God’s Kingdom Rules!, “Chapter 10: The King Refines His People Spiritually”
“Yet, the Bible Students did not at the time clearly see the need to stop celebrating Christmas. It continued to be celebrated even by members of the Brooklyn Bethel family. … For many years, the Bible Students viewed the cross as an acceptable symbol of Christianity. … they proudly wore a cross-and-crown pin as an identifying badge. … Beginning in 1891, a cross-and-crown symbol appeared on the cover of the Watch Tower.”
The chapter dates the Christmas change to the years after 1926, quotes a letter of 14 November 1927 from Frederick W. Franz saying ‘The Bethel family has voted not to have Christmas anymore’, and lists the steps by which the cross was dropped: the 1928 Detroit assembly (‘not only unnecessary but also objectionable’), Preparation (1933) p. 239, The Golden Age of 28 February 1934 p. 336, and The Golden Age of 4 November 1936 p. 72 together with Riches (1936) p. 27 for the teaching that Jesus died on a stake. A separate box gives the earliest references against Easter (1928), Valentine’s Day (1929), birthdays (1936) and New Year’s Day (1946).
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Hinweis zu Herkunft und Überprüfung for God’s Kingdom Rules!, Chapter 10: The King Refines His People Spiritually
Hinweis zur Vertrauensangabe. Chapter opened on the Watchtower Online Library and re-opened for audit on 19 September 2026 and read in full. The Christmas sentences follow the page 102 marker; the cross sentences are in paragraph 12, which straddles the page 104 marker, so the first of them is on page 103 and the rest on page 104. The box on other holidays is headed ‘Exposing Other Holidays and Celebrations’ and follows the page 105 marker. Of the publications the chapter cites, only The Golden Age of 4 November 1936 was separately opened.
Untermauert durch. src-chg-p-jv-1993-ch14-abandoned, src-chg-p-ga-1936-1104-cross
Notes. The box on other holidays gives the earliest published objection, not the date on which Bible Students stopped observing each one.
Abgerufen. 19. September 2026 · Quellenkennung. src-chg-p-kr-2014-ch10-refining