Jump to content

Jehovah's Witnesses

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Eloquence (talk | contribs) at 23:42, 10 December 2002 (unbolding links). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Jehovah's Witnesses (orginally Bible Students) are a church founded in the 1870s by Charles Taze Russell. Jehovah's Witnesses consider their religion to be a restoration of original first century Christianity, although mainstream Christians object to their non-trinitarian theology. The members are known for their racially diverse, close-knit brotherhood, door-to-door evangelizing and refusal to serve in the military.

Jehovah's Witnesses consider mainstream Christianity to have gradually strayed from the teachings of Christ after the death of the apostles. They see themselves as continuing the work of messengers such as the apostles Paul and John, Arius of Alexandria, Peter Waldo, John Wycliffe, and Martin Luther.

Originally calling themselves "Bible Students", Jehovah's Witnesses adopted their current name in 1931 under the direction of Charles Taze Russel's successor, Joseph Franklin Rutherford. At this time several small groups split off, keeping the original name, or becoming known as Russelites.

Jehovah's Witness headquarters are located in Brooklyn, New York. The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is their main legal representative. As of the year 2001, Jehovah's Witnesses claim a world-wide membership of more than 6.1 million active individuals.

The Witnesses' teachings are mainly presented through two monthly journals, published simultaneously in many languages. Awake!, published in more than 80 languages, is a general-interest magazine covering many topics from a religious perspective. The Watchtower, published in more than 130 languages, focuses mainly on doctrine. At their yearly conventions, new books, pamphlets, and other items pertaining to current church doctrine are usually released.

Throughout their history, many have found their doctrines, beliefs, and practices controversial. They have suffered mob action; government oppression, including being targeted in the Holocaust.

Witnesses and the First Amendment

The Jehovah's Witnesses have frequently gone to court to protect their beliefs, which has meant general extension of First Amendment rights for all Americans. United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Harlan Fiske Stone wrote, "The Jehovah's Witnesses ought to have an endowment in view of the aid which they give in solving the legal problems of civil liberties." In all, the Jehovah's Witnesses brought 23 separate First Amendment actions before the court between 1938 and 1946.

The most important Supreme Court legal victory won by the Witnesses was in the case West Virginia State Board of Education vs. Barnette [1], in which the court ruled that school children could not be forced to pledge allegiance or salute the U.S. flag. This decision, issued on Flag Day June 14, 1943 made an important contribution to later decisions concerning burning the flag.

In the majority decision, Associate Justice Robert Jackson wrote:

"If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion or other matters of opinion."

The Barnette decision overturned an earlier case, Minersville School District vs. Gobitis (1940), in which the court had held that Witnesses could be forced against their will to pay homage to the flag. This decision had led to increased persecution of Witnesses.

Issues

There is much criticism of the Jehovah's witnesses by former members of the organization, from other Christian groups, and from non-religious anti-cult organizations.

Favorable Views

Opposing Views

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jehovah%27s_Witnesses&oldid=479637"