Portraits of Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916), founder of the SocietyThey first called themselves the Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society and they were the earliest incarnation of what are now known as the Jehova's Witnesses.Portrait taken at the 1893 Watch Tower Convention in Chicago (the first major convention) which includes 76 members of the SocietyJust like today's door-knocking Jehova's Witnesses their main purpose was in the publication and distribution of religious tracts. Today they remain a major publisher in the field, printing more than 43 million issues of their various publications a month, totaling over 1 billion annually!These images are from a...
Bad Dog! A 17th Century Canine Book Review
The illustration above appears in the 1697 book, Critique historique, politique, morale, economique et comique sur les lotteries by Gregorio Leti.Leti was a vocal critic of the Catholic Church and of the Pope. His works earned him a spot on the Church's infamous list of prohibited books, the Index Librorum Prohibitorum.As a close up of the image reveals the dogs didn't take to kindly to the stream of books invading their space.And here is the amazing title page illustration from the book:The entire book is available for your perusal thanks to the Folger Shakespeare Libraryh/t Ptak Science Books: Dogs as Book Reviewers, 1697
God’s Word Saves WWI Soldier
North-east France, 1917. German infantryman Kurt Geiler was sleeping as he usually did with his bible underneath his head when the bomb hit.Though a 4cm piece of shrapnel beat up the bible Geiler was unharmed and was one of the few who survived.The bible has become a ‘family anti-war memorial’ and is still in the possession of Geiler family more at Retronaut: Life-saving Bible from WWI h/t Reading Copy
Church Plans on Burning the Qur’an on 9/11
Here they go again.This time it is the Dove World Outreach Center of Gainesville, Florida who have declared 9/11, the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, "International Burn a Koran Day." Outside of the guaranteed publicity, The Dove World Outreach Center supplies these ten reasons on why burning the Qur'an is a righteous act. The Church also offers "free shelter and food for women who want to escape from Islam."Their request for a permit to hold the book-burning has been denied by local fire officials but the church still plans on proceeding. In an email to...
What Did Noah’s Ark Really Look Like?
When I have trouble falling asleep, I count animals marching into Noah’s ark. After three hours, I still have beasts to account for, long after sheep have schelepped into the cargo hold.I have no idea what Athanasius Kircher, the 17th century polymath, did when he needed to inspire the sandman; it appears that he was kept up all night speculating about everything concerning Noah.The procession of life into the Ark.He published the results of his obsession with Noah in 1675. Arca Noe was and remains the most detailed account of Noah and his ark from that period in scientific inquiry,...