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evangelism was characteristic of the age especially among millennialist groups.
Belief in Christ’s near return meant that spreading the message was urgent. The
New Testament suggests that Christians share that message, and millennialists
saw doing so as an imperative obligation. Millennialst belief was widely spread
in Churches, even when the pastor rejected it. Believers were susceptible to
the message, no less so to the Watch Tower message. Post Civil War, American
churches reached a fragile peace among themselves with a tacit agreement, not
always observed, to not criticize each other. Millennialists, including Watch
Tower adherents, felt free, even obligated, to criticize the lack of moral and
scriptural adherence among the denominations. Clergy reacted strongly and
negatively, but “imminence has meant that the individual must be ever-vigilant
for the Lord’s return.”[1] This,
in turn, meant that they would share their beliefs and expectations.
The remainder of this post has been deleted. Comments are still open.
13 comments:
This version is literally twice the length of the version posted back in June (a jump from 11,000 words to 22,000 words. I will look forward to reading it in detail.
I love the updated article. Its breadth and thoroughness is astonishing.
To me the real treasure is the footnotes. They tell a story all by themselves.
Thank you for you incredible hard work.
Andrew Grzadzielewski
A small part of this will move to another chapter where it is more appropriate. Thanks for your kind words, Andrew.
Regarding footnote 18 about the four lines CTR quotes - these words were attributed to Isaac Watts in 1823. Watts (1674-1748) is sometimes called “The Godfather of English hymnology.” It is claimed he wrote around 750 hymns.
See: An Arrangement of the Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs of the Rev. Isaac Watts, To which is Added a Supplement, Being a Selection of More Than Three Hundred Hymns from the Most Approved Authors, on a Great Variety of Subjects ; Among which are All the Hymns of Dr. Watts, Adapted to Public and Private Worship, Not Published in the Common Editions ; with Indexes, Very Much Enlarged and Improved, to Facilitate the Use of the Whole in Finding Psalms and Hymns, Suited to Particular Subjects Or Occasions – Isaac Watts, James Manning Winchell, 6th edition, Boston, 1823.
The lines are found as part of a loose translation of Psalm 36 v.5-9 in verse 3 of hymn number 75, found in the first half of the book attributed to Watts. Winchell’s additions are separate in the second half of the book. The Watts/Winchell version uses “Thy” addressed to God, whereas CTR’s quote changed it to third person “His.”
I can send you a pdf if you want, but you can also find it on Google books.
Back on footnote 18 - the poem/hymn in question first appeared in The Psalms of David, Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, by I Watts, first published 1719. (A copy is in Princetown Theological Library, and a scan of the original can be found online). The four lines in question (with "Thy" replacing "His") can be found on page 97. These lines were already over 160 years old when ZWT made the quotation.
Gary,
That comment is based on several sources. I can’t point you to just one. But here is a list of books we’ve used to craft the three chapters we’re writing. These are chapter one, none of which has been posted here, the chapter posted here, and my introductory essay:
1. Claude Welsh: Protestant Thought in the Nineteenth Century, volume one, 1799-1870. This will provide little help but he does comment on the push to end or minimize sectarianism.
2. James Moorhead: World Without End: Mainstream American Protestant Visions of the Last Things – 1880-1925.
3. James Davidson: The Logic of Millennial Thought: Eighteenth Century New England.
4. Ernest Sandeen: The Roots of Fundamentalism: British and American Millenarianism, 1800-1930.
5. Richard Connors and Andrew Gow [Editors]: Ango-American Millennialism, from Milton to the Millerites. Spotty but useful.
6. Ben Wright and Zachary Dresser: Apocalypse and the Millennium: In the American Civil War Era.
There are a few more. Bruce has them and he’s away from home. When he returns I’ll add a title or two. Understand that these books consider wide subjects and what you seek is scattered within them.
While we’ve read and been informed by these authors, we do not always quote or cite them. But they’ve fed us information and ideas. Be aware than sometimes the authors are a bit unorganized, even wrong to a degree. Some of them expect you to know things you probably will not. A Google search will answer your questions.
