Posted by Amazing [Anointed] on November 10, 1999 at 09:55:53 {AAJB0ph6mYFpTAHn5a4EASIIcexUto}:
In Reply to: On becoming a religion... posted by felix a on November 10, 1999 at 05:27:50:
Felix: I understand that Joseph Rutherford was continuously looking to strengthen control over the organization. He virtually changed the organization nearly 180 degrees from what Russell set up as far as it structure. Basic doctrines were the same, but Russell despised organized religion.
You may have a point in why Rutherford selected a distinctive name, so that they could bedistinguished from other groups, and morre easily be accepted as neutral. But by 1931 the ISBA, PPA, and WTBTS were far more than publishing houses. Rutherford had started his program of solidification and centralization years earlier.
I also read that the name Jehovah's Witnesses and even the very talk he gave on the topic was a last minute development. He was under pressure because he had not prepared that particular convention talk. I understand that the whole concept came to him during late night while he was resting in his hotel room. It was the night before his talk.
Simply Amazing