Pyramidology Vs. Spiritism

Posted by ResLight on March 16, 2009

The claim is being made that pyramidology is a “a spiritistic religion,” and that assuming this to be true, therefore Charles Taze Russell was a spiritist. Those who make this claim evidently have little idea as to what true pyramidology is about, and are probably confusing true Biblical pyramidology with practices of witchcraft, occultism, “pryramid power,” transcentalism, occultic freemasonry, etc., that have of late become associated with the term “pyramidology.” True Biblical pyramidology has nothing to do with such practices of spiritism. The term “pyramidology” was originally defined:

Pyramidology is the science that deals with the Great Pyramid’s scientific demonstration of Biblical truth, true Christianity and the Divine plan respecting humanity on this planet. One who is skilled in this science is therefore defined as a Pyramidologist. But it is necessary clearly to distinguish between a Pyramidologist and a Pyramidist. A Pyramidist is an Egyptologist who specializes in the study of the pyramids of Egypt, or in other words, a specialist on the Egyptian pyramids from the archeological standpoint. Hence we find some people who have a good knowledge of Pyramidology know little or nothing about Egyptology. On the other hand, an Egyptologist, or even a Pyramidist, may know nothing about Pyramidology. An expert Pyramidologist, however, knows the Great Pyramid in all its aspects, including the Egyptological, even though his knowledge of Egyptology in general may not be very wide. Apart from a few builders’ marks, which include a dating and the cartouche of Khufu (the pharaoh in whose reign the Great Pyramid was erected), there are no hieroglyphics in the Great Pyramid. Hence to become a Pyramidologist, knowledge of hieroglyphics is not required, whereas it is essential for all Egyptologists including Pyramidist to be able to read hieroglyphics proficiently.

One should be able to see that the early definition had nothing to do with spiritism, occultism, etc. It was strictly defined in corroborative terms of the Bible, and in harmony with the Bible.

Although I have not found any place that Charles Taze Russell ever used any form of the word pyramidology, in view of what wrote about the Great Pyramid, one could indeed say that Russell was a pyramidologist, according the original definition of the word.

However, the original definition has been almost totally displaced by the more recent usages of the term “pyramidology” as related to certain forms of spiritistic powers and occultism. Russell was not a “pryamidologist” according the more recent meanings given to that word.

A parallel to this might be to take the word “gay.” Until recently, it was used a lot simply to denote a “having or showing a merry, lively mood.” Today, the word is used almost exclusively to denote the homosexual lifestyle. The point of this is that to use the later definition of “pyramidology,” and apply that definition to what Russell believed, would be like taking the words Shirley Temple sang back in the 1930s, “I’ve no one to be gay with,” and say that Shirley Temple was singing about having no one as a homosexual partner.

The claim is made that the books on pyramidology “are usually located in the ‘Occult’ section of any library or bookstore.” Personally, I have never seen any books in the “Occult” section related to Biblical pyramidology; indeed, I don’t remember ever seeing any Biblical pyramidology books in any bookstore at all. I have had to order all the books I have regarding pyramidology, except for one or two that I purchased at conventions. I have seen books on “Pyramid Power,” Spiritism, etc., in the the “Occult” section, but this is not the kind of study that Russell did regarding the Great Pyramid. However, I have been to some bookstores that have books under one section called “Religion/Occult,” thus combining occultism with any kind of religious books. Amazon.com has many books on Biblical Pyramidology under the general classification of “History/Egypt.”

The claim is made that Joseph Rutherford “admitted” that it was Satan who put it in Russell’s mind “to figure out God’s purposes by studying the Pyramid of Gizeh.” Whether Joseph Rutherford actually stated this, I don’t know. If he did, then it is just another of his misrepresentations of Russell, since Russell never sought “to figure out God’s purposes by studying the Pyramid of Giza.” Russell sought to “figure out” God’s purposes by the Bible, not the Great Pyramid, as his writings demonstrate. Russell viewed the Great Pyramid as corroborative of God’s plan as revealed in the Bible; he did not view the Great Pyramid as the source of learning about that plan.

We are told that Russell was embalmed and then that he “was placed in a grave that is now marked with a huge tombstone in the form of a pyramid.” A few years after Russell died, Rutherford did indeed have a pyramid momument constructed in the center of the Watch Tower’s plot of Rosemont Cemetery. Although this monument is near Russell’s grave, Russell’s grave itself is not “marked with a huge tombstone in the form of a pyramid.” The pyramid monument is not a “tombstone” at all. Although Rutherford claimed that Russell had wanted such a monument built, I highly doubt it was actually Russell’s idea to build such a monument.

See also:
http://ctrussell.wordpress.com/2008/04/24/ctr-gravestone/

Evidently related to the Great Pyramid, we are told that “Russell also believed in astrology and the horoscope.” No proof is given for such a false statement. In reality, however, Russell did not believe in astrology, nor the horoscope. Russell associated astrology with spiritism, which he condemned.
http://www.agsconsulting.com/htdbv5/r2185.htm
http://tinyurl.com/russell-astrology

We are told that “Not the Bible, but Russell’s belief in pyramidology are the basis for his date setting.” This false statement would be very laughable, except that many seriously take this falsehood to be truth. In reality, Russell obtained the dates from study of the Bible, not from study of the Great Pryamid. Indeed the dates were known by means of a study of the Bible before any study was done of the Great Pyramid. The Great Pyramid simply confirms the dates.

For more information about Pyramidology, see:
http://gp.reslight.net