Post by ResLight on Aug 3, 2013 10:30:43 GMT -5
Some, in their attacks on Charles Taze Russell, have claimed that Brother Russell was in some vague manner aligned with the Urantia book. This is usually tied in with the Jehovah's Witnesses, often accompanied with statements that Russell was a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses, and/or the founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses.
First, Charles Taze Russell was never a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization. The JW organization did not exist until after Russell died; the vast majority of the Bible Students did not accept Rutherford’s “Jehovah’s visible organization” dogma, and thus the Bible Students in general did not become “Jehovah’s Witnesses”. Russell preached against such an authoritarian organization, and he preached against the kind of message the JW leadership teaches. It is misleading to say that he was the founder of that in which he did not believe, and which he preached against.
See:
Charles Taze Russell Versus the Jehovah's Witnesses
Russell on Authority and Organization
Evidently, Russell is sometimes linked to the Urantia because the Urantia presents Jesus as being Michael the Archangel. Yes, Charles Taze Russell, based on the Bible, believed that Jesus is the archangel Michael; Russell's belief, however, is not quite the same as some have presented as being that is taught by the Urantia. We should point out that the majority of the Protestant reformers believed that Jesus is Michael the Archangel.
See also my studies related to: Michael the Archangel, especially Trinitarians and Michael the Archangel
Russell, however, did not accept the trinitarian dogma that Jesus was uncreated, but he accepted the Biblical stance that Jesus was the firstborn creature (Colossians 1:15) and that while he was in the days of his flesh (Hebrews 5:7), Jesus was actually a man, a little lower than the angels (Hebrews 2:9), nothing more, nothing less, and that only as a sinless man who is not God could he have condemned sin in the flesh. (Romans 8:3) Russell also accepted the Biblical stance that Jesus actually did sacrifice his body of flesh for our sins (Luke 22:19; John 6:51; 1 Corinthians 11:24; 1 Timothy 2:5,6; Hebrews 10:10; 1 Peter 3:18), and thus Jesus is no longer a human being, which is contrary to the trinitarian dogma since that dogma claims that Jesus is still a human being, and thus the trinitarian dogma would deny the man, Christ Jesus, actually sacrificed himself as offering to God for sin. (Ephesians 5:2; 1 Timothy 2:5,6; Hebrews 2:9; 9:14; 10:10,12) Had Jesus been “God [Almighty] in the flesh”, rather than condemning sin in the flesh (Romans 8:3), Jesus would have justified sin in the flesh, for it would have proven that for a sinless man to obey God, that man would have to God in the flesh. Whatever similarities one might see in this and the Urantia book is coincidental, since Russell certainly did not hold to, or believe in, the general teachings of the Urantia.
See:
Russell and the Trinity
Jesus as God's Firstborn
How God's Son Condemned Sin in the Flesh
Nevertheless, Russell did believe in the deity of Jesus; however, his endeavor was to show from the Bible what that deity means on Biblical terms.
See:
Did Russell Deny the Deity/Divinity of Jesus?
First, Charles Taze Russell was never a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization. The JW organization did not exist until after Russell died; the vast majority of the Bible Students did not accept Rutherford’s “Jehovah’s visible organization” dogma, and thus the Bible Students in general did not become “Jehovah’s Witnesses”. Russell preached against such an authoritarian organization, and he preached against the kind of message the JW leadership teaches. It is misleading to say that he was the founder of that in which he did not believe, and which he preached against.
See:
Charles Taze Russell Versus the Jehovah's Witnesses
Russell on Authority and Organization
Evidently, Russell is sometimes linked to the Urantia because the Urantia presents Jesus as being Michael the Archangel. Yes, Charles Taze Russell, based on the Bible, believed that Jesus is the archangel Michael; Russell's belief, however, is not quite the same as some have presented as being that is taught by the Urantia. We should point out that the majority of the Protestant reformers believed that Jesus is Michael the Archangel.
See also my studies related to: Michael the Archangel, especially Trinitarians and Michael the Archangel
Russell, however, did not accept the trinitarian dogma that Jesus was uncreated, but he accepted the Biblical stance that Jesus was the firstborn creature (Colossians 1:15) and that while he was in the days of his flesh (Hebrews 5:7), Jesus was actually a man, a little lower than the angels (Hebrews 2:9), nothing more, nothing less, and that only as a sinless man who is not God could he have condemned sin in the flesh. (Romans 8:3) Russell also accepted the Biblical stance that Jesus actually did sacrifice his body of flesh for our sins (Luke 22:19; John 6:51; 1 Corinthians 11:24; 1 Timothy 2:5,6; Hebrews 10:10; 1 Peter 3:18), and thus Jesus is no longer a human being, which is contrary to the trinitarian dogma since that dogma claims that Jesus is still a human being, and thus the trinitarian dogma would deny the man, Christ Jesus, actually sacrificed himself as offering to God for sin. (Ephesians 5:2; 1 Timothy 2:5,6; Hebrews 2:9; 9:14; 10:10,12) Had Jesus been “God [Almighty] in the flesh”, rather than condemning sin in the flesh (Romans 8:3), Jesus would have justified sin in the flesh, for it would have proven that for a sinless man to obey God, that man would have to God in the flesh. Whatever similarities one might see in this and the Urantia book is coincidental, since Russell certainly did not hold to, or believe in, the general teachings of the Urantia.
See:
Russell and the Trinity
Jesus as God's Firstborn
How God's Son Condemned Sin in the Flesh
Nevertheless, Russell did believe in the deity of Jesus; however, his endeavor was to show from the Bible what that deity means on Biblical terms.
See:
Did Russell Deny the Deity/Divinity of Jesus?
