The Reluctant Apostate: Leaving Jehovah's Witnesses Comes at a Price

by Lloyd Evans

Under cross-examination, it turned out the Judge was not quite the ardent pacifist he had been previously leading people to believe: Rutherford, like other witnesses before him, stated that it was up to a man’s individual conscience whether he would or would not take up arms for the government. “If you ask me individually I say my individual inclination is to go into war, because that has been my ambition from youth to lead an army.” He would judge no man for his decision. This startling piece of testimony speaks volumes about Rutherford’s character. The 1917 presidency coup had already highlighted his burning “ambition” to “lead an army”—an ambition that drove him to act ruthlessly in sweeping aside the four directors, not to mention the last will and testament of the Pastor. Future events, and insights from those who worked closely with the Judge, would further attest to this combative, power-hungry streak.