I should add that, in my opinion, the fault behind most recent academic books about Jehovah's Witnesses is failure to place Watchtower faith in its proper setting. It's rooted not in Adventism but within the wider trends among American and European Protestants.
The authors of those works work in fields that would require them to do this. I cannot account for their failure.
Regarding footnote 48 about the source of the quote for John Wesley, a Holiness website gives the source as H A Rogers' Journal, page 177. Mrs Hester Ann Rogers (1756-1794) was a Methodist class leader and evangelist who corresponded with Wesley and met him in person in 1776. So this would appear to be a (hopefully) verbatim quote from him rather than something in his writings. However, I have not been able to check her original journal - only abridgements seem to be online at present and they do not include the quote.
J,
I'm not certain I fully understand your last comment.
R - re: last comment. You say that you can't find the original source for the comment attributed to Wesley. The secondary source I found attributes it to a journal of one of his close contemporary "followers." If correct, it could be that rather writing it in a sermon or article or book, Wesley either said it to her or wrote it in private correspondence. She recorded it and it entered the public domain when her journal was published. But although the Holiness website gave a page number in her journal for the quote, I haven't been able to examine the original. So the claim currently remains unverified.
Addenda to last comment - since "everyone" seems to attribute the quote to Wesley it is not really an important point (to me anyway) and it fits his theology. But if we could examine Hester's original journal it might just say "As my friend John said to me..." or as "John Wesley wrote in (insert original source, perhaps now gone)." Or it may be a paraphrase of something that is already out there, but not immediately linked to the quote as it now stands. These are possibilities that might explain why you have a quote, but can't find the original reference. Hester's "quote" at least takes you back to Wesley's lifetime.
As I didn’t have the opportunity to comment on the previous version of the text published on November 9th, I do it now :
I have particularly appreciated your conclusive and thorough argumentation showing the importance attached by Bro. Russell and his adherents to the work of evangelization, and its necessity, this since the beginning, and their enthusiasm in engaging in it (made easily conceivable by your clarification). Your use of numerous extensive quotations very judiciously selected and commented is not only impressive, and particularly welcome (is it not the characteristic stamp of all your work…), but leaves no room for doubt.
Your close exploration of the context is very enlightening, as well as it shows how the evangelism of the incipient Watch Tower movement fits into the history of the Christian congregation since its origins, and to a lesser extent in the following centuries, as well as in what aspects it differs from its present counterpart in its aim, its scope and its meaning - something I find eminently useful for me personally.
May I once more thank you intensely to cast such a bright light on a often-overlooked story and to bring it back to life.
Stéphane
PS. Since the time I worked as an apprentice proofreader to fund my studies, I seem to be under the curse that misspellings spring to my eyes as soon as I read something attentively, hence the following lines for all practical purposes, as it seems that the text you issued is quite definitive :
- Millennialst belief was widely spread in Churches, — PLEASE READ Millennialist
- Russell was raised in a religious environment were tract circulation — PLEASE READ where
- Balanced against each other the written word out weighed the spoken word. — PLEASE READ outweighed
- I SUGGEST that you add a reference for the quotation of J.D. Arnold ?
- is to yield up our human life, body and talents go God — PLEASE READ to God
- to introduce that happy day of God's power and salvation, so often spoken of.' — MAY I SUGGEST to remove the quotation mark
- as is evident bv Isa. Ixv. 17, 18, &c. and Ixvi. 12. and Heb. xxi. 1. — PLEASE READ evident by, AND REPLACE the uppercase i by a lowercase l in both chapter numbers of Isaiah, AND READ Rev. instead of Heb.
