Extracts taken from J F Rutherford’s booklet A Great Battle in Ecclesiastical Heavens. Originally copyrighted by Rutherford and privately printed in 1915, and later printed by the Watch Tower Society.
THE ROSS LIBEL
Rev. J. J. Ross, of Hamilton, Ontario, published a libellous pamphlet against Pastor Russell. A warrant was issued for the arrest of Ross. He evaded the officer for some time and even failed to keep his appointment at his church to prevent the officer from taking him into custody. Finally, he was taken before George E. Jelfs, Police Magistrate, on the charge of criminal libel. Upon a hearing he was committed for trial. Upon motion, the Superior Court quashed the commitment because of a technical error the proceedings. Ross was again taken before the Magistrate.
When the case came on for hearing the second time Pastor Russell, who was a necessary witness, was away on an extended trip in Panama and other parts of the South, filling appointments previously made, and had no notice of the date of hearing. Ross and his counsel tried to make it appear that Pastor Russell was evading the trial. As soon as Pastor Russell returned to Brooklyn and heard that he was wanted he immediately notified the Magistrate that he was ready to come to Canada. He did go and gave his testimony.
Again the Magistrate committed Ross to appear before the high court to answer an indictment to be preferred by the Grand Jury. When the case came on in that court the Judge of the court in charging the Grand Jury relative to its duties, among other things, said to the jury: "Unless the jury finds that this alleged libel would cause a breach of the public peace in Canada then no indictment should be returned, but the parties should resort to civil suit for damages." The jury returned "no bill," and it is manifest that they could not have done otherwise under this charge of the Court, for the reason that Pastor Russell lived in Brooklyn, New York, and Rev. Ross lived in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and it would be physically impossible for the libel to cause a breach of the public peace when the parties were so far apart.
Thus it will be seen that the issues were never tried and never determined. Pastor Russell did not resort to civil action for damages, for the reason that he was advised that such an action would be useless, since Ross is irresponsible financially and could not be compelled by such a proceeding to publish a retraction.
ROSS PAMPHLET FULL OF UNMITIGATED FALSEHOODS
Thereafter Rev. Ross published another pamphlet against Pastor Russell which for unmitigated falsehoods and misrepresentations of facts certainly has not an equal. Selecting here and there isolated paragraphs from the court records, he twisted them, added to, misrepresented and made them appear entirely different from their true meaning. This could not have been accidental on his part.
Ross charges Pastor Russell is unlearned because he is not a graduate of some theological school. I venture the assertion that I can name a hundred living men who never even saw the outside walls of a theological school who know more about the Bible and its teaching than is taught in any theological college in the land.
Pastor Russell is not a graduate of a theological college. The greatest lawyer this country has produced -- Benjamin Harrison -- never attended a law school. Theological colleges teach theology and not the Bible. Pastor Russell knows the Bible better than any other living man.
Upon this point we quote with hearty approval the words of Dr. G.W. Bull in his learned treatise of "The Gospel of John," as follows:
"AN IRREGULAR (John 7:15). That is what they all say. The crime of Christ was that He had not taken a course in their college. 'Whence hath He learning?' There are some professional policemen who must protect all learning; medicine, law, gospel, or what not. If you never went through their schools of learning you are a freak, and there is something suspicious about your good sense. These men thought there was only one way of learning -- they would ask a certificate of the sun!
There are many schools and schoolmasters in God's universe. Cease your criticism of any Christian scholar. Let him learn in his own way; the Kingdom of God is going to make great progress when some of these high brows are removed to Heaven. Sometimes a man's utterance of profound Truths is stated in poor grammatical form, and the philosophers are puzzled by his power. They wonder where he got it: I do not know -- probably his alma mater was his mother's knees -- then let him speak. Remember today: 'God hath chosen the weak things of this world to confound the mighty.'"
The other charges of Ross are equally untrue and have been heretofore answered herein, except, however, with reference to Pastor Russell's ordination, which he has clearly answered through the public press and in his sermons.
END OF BOOK
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