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Jehovah's Witnesses

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Jehovah's Witnesses (JW) are an international association of believers known worldwide for their zealous proselytizing work. They see themselves as Christians, but they believe that some time after the death of the last apostle the church departed from the original faith in major points (Great_Apostasy). In 1931, they adopted the name Jehovah's Witnesses, based on the passage at Isaiah 43:10, which reads, "'You are my witnesses,' is the utterance of Jehovah ..." (New World Translation) ("Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD . . ." - Authorized Version) ). This name differentiates them from (other) Christian denominations.

Based on Jesus' command to teach and make disciples (see Matthew 28:19,20) they see it as their mission to spread what they believe to be the original faith in Jehovah God, which started with Abel, who died as the first martyr (see Hebrews 11:4) was restored by Jesus and has continued throughout history (see Hebrews and 12:1), with some elements of truth being preserved throughout the period of the Great Apostasy as well.

Origins

They believe that true Christianity began to be rediscovered in the 1870s by a group around Charles Taze Russel and that in 1919 Jesus chose this group to represent his government and thus all (other) Christian groups have rejected Jehovah God. This non-acceptance is mutual: quite a number of non-Jehovah’s Witness Christians believe that it is the Jehovah’s Witnesses who have departed from the truth.

In the 1870s, the group started out as a Bible study group in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. One individual in particular, Charles Taze Russell, was instrumental in taking the lead at that point in the history of Jehovah's Witnesses. During Russell's lifetime, he started a number of Bible study groups. Later, their members came to be known as International Bible Students. They formed Zion's Watch Tower Society in 1881, and in 1884 it was incorporated with Russell as president. In 1914 they founded International Bible Students Association in the United Kingdom. In 1931, when Joseph Franklin Rutherford was president of the society, they adopted the name "Jehovah's Witnesses".

Membership

Main article: Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses

The group's members are noted for their diverse but close-knit brotherhood, and their markedly different teachings and practice. They have often been the subject of religious and political controversy. As of August 2003, Jehovah's Witnesses has a worldwide practicing membership of more than 6.4 million active individuals. The membership figures refer to the number of registered 'publishers' or door-to-door evangelists and are therefore not always comparable with statistics produced by other religious groups. Besides excluding those who are not really active, counting only publishers also excludes most children under 10 years old, as well as the feeble and infirm. Therefore, it can be said that their statistics are rather conservative.

Well over 16 million people attend annual the Lord's Supper (Memorial). They are among the top ten international religious bodies in the world.

Jehovah's Witnesses generally exhibit a high degree of commitment to their religion, attending meetings three times a week in their local Kingdom Halls and in private homes. Larger gatherings, called assemblies or conventions, are held, usually three times a year, in assembly halls that are owned or maintained by the Watchtower Society or rented public facilities, such as sports stadiums or auditoriums. The offices of the world headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses are located in Brooklyn, New York. There are over 100 Branch Offices in various countries and lands around the world. - See also Practices of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Doctrine

Main article: Doctrines of Jehovah's Witnesses

The doctrine and practice of the Jehovah's Witnesses is noteworthy for the use of the name Jehovah, door-to-door evangelizing, free home Bible study, conviction that the present system of things will soon come to an end, not celebrating any political or religious holidays, refusing to accept blood transfusions, not participating in politics or military service, and separation from all other religions, including the traditional Christian faiths.

The teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses differ from most Christian groups, in that they reject the traditional Christian doctrines of the immortality of the soul, hell, and the Trinity.

Publications

Jehovah's Witnesses make vigorous efforts to spread their beliefs throughout the world in a variety of ways, with particular emphasis on the written word. The Bible is their prime source of doctrine:

  • New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT) is a modern-language translation of the Bible published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. This is the Bible translation primarily used by Jehovah's Witnesses. It is noteworthy that the WTB&TS also publishes other translations and references many others in their publications.

Their teachings are presented through a wide variety of books, magazines and other publications. They are perhaps best known for their use of a particular pair of monthly journals:

  • Awake! - published in 87 languages, is a general-interest magazine covering many topics from a religious perspective.
  • The Watchtower - published in 148 languages, focuses mainly on doctrine. With an average circulation of 25 million copies semimonthly, The Watchtower is the most widely distributed religious magazine in the world, and is available in a large-print edition, in Braille, on audiocassettes, in American Sign Language (on videocassette and DVD) and on CD, in MP3 format.

Both The Watchtower and Awake! are published simultaneously in dozens of languages. At their yearly conventions, new books, brochures, and other items pertaining to the religion's current doctrine are usually released. Additionally, a number of audio- and videocassettes have been produced featuring various aspects of the group's beliefs and practices. Recent years have seen a proliferation of material available on their website.

Opposition to Jehovah's Witnesses

Throughout their history, their beliefs, doctrines and practices have met controversy and opposition among other religions including Christian groups. Political and religious animosity against them has at times led to mob action and government oppression, including the targeting of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Holocaust and widespread criticism from those of other faiths.

In the United States, many Supreme Court cases involving Jehovah's Witnesses have shaped First Amendment law. Significant cases affirmed rights such as these:

Other court cases involving the Jehovah's Witnesses had less favorable outcomes.

  • Olin R. Moyle v. Watchtower Headquarters Staff (1943) - After Moyle resigned from the Watchtower, the October 15, 1939 Watchtower contained an attack on Moyle, saying his resignation was full of lies and false accusations. Moyle sued for libel and won.


By 1988, the U.S. Supreme Court had reviewed 71 cases involving Jehovah's Witnesses as an organization, two thirds of which were decided in their favor. Most recently, in 2002, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society disputed an ordinance in Stratton, Ohio that required a permit in order to preach from door to door. The Supreme Court decided in favor of the Witnesses.

Controversy has also arisen over the Witnesses' refusal of blood transfusions and organ transplants, even for children. All active, baptized Jehovah's Witnesses carry personal identification cards with advance medical directives explaining their position regarding blood transfusions, as well as their wishes regarding alternative treatment (i.e., use of blood fillers or substitutes, etc.) should major loss of blood occur.

Many criticise the organization's practice of excommunicating - termed "disfellowshipping" - members. Jehovah's Witnesses whose family members have been disfellowshipped are discouraged to have contact with the disfellowshipped family member except on extreme occasions, such as the passing of a family member. This does not apply to disfellowshipped children living in the same house as Witness parents.

Many also view door-to-door evangelizing as an invasion of privacy and pretend to not be at home when the Witnesses stop by. Although uncommon, hate crimes have occurred due to this practice. Many people are cordial to the Witnesses.

Hostility from traditional, fundamentalist and evangelical Christians has been common, primarily because of this group's rejection of many of the doctrines of mainstream Christian groups. For example, they teach that Jesus Christ is God's first creation and that the Holy Spirit is not a person but God's active force. Many have been critical of publicized, but unfulfilled predictions of the end times.

See also: Christology; Holy Spirit; Arianism; Socinianism.

Organization

Presidents of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania since the registration in 1884 have been:


See also

  • Watchtower.ca: A collection of Watchtower quotes on various topics. NOTE: This site is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania.
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