| Charles Taze Russell |
Did Charles Taze Russell Deny the Deity of Christ?The claim is often made that Charles Taze Russell denied the Deity of Christ, since he did not believe in the Trinity (or the oneness doctrine).Actually, what Brother Russell denied was the trinitarian concepts of the deity of Christ, which concepts have to be added to and read into the scriptures. He never denied the deity of Christ as shown from the scriptures. Russell used the word "deity" as well as "divine" in reference to Jesus, as can be seen from his writings, but not with the exclusive meaning that trinitarians, oneness believers, and others would like to attach to those words. As he notes, "We labor under the disadvantage that almost all translators of the Old Testament have not been exact or uniform in their translations of the several appellatives to deity." He then proceeds into a scriptural examination of how the words for "deity" are used in the Bible. This study can be found online at: http://agsconsulting.com/htdbv5/htdb0123.htm The Restoration Light study on this may be found at: http://godandson.reslight.net/hebraictitles.html Thus in 1912 (January 15, page 28), Russell wrote in the Watch Tower: I. We affirm the humanity of Jesus and the deity of Christ.Online at: http://agsconsulting.com/htdbv5/r4955b.htm In 1913, Brother Russell was asked: Do you deny the divinity of Christ? His response: By no means, dear friends. It is a very remarkable thing that there are some who seem to greatly misunderstand what we have to say. You will find in this city and in every great city I suppose scores who will deny that Jesus ever had a virgin mother; scores who will deny that He had any prior existence. No one says anything about their denying the divinity of Jesus. I do not accuse them. Do we not claim that Jehovah was His Father? Do we not deny that Joseph was His Father? We certainly do claim the divinity of Christ; that the divine Father was His Father; that He was begotten and specially born of a virgin, and therefore, was "holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners." Do we claim he was the Heavenly Father when a man? No, we do not claim He was His own father. That would not be Scriptural. If anyone thinks He was His own father, and His own son, he does not know what he is talking about. As to what He is now. We believe He is divine now. The Bible says so. "Him hath God exalted and given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth." Already the angels are bowing to Him, and by and by every knee on earth will bow. Moreover, Saint Peter says the church is begotten to the divine nature. While it does not say Jesus is a partaker of the divine nature, we understand him to teach that thought. What Pastor Russell Said, Question Q226:2 http://www.heraldmag.org/olb/bsl/Whatsaid.pdf However, while I believe Russell was on the right track, my studies have led me to me slightly different conclusions than that of Russell: http://godandson.reslight.net/d-n.html http://reslight.net/forum/index.php?topic=179.0 Related book: Archetypal Heresy: Arianism Through the Centuries 05:55 - Thursday, January 17, 2008 - post comment
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Description The purpose of this blog is for discussion concerning Charles Taze Russell. Home User Profile Archives Friends Miracle Wheat 1914 Great Pyramid Russell's Reply Free Masons Jews Superior? Jesus Was Not A Trinitarian Biblical Archaeology Review Companion Bible Greek Language Hebrew Language Fritz Springmeier Jehovah's Witnesses Jesus and His God Blog RSS Feed Russell's Life, Ministry and Legacy Recent Entries - The Winged Sun Disk - Russell and Stephen Wise - Did Charles Taze Russell Deny the Deity of Christ? - Jehovah's Witnesses not "begun" by Russell - Charles Taze Russell - Satanic Bloodline? - Eagle Site Recasts Eagle's Accusations Against C. T. Russell - Was Russell Responsible for the JW Organization? - Miracle Wheat |