Charles Taze Russell (1852 - 1916)

Charles Taze Russell was born in 1852 in Pittsburgh, Pensylvania. As a young man he found it disconcerting that a God of love was also a God of hellfire and eternal damnation and so left the Presbyterian and Congregational churches to pursue a career in the family's clothing business. Some years later, however, after a thorough examination of the scriptures, he came to the conclusion that hellfire and the immortal soul were not taught in the bible, even though the majority of churches taught these doctrines. He was convinced that the dead were asleep, unconcious, awaiting a resurrection. He then realized that the bible was the real source of truth, not theologies and traditions of churches. He was determined to study the bible afresh.

He went on to start a religious movement known as the International Bible Students and a magazine known as The Watchtower, as well as publishing many books and booklets. The early Bible Students were an informal association of congregations with no central authority--much like the original congregations in the book of Acts. Today they are known as Associated Bible Students and other related movements.

Russell courageously challenged long-held Church beliefs, such as the Trinity. He also revived the scriptural teaching that God's Kingdom was a literal government of God, whereby Christ would rule over the earth, restoring it to it's original paradisaic conditions and resurrecting the dead. This teaching was well understood by the early Christians but had, for the most part, been lost.

After Russell died in 1916, his religious movement was taken over by a very ambitious and worldly lawyer, Joseph Franklin Rutherford. Many of the original Bible Students left to carry on the vision of Christian community developed by Russell. Rutherford evolved his newly-acquired religious organization into what is known as Jehovah's Witnesses today. However, this modern religion bears little resemblance to the movement Russell founded and is seen by many as a corruption of it.

Although Russell had a tendency to unnecessarily complicate Christian doctrine, and made the mistake of predicting the return of Christ (in 1914), his contribution to the restoration of many lost biblical truths is appreciated by millions of Christians today.

Wikipedia

The Herald

BibleStudents.Net

North Seattle Bible Students