Charles Taze Russell’s beginnings can easily be traced to when he was a young snake oil salesman promoting what he called "miracle wheat.” He sold it for $60 per bushel, claiming it would grow five times better than regular wheat, when in fact, it grew worse (as established in court when Russell was sued). Later, he marketed a fake cancer cure, something he termed a "millennial bean" (likely because it required a thousand years to sprout). That venture also flopped, but Charles would become iconic for his larger, more profitable and sustainable gimmick; Religion.
Inspired by seven-day Adventists…along with his hatred for Catholicism, Charles manufactured The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society in 1879.
Charles ordained himself as a "Pastor" even though he never attended seminary—let alone—graduate from high school. That didn’t slow him down from predicting the return of Jesus Christ and the end of the world back in 1914 though. Unfortunately for him, neither happened and Charles died two years later.
In 1931, the name "Jehovah Witness" was eventually coined by Joseph Rutherford—who took over for Charles after he died. Joseph, like Charles, predicted that in 1925 all of the Old Testament prophets would return. So, he bought an incredible mansion and fancy automobile (paid for by the religious organization of course) to house and escort Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and the rest of the prophets. Except, none of the prophets showed. Joseph Rutherford went on to die in the mansion in 1942 and The Watch Tower Society quietly sold everything Joseph acquired to cover up the embarrassing occurrence.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Enemy of Humanity - The Master Collection to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.