Harry S. Truman, USA Præsident.
Jeg er ofte blevet anmodet om at kommentere Vagttårnet Sagfører Hayden Cooper Covington og hans ”rolle” i forbindelse med Jehovas Vidners militærnægtelse i USA og så Præsident Harry S. Truman (som havde stået overfor personlige problemer og oplevelser i sin familie af nogenlunde samme karakter).
Nu ved alle jo hvem Præsident Harry S. Truman var, men det er nok de færreste der kender til Hayden Cooper Covington.
Lad mig med det samme sige, at manden selvfølgelig ikke var en idiot, men når jeg fortæller, at han var perleven og ”forgabt” i J.F.Rutherford (du ved, ham drukmåsen), så kan du måske forstå, at der var ”ugler i mosen”.
Med J.F.Rutherford, drukkenbold og præsident for Watchtower Jehovas Vidner (og ”dommer”, ha, ha,) og så Vicepræsident Hayden Cooper Covington, så har du et nogenlunde godt billede af ledelsen af Watchtover i 30erne.
For ikke at trække pinen ud, vil jeg lige præcicere, at han blev smidt (udstødt) ud af Jehovas Vidner i 1963.
Hvis J.F.Rutherford ikke havde været præsident og ”så stor i slaget”, så var han med garanti også blevet smidt ud.
Og det ønsker ham der kalder sig for ”sand kristen”? at jeg skal fortælle og forklare af én eller anden grund?
___________________________________________________
Hayden Covington, Attorney and Watchtower Society Vice President. A Bethelite – resident at headquarters – from 1939 to 1963.
So, in 1974 my first wife (when you leave the Witnesses, divorce is common) and I visited him.
Covington lived in a very well-kept, small brick house on Nichols Street in a lower-middle class neighborhood in Cincinnati, OH.
One thing that impressed me was that he had hundreds of books, and at least thirty books on vocabulary building and how to use words effectively. This stuck out because most Witnesses own few books.
When I arrived, Covington was not home, so his wife went out to locate him. He was at a bar, drinking. When she brought him home, he was rather tipsy.
This was disappointing to me because I was raised not to drink. Drinking was a problem among Witnesses, and I knew that it had been a problem with Covington (and was part of the reason why he left Bethel).
His being tipsy was good in one way because he was very open with me and willing to talk about almost everything I asked him, and I took notes.
It became very clear that he idolized Rutherford. For example, I knew that Rutherford's wife had a stroke and that she wasn't in good health (she died in 1962) and I asked about the philandering rumors.
Covington was laying down when I asked him about this and immediately sat up and was obviously very, very angry. He looked at me and said, "If your wife was paralyzed, what would you do?"
I immediately knew I better not pursue that line of questioning. He seemed to acknowledge that Rutherford did have paramours, but defended him to the hilt.
I also asked him "who wrote the articles in the Watchtower?" He answered Rutherford, who "had help, but alone was responsible."
He kept calling N.H. Knorr, the president then, a "cobra".
When I asked him why he said, "Do you know what a cobra does? They'll slither behind you, and they'll strike viciously."
It became apparent that he detested Knorr. This could be because his problems with the society began when Knorr became president.
Covington claimed that he, Covington, had the votes to become president, but Knorr connived him out of the presidency. (prøv at forestille dig det?)
Therefore he began drinking as he became more unhappy. Eventually, he was asked to leave the Society headquarters.
He was disfellowshipped in 1963.
He had so much respect for Rutherford that he would do whatever Rutherford asked and take anything that Rutherford gave him. But for most anybody else, he couldn't.
My visit was the end of the end for me as a Witness. I had major questions before, but afterwards I, without a doubt, knew the Society was not God's organization. I soon left (I was not disfellowshipped, but left).
When you leave, you often alienate your friends and your family. My marriage fell apart (my first wife had a hard time with my questions).
As a result, when I left, I was largely on my own. The people I was raised with and knew all my life, other Witnesses, would no longer talk to me. This was a very traumatic period in my life.