- THE ENTIRE TEXT BETWEEN Because they believed that they were in the ‘last hour’ AND assaulted with the errors of Infidelity, Spiritualism, etc.[34] IS AN EXACT DUPLICATE OF THE TEXT APPEARING some lines above
- to find in every place the earnest Christians, may of whom — PLEASE READ many of whom
- Colporteurs could hand them out and were encourage to do so. — PLEASE READ were encouraged
- If we would reap good frit we must not only plant good seed, — PLEASE reap good fruit
- He quoted Thomas Collins’ “Work full work for God would leave us little time — MAY I SUGGEST TO RESTORE THE COMMAS FOR CLARITY : Work, full work for God, would
- “I beseech you brethren, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God. “ — PLEASE READ unto God. ” (right quotation mark)
- and “He that seeketh findeth. “ — PLEASE READ findeth. ” (right quotation mark)
- the most significant parts of it lead us to a clear understanding of Watch Tower evangelism n this era: — PLEASE READ in this era
- that systematic plan of “laying aside on the first day of the week according as the Lord hath prospered – — PLEASE ADD A RIGHT QUOTATION MARK : prospered ” –
- Up to Dec. 1, ’93, thirty-seven hundred and five (3,705) voting shares, — MAY I SUGGEST TO RESTORE THE BEGINNING OF THE PHRASE FOR CLARITY : Having up to Dec. 1
- before the one share per ten dollar contribution scheme was organize — PLEASE READ organized
- If so they should be diligent to repent and reform.” — PLEASE ADD A LEFT QUOTATION MARK : should “be diligent
- As her often did, he quoted or paraphrased verses without citation. — PLEASE READ As he often did
- He warned his readers that that if they were not suffering for Christ — PLEASE READ his readers that if
(To be followed)
(continued)
- That is the peace of a dead calm on the ocean. — PLEASE ADD A RIGHT QUOTATION MARK : on the ocean. ”
- MAY I SUGGEST TO DECENTRE THE ENTIRE PARAGRAPH Unless you get your vessel… and I will give thee a crown of life.” AS IT DOESN’T BELONG TO THE HYMN
- Lucias R. Paige, a Universalist[78] commentator — PLEASE READ Lucius
- under the plea that they were mysteries, spiritually discerned, hut incomprehensible by natural reason. — PLEASE READ but incomprehensible
- John Cumming, a Scottish National Church clergyman whose works were widely read in American — PLEASE READ in America
- he offered no remedy, no way to over come this objection. — PLEASE READ overcome
- for he had persecuted those of ‘this way.’ Sunderlin — PLEASE ADD A RIGHT QUOTATION MARK : this way. ‘ ”
- We do not know if this new evangelist was over confident or not — PLEASE READ overconfident
- and was determined to continue what ever came. — PLEASE READ whatever
- by clergy who painted the God of the Israel as evilly vindictive — PLEASE READ of Israel
- This writer does not does not reappear in the Watch Tower — PLEASE READ This writer does not reappear
- (explained by St. Peter on the Bay of Pentecost, Acts ii. 31.) — PLEASE READ on the Day
- writes of himself and St. Peter at the sepulcher. — AS IN THE ORIGINAL PLEASE USE sepulchre
- and the passages in the Scriptures speaking of the Resurrection, be came plain to them — PLEASE READ became plain
- things which could not be understood at tho time — PLEASE READ at the time
- [69] C. T. Russell: Outlines of Sermons, Zion’s Watch Tower, April 1882, page 2. — PLEASE READ May 1882
- [73] C. T. Russell: — PLEASE COMPLETE THE REFERENCE : Tribulation and Peace, Zion’s Watch Tower, May 1882, page 2.
- [88] M. J. Penton: … [L. M. Butler: Trusting the Faitfhul and — PLEASE READ Faithful
PS 2. The 3rd volume of Bezier and Stockłosa’s History of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Europe has been released recently (in German), I am currently reading it, it comprises a very interesting part about Switzerland written by an historian, Mrs. Esther Martinet, comprising many references to original sources, although the text is very concise and lacks in my opinion in elaborate quotations. (I can ask for a copy to be sent to you free of charge if you are interested.)
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