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| <b>Jehovah's Witnesses</b> are a ] denomination founded in the ] by ]. His successor, Joseph Franklin Rutherford, oversaw the transition of their organization from a congregationalist structure into a centrally organized structure. The members are known for their racially-diverse, close-knit brotherhood and door-to-door evangelizing. | <b>Jehovah's Witnesses</b> are a ] denomination founded in the ] by ]. His successor, Joseph Franklin Rutherford, oversaw the transition of their organization from a congregationalist structure into a centrally organized structure. The members are known for their racially-diverse, close-knit brotherhood and door-to-door evangelizing. | ||
| They call their gathering places "Kingdom Halls" instead of ]es. Their most distinctive beliefs are a historical premillenialism (see ]), an interpretation of the year ] as marking the return of Christ as a King in heaven, and an ] christology. They hold the view that Jesus Christ and the archangel Michael are one and the same. |
They call their gathering places "Kingdom Halls" instead of ]es. Their most distinctive beliefs are a historical premillenialism (see ]), an interpretation of the year ] as marking the return of Christ as a King in heaven, and an ] christology. They hold the view that Jesus Christ and the archangel Michael are one and the same. | ||
| They derive all their doctrines from two axioms: the first, that a Creator exists and is characterized by love, justice, wisdom, and power. The second axiom is that the ] is the only current communication from the creator, ], to humankind. Their teachings are spread through two monthly journals, published simultaneously in more than 100 languages; the ''Awake'', which is a general-interest magazine covering many topics, and the ''Watchtower'', which focuses mainly on doctrine. They firmly believe in free will. They are encouraged to read the Bible regularly, to meditate on it, and to apply it in their lives. | They derive all their doctrines from two axioms: the first, that a Creator exists and is characterized by love, justice, wisdom, and power. The second axiom is that the ] is the only current communication from the creator, ], to humankind. Their teachings are spread through two monthly journals, published simultaneously in more than 100 languages; the ''Awake'', which is a general-interest magazine covering many topics, and the ''Watchtower'', which focuses mainly on doctrine. They firmly believe in free will. They are encouraged to read the Bible regularly, to meditate on it, and to apply it in their lives. | ||
Revision as of 14:49, 22 August 2002
Jehovah's Witnesses are a Christian denomination founded in the 1870s by Charles Taze Russell. His successor, Joseph Franklin Rutherford, oversaw the transition of their organization from a congregationalist structure into a centrally organized structure. The members are known for their racially-diverse, close-knit brotherhood and door-to-door evangelizing.
They call their gathering places "Kingdom Halls" instead of churches. Their most distinctive beliefs are a historical premillenialism (see Eschatology), an interpretation of the year 1914 as marking the return of Christ as a King in heaven, and an Arian christology. They hold the view that Jesus Christ and the archangel Michael are one and the same.
They derive all their doctrines from two axioms: the first, that a Creator exists and is characterized by love, justice, wisdom, and power. The second axiom is that the Bible is the only current communication from the creator, Jehovah, to humankind. Their teachings are spread through two monthly journals, published simultaneously in more than 100 languages; the Awake, which is a general-interest magazine covering many topics, and the Watchtower, which focuses mainly on doctrine. They firmly believe in free will. They are encouraged to read the Bible regularly, to meditate on it, and to apply it in their lives.
Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe in a soul that is separate from the body. This has several consequences for their beliefs about the afterlife. They believe that people who die merely cease to exist. Counter-balancing this, they believe that God can and will restore people to life and that God's intention is for humans to eventually live forever in a state of robust and perfect physical health on earth.
They believe that a group of 144,000 Christians, chosen through the ages since Christ's death, will be or have been restored to life in the form of spirit beings, and will rule with Christ in heaven after the event known as Armageddon. They believe that all other human beings will be restored to life (resurrected) in the thousand-year period directly after Armageddon, known as Judgement Day. During Judgement Day, God will provide a new communication to humankind which will supercede the Bible, and will gradually restore all humans to a state of physical perfection. By the end of that time, each individual will make clear their choice to submit to God or not. The ones that do not will die again without hope of future resurrection.
They have in the past been alert to the possibility of Armageddon happening at various times, such as 1914, 1918, 1920, 1925, and 1975, but that was never a matter of doctrine. According to their beliefs, the Bible says only God and Christ know the time for Armageddon, and that a Christian should be prepared for the event to happen at any moment.
They use a translation of the Bible that they comissioned in the early twentieth century, known as the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. Many Christian groups claim they mistranslate parts of the Bible to support their own beliefs; a particularly disputed point is their translation of John 1:1, where they refer to the Word as "a god", rather than the translation "God" preferred by many English-language versions of the Bible. For every objection raised, there are counter-arguments as to why their translation is valid.
Jehovah's Witnesses have frequently been involved in legal controversy. They have refused to salute flags, to pledge allegiance to states, to serve in military organizations, to have abortions, and less and less controversially, to receive blood transfusions. All of these acts are disallowed by their faith. All other medical issues not covered by their beliefs are left for individual members to decide for themselves. However, refusing needed medical treatment is frowned upon where the treatment doesn't involve partaking of blood.
Many Jehovah's Witnesses were killed by the Nazis during the Holocaust for their refusal to compromise their faith. At the same time many were sent to jail in the United States for refusing to participate in the military.
Jehovah's Witnesses adopted their current name in 1931. They were originally known as Bible Students. During the transition period under Rutherford, a group split off keeping this original name or becoming known as Russelites. Jehovah's Witnesses' headquarters is located in Brooklyn, New York. The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., is one of the corporations that function as their legal representative. As of the year 2000, Jehovah's Witnesses claim a world-wide membership of more than six million active individuals.
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