strengthened by each
Z.W.T. more and more, and my heart
(mind) swells with gratitude and love to
God for such interpretations of His Word.
The Article "Whose Wife Shall She Be?"
is clear, reasonable, manifestly Scriptural,
deep, logical and convincing, on a subject
which I never saw so plainly before. This
only shows how many mysteries are no
doubt hidden in God's Word, yet to be
revealed to his faithful ones.

I preach more or less every day. My
heart is in the work and must do it. O
how I would like to spend an hour or two
with you, but I am afraid I shall not be
able to visit you this next anniversary
Supper. If I should have no one with
me, I will celebrate the Supper alone, with
the Lord, and hope you will not forget me
in your feasting and prayers.
Truly yours in the Service of the truth,
DR. J. R. M__________.

We need this ...

The booklet Russell, Rutherford and "The harp of God" : the heresies of the International Bible Students Association published by The British Bible Union and written by C. Leopold Clarke.

We can't find it in any American Library. A good scan or photocopy would serve. Anyone?

Educating our Readers

Not directly on topic, but if you watch this short lecture you will better understand some of the things Russell wrote and said. Click the title and watch it on youtube. You'll see it more clearly.

1905 Convention Program

Letter from C. B. Downing - 1900

October 17, 1900, The St Johnsbury, Vermont, Caledonian

Letter from C. B. Downing

Aug. 1, 1900.

From the last Caledonian received here, I see that the home friends fear the Boxer movement is spreading towards Chefoo. There were Boxers here, practicing in out-of-the-way places for a time. There may be some yet, but if so they dare not show themselves. At one time the crowds on the streets were very rude to foreigners, calling out “Kill the foreign devils,” and a stone or two was thrown. At that time our consul and the captain of the Nashville requested us to leave “Temple Hill and come into the settlement.” All the women and children did so. The gentlemen remained on the Hill and kept on with the work there.

The Tautai at the beginning of the trouble sent a guard of twenty-five soldiers to protect our houses. One day one of the, gentlemen had occasion to shoot a dog near the soldiers tent. One of them was heard to say “Today you shoot dogs, tomorrow you will be killed.” A good many arrests have been made in villages near us, and some have been beaten and a few leaders beheaded. Now everything about us seems perfectly quiet. The Tau tai has a guard of several hundred soldiers to protect the place and the foreigners still keep a volunteer guard out every night. We have always a Japanese and an American man-of-war in our harbor, and otten five or six small boats. Just now we have the Hospital ship the “Relief” here filled with sick and wounded men.

You know before this that Peking is relieved, and now we can get reliable news from friends there. A letter from Dr. [Henry Dwight] Porter came yesterday giving us the account of the taking of Peking. Surely prayer was answered in the preservation of so many lives. There were seventy in one place, eighty-five horses and mules, and rice supplied their food. One baby died during the siege. Rev. Gilbert Reid was wounded but is near well. We expect some of the friends to come to Chefoo this week. A letter has just been received from one of the ladies in Peking from which we learn that the Boxers are not the only people to be dreaded. She writes, “The Russian and French are not soldiers, but wild beasts. God pity the women, whether heathen or Christian.” The city is in confusion, loot lying about in all the streets. Reliable word has come that one party of missionaries has been burned to death in one of the houses in Tai Yumfu. Two or three other parties known to have started from their stations have not been heard from. There is an ominous silence in regard to our Peking friends. No word has come since we learned they were about leaving for Tein Tsin.

We need this ....

far less expensive for someone in the UK to persue this than for us to do it. Any volunteers?

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2657246

Sidney S. Brewer

One of Barbour's associates in the 1873 movement, Brewer wrote this booklet in 1865.

Non-Adventist Date Speculation [very, very rare]

Watch this ...

While it's not directly on topic, I believe our readers would benefit from watching this video:

I think Jerome and Bernard might be interested in who reads their articles