Charles Taze Russell

'Miracle Wheat'

On March 22, 1911, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported that Russell was accused of gaining profit from a strain of wheat named "Miracle Wheat" by K.B. Stoner of Fincastle, Virginia, who claimed to have discovered this strain. Russell sold the wheat for $60 per bushel, far above the average cost of wheat at the time. Throughout 1912 and 1913, the Eagle continued to report on Russell's alleged fraud. Russell sued the Eagle for libel, but lost. A government expert investigated the "Miracle Wheat" and said it "was low in the Government tests". Prior to entering the court, the Eagle declared that "at the trial it will show that 'Pastor' Russell's religious cult is nothing more than a money-making scheme."

Russell defended himself publicly, and in writing, claiming that the wheat was donated to the Watch Tower Society. He said that although sold for $1 per pound, Mr. Stoner allegedly routinely sold it for a $1.25 per pound. Russell claimed to have no financial connection to the wheat, and said that no one claimed a refund although he had offered one for up to a year later for any who were dissatisfied with their purchase. In 1975, the Watch Tower Society stated that gross receipts from the "Miracle Wheat" fundraiser totaled "about $1800" (current value $62,000), of which "Russell himself did not get a penny". It also said that "the Society itself made no claim for the wheat on its own knowledge and the mo…ney received went as a donation into Christian missionary work."

Qualifications

In June 1912, Rev. J. J. Ross (1871–1935), Pastor of the James Street Baptist Church in Hamilton, Ontario, published and widely distributed a four-page leaflet titled Some Facts about the Self-Styled "Pastor" Charles T. Russell (of Millennial Dawn Fame). He alleged that Russell was involved in questionable business practices, had defrauded his estranged wife, and denounced his qualifications, legitimacy and moral example as a pastor. Russell sued Ross for defamatory libel on December 2, 1912.

After several delays the case came before Police Court Magistrate George H. Jelfs on March 17, 1913. During cross-examination Russell said that he had attended public school for seven years, having left when he was about fourteen years of age, after which he received instruction through private tutors. He said that he was versed in Latin terms "to an extent" but did not know Hebrew or Greek, that he had never been ordained by any bishop or minister, and had never attended a theological seminary or any schools of higher learning.

The Hamilton and Toronto, Ontario newspapers reported the claims made by Ross and provided a brief outline of the court proceedings. They did not refer to any alleged misconduct on the part of Russell. They criticized Ross for having fled Ontario when summoned and not being present during any of the court proceedings.

On April 1, 1913, the High Court of Ontario returned a verdict of "No Bill" ruling that Russell was not entitled to damages because, the libel was not likely to result in any violence within Canada. Following the libel case, Ross published an expanded edition of 48-pages titled, Some Facts and More Facts about the Self-Styled "Pastor" Charles T. Russell (of Millennial Dawn Fame). In this work, Ross claimed that during the proceedings on March 17, 1913, Russell had repeatedly lied under oath by affirming that he was ordained, but denying the same when cross-examined, by affirming that he knew the Greek language, but when shown by Counselor Staunton an extract from the New Testament in Greek by Westcott & Hort, he was unable to recognize it, and that he had not been divorced from his wife, but retracted the statement under cross-examination.

In response, Russell stated through various printed and public sources that he had never claimed knowledge of the Greek language, merely the alphabet and that early Christians were also criticized by the religious authorities for being unlearned and ignorant. He believed that his ordination was "of God" according to the biblical pattern, not requiring any denominational approval or theological training. He suggested that his annual election as "Pastor" by over 500 congregations worldwide constituted him as properly ordained. Russell contended that Ross and others were attacking him because they were unable to answer his theological arguments, preferring instead to resort to slander and character assassination.

Use of Masonic symbolism

Some have claimed that various symbols Russell employed in his published literature are Masonic in nature, and that such associations implied he engaged in occult activity. In later editions of the Studies in the Scriptures series a winged solar disk was stamped on the front cover, a symbol that is also associated with Freemasonry. However, Russell's use of the winged solar-disk originated from his understanding of Malachi 4:2, which denotes a sun with wings, as a symbol that Christ's millennial Kingdom had begun to emerge.

Some critics also claim that the pyramid that stood near Russell's gravesite was Masonic because of its shape and its use of the Cross and Crown symbol, although this remains disputed. The Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon has said that Russell was not a Freemason, and notes that the symbols pre-date the fraternity.

In June 1913, during a transcontinental speaking tour, Russell lectured in a Masonic hall in San Francisco, saying:

Although I have never been a Mason… Something I do seems to be the same as Masons do, I don't know what it is; but they often give me all kinds of grips and I give them back, then I tell them I don't know anything about it except just a few grips that have come to me naturally.

Throughout his ministry he said that he believed Christian identity is incompatible with Freemasonry. He described Freemasonry, Knights of Pythias, Theosophy, and other such groups as "grievous evils" and "unclean".