[65] At an international convention held at Cedar Point, Ohio, in September 1922, a new emphasis was made on house-to-house preaching. "[259] The practice of shunning may also serve to deter other members from dissident behavior. [295][296] Members are directed to refuse blood transfusions, even in "a life-or-death situation". "[348] The Royal Commission also found that the Watch Tower Society legal department routinely provided incorrect information to elders based on an incorrect understanding about what constitutes a legal obligation to report crimes in Australia. Did Jehovah’s Witnesses Predict 1914 As Christ’s Coming? * Jehovah’s Witnesses: Conversation Or Confrontation? They feel that these and many other customs have pagan origins or reflect a nationalistic or political spirit. [192], Jehovah's Witnesses believe death is a state of non-existence with no consciousness. [92][93][94][95] The number of baptisms increased significantly, from about 59,000 in 1966 to more than 297,000 in 1974. This happens a great deal of the time, especially in states like Florida, which are magnets for elderly retirees. [90] Chryssides further states, "it is therefore simplistic and naïve to view the Witnesses as a group that continues to set a single end-date that fails and then devise a new one, as many counter-cultists do. [183] Jesus served as a redeemer and a ransom sacrifice to pay for the sins of humanity. [319][320][321] It was also among the most ethnically diverse religious groups in the US. [369] Historian James Irvin Lichti has rejected the description of the denomination as "totalitarian". The book, published as the posthumous work of Russell, was a compilation of his commentaries on the Bible books of Ezekiel and Revelation, plus numerous additions by Bible Students Clayton Woodworth and George Fisher. Reprinted from the book Refuting Jehovah’s Witnesses by Randall Watters. As a result, only about half of those who self-identified as Jehovah's Witnesses in independent demographic studies are considered active by the faith itself. No....The Scripture is there given in support of the statement, and therefore the individual when he looks up the Scripture and thereby verifies the statement,...search[es] the Scripture to see whether these things were so.". It is a deception to distract people so they do not learn the truth about Jehovahs Witnesses. [120] The leadership and supporting staff lives in properties owned by the organization worldwide referred to as "Bethel" where they operate as a religious community and administrative unit. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in evangelism and an annual Memorial attendance of over 17 million. Regardless of whether donation money is collected at the door or these “aids” are given for free to the householder, the publishers still are required to donate enough money for the literature to cover the “cost”. [280][281] Although they do not take part in politics, they respect the authority of the governments under which they live. Jehovah's Witnesses are a people of faith that many of us likely don't know that much about. [286], They do not work in industries associated with the military, do not serve in the armed services,[287] and refuse national military service, which in some countries may result in their arrest and imprisonment. Knorr commissioned a new translation of the Bible, the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, the full version of which was released in 1961. Marriages are required to be monogamous and legally registered. [52] By 1910, about 50,000 people worldwide were associated with the movement[53] and congregations re-elected him annually as their "pastor. Jehovah’s Witnesses: Two Classes of Christians? . You are a victim who is being used and abused. [139] The Watchtower and Awake! [20] They consider secular society to be morally corrupt and under the influence of Satan, and most limit their social interaction with non-Witnesses. Their faith and love is now in the almighty dollar. Jehovah’s Witnesses do not stand for national anthems, salute flags, vote or serve in the military. [note 4], Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the Bible condemns the mixing of religions, on the basis that there can only be one truth from God, and therefore reject interfaith and ecumenical movements. [256] Contact with disfellowshipped individuals is limited to direct family members living in the same home, and with congregation elders who may invite disfellowshipped persons to apply for reinstatement;[257] formal business dealings may continue if contractually or financially obliged. They don't believe that God would subject His creations to suffering. They base this belief on a rendering of the Greek word parousia—usually translated as "coming" when referring to Christ—as "presence". Jehovah’s Witnesses: Call Now