I was teaching at that time at Bowling Green State University and they made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that they did not appreciate my involvement with the Watchtower and openly terminated me on the grounds of religion.
Jerry Bergman. Ph.D.
Nu ved alle jo hvem Præsident Harry S. Truman var, men det er nok de færreste der kender til Hayden Cooper Covington.
Lad mig med det samme sige, at manden selvfølgelig ikke var en idiot, men når jeg fortæller, at han var perleven og ”forgabt” i J.F.Rutherford (du ved, ham drukmåsen), så kan du måske forstå, at der var ”ugler i mosen”.
Med J.F.Rutherford, drukkenbold og præsident for Watchtower Jehovas Vidner (og ”dommer”, ha, ha,) og så Vicepræsident Hayden Cooper Covington, så har du et nogenlunde godt billede af ledelsen af Watchtover i 30erne.
For ikke at trække pinen ud, vil jeg lige præcicere, at han blev smidt (udstødt) ud af Jehovas Vidner i 1963.
Hvis J.F.Rutherford ikke havde været præsident og ”så stor i slaget”, så var han med garanti også blevet smidt ud.
Og det ønsker ham der kalder sig for ”sand kristen”? at jeg skal fortælle og forklare af én eller anden grund?
___________________________________________________
Hayden Covington, Attorney and Watchtower Society Vice President. A Bethelite – resident at headquarters – from 1939 to 1963.
So, in 1974 my first wife (when you leave the Witnesses, divorce is common) and I visited him.
Covington lived in a very well-kept, small brick house on Nichols Street in a lower-middle class neighborhood in Cincinnati, OH.
One thing that impressed me was that he had hundreds of books, and at least thirty books on vocabulary building and how to use words effectively. This stuck out because most Witnesses own few books.
When I arrived, Covington was not home, so his wife went out to locate him. He was at a bar, drinking. When she brought him home, he was rather tipsy.
This was disappointing to me because I was raised not to drink. Drinking was a problem among Witnesses, and I knew that it had been a problem with Covington (and was part of the reason why he left Bethel).
His being tipsy was good in one way because he was very open with me and willing to talk about almost everything I asked him, and I took notes.
It became very clear that he idolized Rutherford. For example, I knew that Rutherford's wife had a stroke and that she wasn't in good health (she died in 1962) and I asked about the philandering rumors.
Covington was laying down when I asked him about this and immediately sat up and was obviously very, very angry. He looked at me and said, "If your wife was paralyzed, what would you do?"
I immediately knew I better not pursue that line of questioning. He seemed to acknowledge that Rutherford did have paramours, but defended him to the hilt.
I also asked him "who wrote the articles in the Watchtower?" He answered Rutherford, who "had help, but alone was responsible."
He kept calling N.H. Knorr, the president then, a "cobra".
When I asked him why he said, "Do you know what a cobra does? They'll slither behind you, and they'll strike viciously."
It became apparent that he detested Knorr. This could be because his problems with the society began when Knorr became president.
Covington claimed that he, Covington, had the votes to become president, but Knorr connived him out of the presidency. (prøv at forestille dig det?)
Therefore he began drinking as he became more unhappy. Eventually, he was asked to leave the Society headquarters.
He was disfellowshipped in 1963.
He had so much respect for Rutherford that he would do whatever Rutherford asked and take anything that Rutherford gave him. But for most anybody else, he couldn't.
My visit was the end of the end for me as a Witness. I had major questions before, but afterwards I, without a doubt, knew the Society was not God's organization. I soon left (I was not disfellowshipped, but left).
When you leave, you often alienate your friends and your family. My marriage fell apart (my first wife had a hard time with my questions).
As a result, when I left, I was largely on my own. The people I was raised with and knew all my life, other Witnesses, would no longer talk to me. This was a very traumatic period in my life.
I was teaching at that time at Bowling Green State University and they made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that they did not appreciate my involvement with the Watchtower and openly terminated me on the grounds of religion.
Jerry Bergman. Ph.D.