"Before we can know God and understand his great plan it is first necessary for us to believe that he exists and that he rewards all who diligently seek him"
About this Quote
Rutherford’s line isn’t trying to prove God so much as to set the entry requirements for belonging. The logic is deliberately circular: knowledge and “understand[ing] his great plan” are framed as impossible until you first accept two premises - God exists, and he pays out rewards to those who “diligently seek him.” That’s theology as gatekeeping and motivation in one stroke. If you don’t feel certain, the problem isn’t the claim; it’s your insufficient diligence.
The phrase “great plan” does heavy institutional work. It suggests a coherent blueprint behind history and personal hardship, a story that can absorb setbacks without collapsing. For a movement trying to consolidate identity, “plan” also implies a privileged interpretive authority: someone has access to the blueprint, and your role is to align yourself with it.
“Rewards” is the psychological hinge. Rutherford ties belief to a transactional assurance, not merely an abstract relationship with the divine. Seek and you will be compensated. That turns faith into a disciplined practice with a promised outcome, a powerful antidote to drift, doubt, and competing modern narratives. It also recasts unanswered prayers or spiritual dryness as a test of effort rather than evidence against the system.
Context matters: Rutherford led the early 20th-century Bible Student movement as it hardened into a more centralized, distinctly branded organization. In an era of war, social upheaval, and proliferating new ideologies, he offers certainty with a clear behavioral prescription. Believe first, seek hard, get rewarded - and the “plan” will resolve the rest.
The phrase “great plan” does heavy institutional work. It suggests a coherent blueprint behind history and personal hardship, a story that can absorb setbacks without collapsing. For a movement trying to consolidate identity, “plan” also implies a privileged interpretive authority: someone has access to the blueprint, and your role is to align yourself with it.
“Rewards” is the psychological hinge. Rutherford ties belief to a transactional assurance, not merely an abstract relationship with the divine. Seek and you will be compensated. That turns faith into a disciplined practice with a promised outcome, a powerful antidote to drift, doubt, and competing modern narratives. It also recasts unanswered prayers or spiritual dryness as a test of effort rather than evidence against the system.
Context matters: Rutherford led the early 20th-century Bible Student movement as it hardened into a more centralized, distinctly branded organization. In an era of war, social upheaval, and proliferating new ideologies, he offers certainty with a clear behavioral prescription. Believe first, seek hard, get rewarded - and the “plan” will resolve the rest.
Quote Details
| Topic | Faith |
|---|
More Quotes by Joseph
Add to List