For Your Free Gift! Their stance regarding political neutrality and their refusal to serve in the military has led to imprisonment of members who refused conscription during World War II and at other times where national service has been compulsory. (King James Version, KJV) —which was adopted by resolution. Individuals are usually for the lower and working classes. Jehovah’s Witnesses: End Of The World Predictions. Thus in a few sentences do they deny several basic Christian doctrines which are clearly … Based on the Christian Bible, Jehovah’s Witnesses are a religious sect known for door-knocking and prophesizing the end of the world. Jehovahs Witnesses | Facts About Their Beliefs, Jehovah’s Witnesses And Military Service (Part 2), Jehovah’s Witnesses, The Carrot And The Whip. The meetings are largely devoted to study of Watch Tower Society literature and the Bible. [231][232] Witnesses are taught they are under a biblical command to engage in public preaching. It highlights Jehovah's Witnesses do not benefit from protection, and that the Governing Body are not enlightened to protect their followers. [138][143] The organization reported for the same year that it "spent over $70.9 million in caring for special pioneers, missionaries, and traveling overseers in their field service assignments. Jul 5, 2020 - Explore Vanda Mullins's board "Jehovah's witnesses" on Pinterest. "[131][132] Their literature emphasizes the need for members to be obedient and loyal to Jehovah and to "his organization,"[133][134][note 2] stating that individuals must remain part of it to receive God's favor and to survive Armageddon.[135][136][137]. Because the good news about Jesus is "The Truth", it will stand out from the rest. [100][101], The offices of elder and ministerial servant were restored to Witness congregations in 1972, with appointments made from headquarters[102] (and later, also by branch committees). The website offers a wealth of downloadable material in 1,000 languages. [205] It is said to have been the focal point of Jesus' ministry on earth. [41][42][43] In 1881, Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society was presided over by William Henry Conley, and in 1884, Russell incorporated the society as a non-profit business to distribute tracts and Bibles. [140] Translation of Witness publications is done by over 2,000 volunteers worldwide, producing literature in 1,000 languages. [110] It appoints all branch committee members and traveling overseers, after they have been recommended by local branches, with traveling overseers supervising circuits of congregations within their jurisdictions. [315], Sociologist James A. Beckford, in his 1975 study of Jehovah's Witnesses, classified the group's organizational structure as Totalizing, characterized by an assertive leadership, specific and narrow objectives, control over competing demands on members' time and energy, and control over the quality of new members. See more ideas about jehovah's witnesses, jehovah, spiritual thoughts. • Conduct free Bible lessons using ... Common Wealth Heads of State Meeting (CHOGM) 2007 - … From September 2009-April 2014, Wang Xiaoqing served as an assistant servant of the Jehovah’s Witnesses (an evil religion) [Editor’s note: The Jehovah’s Witness faith being “an evil religion” is the opinion of the government body that issued this official document and does not represent the opinion of ChinaAid] congregation in Korla, helping Liu Weiguo, Lin Zaiwu, … [10] Rutherford made significant organizational and doctrinal changes, including adoption of the name Jehovah's witnesses[11][note 1] in 1931 to distinguish them from other Bible Student groups and symbolize a break with the legacy of Russell's traditions. [219] Congregations meet for two sessions each week comprising four distinct meetings that total about three-and-a-half hours, typically gathering mid-week (two meetings) and on the weekend (two meetings). [9], The group emerged from the Bible Student movement founded in the late 1870s by Charles Taze Russell, who also co-founded Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society in 1881 to organize and print the movement's publications. That includes birthdays, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day and Hallowe’en. [112][113] There is no election for membership; new members are selected by the existing body. [255] Witness publications strongly discourage followers from questioning doctrine and counsel received from the Governing Body, reasoning that it is to be trusted as part of "God's organization". And Jehovah’s Witnesses firmly believe that. Instructor - One-on-One Free Bible courses - Jehovah's Witnesses WWW.JW.ORG 2017 - Present 4 years. Randall is a little more cynical about religion than I am. Based on fresh research into original documents of the era. [64], Rutherford