Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses (JW) are a religious organization founded in the 1870s in Pennsylvania by Charles Taze Russell as a small Bible study group and fanatical offshoot of Seventh-Day Adventism. They wish to be seen as the only true Christian church, but to most non-Jehovah's Witnesses, they are a classic cult and to be avoided. After Russell's death, the group grew into an group which came to be known as the International Bible Students or Bible Students. They founded Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, which was registered in 1884 with Russell as president. Later,in 1914 they founded International Bible Students Association in the UK, and in 1931, when Joseph Franklin Rutherford was president of Watchtower Society, they adopted the name Jehovah's Witnesses. By faith, Jehovah's Witnesses believe their unique religion to be a restoration of original first-century Christianity as revealed to Mr. Russell. They are known for predicting the exact date of Jesus' physical return to earth (his Advent). The last prediction was 1974, after which they gave up predicting since it caused a serious loss of membership and business.The group's members are known for their racially diverse, close-knit brotherhood, the use of the name Jehovah, door-to-door evangelizing, rejection of many holidays, rejection of blood transfusions, and non-participation in government, including politics and military service. They generally exhibit a high degree of commitment to their religion, attending meetings three times a week in their local Kingdom Hall and in private homes. Larger gatherings are held, usually three times a year, in assembly halls or public facilities, such as sports stadiums. Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the only name for God is "Jehovah," so their Bibles are changed to reflect this, including the New Testament, which was written in Greek, not Hebrew.
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2 Publications 3 Opposition to Jehovah's Witnesses 4 See also 5 External links |
As of August 2003, Jehovah's Witnesses claim a world-wide 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. Therefore, it can be said that their statistics are rather conservative. Well over 16 million people attend the Lord's Supper, which is celebrated only once in the year.
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. Their teachings are mainly presented through two 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 simulaneously 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.
Throughout their history, the beliefs and doctrines of Jehovah's Witnesses
practices of Jehovah's Witnesses have met controversy. Animosity against them has at times led to the point of mob action, government oppression — including being targeted in the Holocaust — and widespread criticism from members of other faiths who find them deceitful and annoying.
In the United States, many Supreme Court cases involving Jehovah's Witnesses have shaped First Amendment law. Significant cases affirmed rights such as these:
In other countries, controversies have erupted because of the conflict between the Witnesses' religious beliefs with respect to medical practices, especially the refusal of blood transfusions, and local laws making it an obligation for doctors to make everything in their power to save human lives.
Membership
Publications
Opposition to Jehovah's Witnesses
By 1988, the U.S. Supreme Court had reviewed 71 cases involving Jehovah's Witnesses, 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.See also
External links