Jehovah's Witnesses

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Jehovah's Witnesses, are a religious organization that is headquartered in the United States and legally known as the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. They use the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, their version of the Bible, to draw conclusions that do not match mainstream Christian thought, including denying the Trinity and denying the divinity of Christ.

History

The group originated in the 1870s with a movement called the Bible Students, founded by Charles Taze Russell. Beginning in 1870, C.T. Russell organized a Bible class to study the scriptures from the ground up. The study process involved raising a question, discussing the topic and reviewing all known related scriptures that the participants could find on the point. The results were recorded whether or not they matched long-standing thelogical viewpoints.

Witnesses are well known worldwide for their door-to-door preaching which features use of the Bible and distribution of The Watchtower and Awake! magazine. They do not celebrate holidays that are not discussed in the Bible or that they feel serve to exalt individuals, human organizations or national groups, believing them to be an affront to God (see below). This includes birthdays.

  • Jehovah's Witnesses do observe an annual celebration of the Last Supper, or Lord's Evening Meal (1 Corinthians 11:20). This event, which they refer to as the Memorial of Christ's Death, falls on the night of Nisan 14 which corresponds with the ancient Passover celebration observed by Jews.

Their position of political neutrality has led to their being well known for their refusal to pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America (or other governments) and participation in military service. Jehovah's Witnesses base their position on their understanding of Romans 13:1,5-7; Mark 12:17; and Acts 5:28, 29. Individual Witnesses are expected to be law abiding, tax paying citizens of the country in which they reside, but they do not vote.

  • Witnesses were victims of the Holocaust under Nazi Germany because of their refusal to serve in the German military. Opposition to the Witnesses has been manifested in recent years in such diverse countries as South Korea, Greece, Spain, Chile, and various republics of the former Soviet Union including Russia, Georgia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. There has been persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Quebec, Canada due to their refusal to hold loyality to a government during wartime.

Jehovah's Witnesses believe their faith is the restoration of the early Church. This belief is based on their attempts to align their organizational structure as closely as possible to their view of the Christian congregation of the first century. There is no clergy-laity distinction as all, male and female members, are considered to be ordained ministers at the time of baptism (note that Witnesses do not practice infant baptism).

Jehovah's Witnesses and Holidays

Jehovah's Witnesses base their refraining from celebrating many popular religious holidays on II Corinthians 6:14, 17 which states: "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers, for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? ... Therefore, 'Come out from among them, and be ye separate,' saith the Lord. 'And touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you.'" (King James Version) [1]

Although Jehovah's Witnesses, then known as International Bible Students, celebrated Christmas during the early 1900's, this practice stopped in 1926. [2] Since that time they have published information regarding the alledgedly "pagan" origins of other holidays such as Easter, New Year's, Halloween and others. Their sources have been varied, drawing upon The Encyclopædia Britannica, The Catholic Encyclopedia, The World Book Encyclopedia, The Encyclopedia Americana, and similar publicly available resources.

Regarding their position on secular holidays, Jehovah's Witnesses reference Christ's words at John 17:16, that his followers would be no part of the world. They also refrain from most celebrations that focus on individuals, such as birthdays, referencing scriptures such as Acts 10:25, 26; 12:21-23; Revelation 19:10.[3]

See also: Jehovah's Witnesses Beliefs

Controversy

Jehovah's Witnesses have had their share of controversy. Nathan H. Knorr (3rd president of the Watchtower Society) acknowledged that no human organization can be infallible, even Jehovah's Witnesses.

There has been ongoing controversy over the Witnesses' prohibition on blood transfusions, especially when they prohibit children from receiving life-saving transfusions, which has led many states and countries to override parents' authority in medical matters.

Links

Jehovah's Witnesses operate three official websites:

References

  1. ↑ The Watchtower, December 15, 1974 (p. 740).
  2. ↑ Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom(p. 198)
  3. ↑ Knowledge That Leads to Everlasting Life (p. 214)


Additional references

  • Ex-Jehovah's Witness Forum and Recovery Site. A resource providing information on opposing views with regards the Jehovah's Witness Organization. Discussion and Recovery site for former Jehovah's Witnesses; those considering leaving; or simply interested individuals.
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