centralized organizational control of the Watch Tower Society. Detailed history of the Watch Tower movement's earliest years written to an academic standard. Advertise the King and the Kingdom! I mean, "love thy neighbor" implies not shooting your neighbor in the head, right? Jehovah's Witnesses are members of a Christian-based religious movement probably best known for their door-to-door evangelistic work. [419][420], A common example given is a baptized Witness who dates a non-Witness; see, Raymond Franz cites numerous examples. [306][307], Jehovah's Witnesses have an active presence in most countries, but do not form a large part of the population of any country. Jehovah’s Witnesses: The Only Way To Serve God? In some countries, Jehovah's Witnesses use the corporation name Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, or a similar name translated into the local language. RELIGIOUS BELIEFS Jehovah’s Witnesses believe in Almighty God, Jehovah, the Creator of the heavens and earth. [175][176][177] They believe that Jehovah is the only true God, the creator of all things, and the "Universal Sovereign". Elders maintain general responsibility for congregational governance, setting meeting times, selecting speakers and conducting meetings, directing the public preaching work, and creating "judicial committees" to investigate and decide disciplinary action for cases involving sexual misconduct or doctrinal breaches. [371] However, he also states that defectors "are seldom allowed a dignified exit",[260] and describes the administration as autocratic. "[390][note 6] With these interpretations, Jehovah's Witnesses' publications have made various predictions about world events they believe were prophesied in the Bible. [40], From 1879, Watch Tower supporters gathered as autonomous congregations to study the Bible topically. Jehovah's Witnesses feel as though warfare is incompatible with Jesus’ teachings, which is probably true. Let me ask you this: From what you know about God’s requirements, when a person prays, in whose name should he offer the prayer? [258] Witnesses are taught that avoiding social and spiritual interaction with disfellowshipped individuals keeps the congregation free from immoral influence and that "losing precious fellowship with loved ones may help [the shunned individual] to come 'to his senses,' see the seriousness of his wrong, and take steps to return to Jehovah. [210] They consider all other present-day religions to be false, identifying them with "Babylon the Great", or the "harlot", of Revelation 17,[211] and believe that they will soon be destroyed by the United Nations, which they believe is represented in scripture by the scarlet-colored wild beast of Revelation chapter 17. There is no Hell of fiery torment; Hades and Sheol are understood to refer to the condition of death, termed the common grave. Jehovah's Witnesses teach that Satan and his demons were cast down to earth from heaven after October 1, 1914,[190] at which point the end times began. [4] In 2020, Jehovah's Witnesses reported a worldwide annual decline of 0.6%. He’s Tony Morris, and he’s the brash, outspoken, often controversial co-leader of the worldwide religious movement known as Jehovah’s Witnesses. Detailed history of the Watch Tower movement, particularly its early years, a summary of Witness doctrines and the organizational and personal framework in which Witnesses conduct their lives. Each congregation has a standing order for inventory each and every single month. I know of one old lady, almost 80 years old who has been attending JW meetings for decades (I dread to think how much money she has dropped into their offering boxes over those years), yet like so many other elderly JW's, she has to take public transport to get … By the 1910s, Russell's organization maintained nearly a hundred "pilgrims," or traveling preachers. [342] The cases generally relate to their right to practice their religion, displays of patriotism and military service, and blood transfusions. A Montana jury has ruled that the Jehovah's Witnesses organization must pay $35 million to a woman who says the church covered up her sexual abuse as a child at the hands of a congregation member. Disfellowshipped and disassociated individuals may eventually be reinstated if deemed repentant. [227] The objective is to start a regular "Bible study" with any person who is not already a member,[228] with the intention that the student be baptized as a member of the group;[229][230] Witnesses are advised to consider discontinuing Bible studies with students who show no interest in becoming members. ", "Keep the Word of Jehovah Moving Speedily", "Imitate Jehovah—Exercise Justice and Righteousness", "How should individual Christians and the congregation as a whole view the Bible advice to marry "only in the Lord"? [75] By mid-1919, as many as one in seven of Russell-era Bible Students had ceased their association with the Society, and as many as three-quarters by the end of the 1920s. [406] A former member of the headquarters staff, Barbara Anderson, says the policy effectively requires that there be another witness to an act of molestation, "which is an impossibility". The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania is a legal religious corporation that is used by Jehovah’s Witnesses, which was incorporated in 1884 in accordance with the Nonprofit Corporation Law of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Whalen, Harrison and Schnell have suggested Rutherford invited and cultivated opposition for publicity purposes in a bid to attract dispossessed members of society, and to convince members that persecution from the outside world was evidence of the truth of their struggle to serve God. Anthony A. Hoekema, The Four Major Cults, Christian Science, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormonism, Seventh-day Adventism, William B. Eerdmans, 1963, New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, Development of Jehovah's Witnesses doctrine, Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses, Jehovah's Witnesses list of "serious sins", Jehovah's Witnesses and congregational discipline, Jehovah's Witnesses and blood transfusions, Sociological classifications of religious movements, Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Nazi Germany, Supreme Court cases involving Jehovah's Witnesses by country, Unfulfilled Watch Tower Society predictions, Jehovah's Witnesses' handling of child sex abuse, Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, "Following Faithful Shepherds with Life in View", "Jehovah's Word Is Alive - Highlights From Book Five of Psalms", "They Shall Know That a Prophet Was Among Them", "Identifying the Right Kind of Messenger", "Why the Jehovah's Witnesses Grow so Rapidly: A Theoretical Application", Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, "Imprisoned for Their Faith: Jehovah's Witnesses in Auschwitz", "When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed?—Part One", "Tanzania: Dons Fault Court Over Suspension of Students (Page 1 of 2)", "How much of our religion must we bring to school? Former Jehovah’s Witnesses: Spiritual Ronin, How To Tell Loved Ones You’re Leaving The Watchtower, Jehovah’s Witnesses And Cults: How To Spot Them, Jehovah’s Witnesses And Military Service: Part 1, Jehovah’s Witnesses And The Deity of Christ, Jehovah’s Witnesses Are Studying With My Friend, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Russell, and the Occult Connection. ", "Discipline That Can Yield Peaceable Fruit", "Display Christian Loyalty When a Relative Is Disfellowshipped", "Appendix: How to Treat a Disfellowshipped person", "Keep Your Distance When Danger Threatens", "Parents-What Future Do You Want for Your Children? Prince was photographed last summer at a conference for Jehovah's Witnesses, very much an ordinary member of the faith. [347], Various Bible scholars, including Bruce M. Metzger[372] and MacLean Gilmour,[373] have said that while scholarship is evident in New World Translation, its rendering of certain texts are inaccurate and biased in favor of Witness practices and doctrines. NATIONAL Restoration Party leader Stephen Nyirenda has pleaded with the Jehovah’s Witnesses to for once exercise their right to vote in the country’s quest to put leaders of integrity in office. Then a final test will take place when Satan is released to mislead perfect mankind. [402][416] In court cases in the United Kingdom and the United States the Watch Tower Society has been found to have been negligent in its failure to protect children from known sex offenders within the congregation. [141][142] Publications are also available online at the organization's official website. They believe Jesus' presence includes an unknown period beginning with his inauguration as king in heaven in 1914, and ending when he comes to bring a final judgment against humans on earth. ... loss of wealth sovereignty (Dan11:42-43), which creates a takeover, not a destruction based hegemony, for globalism based world In-depth analysis of the falling growth of Jehovah's Witnesses. Their religious activities are currently banned or restricted in some countries, including China, Vietnam, and some Islamic states. In the study, Jehovah's Witnesses ranked lowest in statistics for having an interest in politics. [219] Witnesses are assigned to a congregation in whose "territory" they usually reside and attend weekly services they refer to as "meetings" as scheduled by congregation elders. [269][270][271] Witnesses are taught that association with "worldly" people presents a "danger" to their faith,[272] and are instructed to minimize social contact with non-members to better maintain their own standards of morality. He went on to say that, "Jehovah's Witnesses ... are the recipients of prophecy, who regard themselves as invested with the interpretation of biblical writings. The sad truth is that the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society makes huge sums of money from the “sale” and distribution of these “aids”. [395], The Watch Tower Society rejects accusations that it is a false prophet,[396] stating that its interpretations are not inspired or infallible,[397][398][399] and that it has not claimed its predictions were "the words of Jehovah. "[98] Sociologist Andrew Holden states that most members who join millenarian movements such as Jehovah's Witnesses have made an informed choice. Jehovah’s Witnesses also have low household income (4%). [122][123][124], Each congregation has a body of appointed unpaid male elders and ministerial servants. [4] For the same year, they reported over 1.6 billion hours spent in preaching activity, and conducted Bible studies with more than 7.7 million individuals (including those conducted by Witness parents with their children[308][309]). [174], Jehovah's Witnesses emphasize the use of God's name, and they prefer the form Jehovah—a vocalization of God's name based on the Tetragrammaton. Jehovah’s Witnesses organization like just about any other cult believes that they are the only people who have God’s backing, and like any other cult … Bryan R. Wilson, "The Persistence of Sects". [220][221] Gatherings are opened and closed with hymns (which they call Kingdom songs) and brief prayers. [250] Extreme physical abuse, willful non-support of one's family, and what the denomination terms "absolute endangerment of spirituality" are considered grounds for legal separation. "[396] Chryssides has suggested that with the exception of statements about 1914, 1925 and 1975, the changing views and dates of the Jehovah's Witnesses are largely attributable to changed understandings of biblical chronology rather than to failed predictions. [301][302][303] The Watch Tower Society provides pre-formatted durable power of attorney documents prohibiting major blood components, in which members can specify which allowable fractions and treatments they will personally accept. ", "Jehovah's Witnesses — Publishing Titans", "Did You Know The Most Widely Circulated Magazine In The World Is The Monthly Publication Of Jehovah's Witnesses? The Watchtower Bible & Tract Society makes a huge deal about the fact that they don’t pass a collection plate around and then casts stones at other churches for doing it. The name was chosen to distinguish his group of Bible Students from other independent groups that had severed ties with the Society, as well as symbolize the instigation of new outlooks and the promotion of fresh evangelizing methods. [110] Witnesses do not use elder as a title to signify a formal clergy-laity division,[126] though elders may employ ecclesiastical privilege regarding confession of sins. Nationwide, there are approximately 1 million Jehovah’s Witnesses with 50,000 residing in the metropolitan Chicago area. [300], Though Jehovah's Witnesses do not accept blood transfusions of whole blood, they may accept some blood plasma fractions at their own discretion. Jehovah's Witnesses don't believe in sex before marriage - and dating isn't condoned unless they bring along a chaperone as well. [315], Controversy surrounding various beliefs, doctrines and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses has led to opposition from governments, communities, and religious groups. The organization produces a significant amount of literature as part of its evangelism activities. [22][23] Baptized individuals who formally leave are considered disassociated and are also shunned. [351][352][353][354] It also warns members to "avoid independent thinking", claiming such thinking "was introduced by Satan the Devil"[355][356] and would "cause division". 4,518,418 posts in 143,814 topics Friends. Prior to 2009, congregations met three times each week; these meetings were condensed, with the intention that members dedicate an evening for "family worship". The Watchtower Bible & Tract Society: In Crisis! [247][248], Divorce is discouraged, and remarriage is forbidden unless a divorce is obtained on the grounds of adultery, which they refer to as "a scriptural divorce". The congregation takes up the slack and sends a direct contribution for their literature consumption to the mother ship in Brooklyn, NY using guidelines for contribution based upon consumption. [114] Until late 2012, the Governing Body described itself as the representative[115][116] and "spokesman" for God's "faithful and discreet slave class" (then approximately 10,000 self-professed "anointed" Jehovah's Witnesses).
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