Jehovah's Witnesses

The organisation that is popularly known as Jehovah's Witnesses can be traced back to Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916), who organised a group of young men to study the Bible. He founded Zion's Watch Tower Society in 1874, for the distribution of Bibles and tracts, and his magazine Zion's Watch Tower (now The Watchtower) was first published in 1879, and used by numerous congregations (ecclesias) in the Adventist tradition for study and worship. The second president, Joseph Franklin Rutherford (1869-1942) made the federation of congregations into a unified organisation. Rutherford introduced the name Jehovah's Witnesses in 1931.The third president, Nathan H. Knorr (1905-1977) did much to expand the Society, increasing its presence to 186 lands. From its inception, the Watch Tower organisation has firmly believed in the inerrancy of Christian scripture, which Russell believed did not support the beliefs of mainstream Christian churches, in particular hell and eternal punishment, predestination, the deity of Christ, and the Trinity. Russell believed emphatically that Jesus Christ was the ransom sacrifice for Adam's sin, and the biblical prophecy predicted events in human history as well as the future, culminating in the final battle of Armageddon. All these doctrines continue to be held by Jehovah's Witnesses, although they acknowledge that some prophetic expectations have been unfulfilled: Rutherford expected the ancient patriarchs to return in 1925, and there was an expectation that Armageddon would commence in 1975. The year 1914 remains a pivotal year for Jehovah's Witnesses, who believe that Christ cast out Satan from heaven at that time, and commenced the gathering of the 144,000 "anointed class" who would reign with Christ there. In 1935 Rutherford distinguished between the anointed ones and the "great crowd" – both mentioned in the Book of Revelation – who would enjoy an everlasting paradise on earth. Apart from these distinctive doctrines, Jehovah's Witnesses have proved controversial for refusing to take part in military service, remaining neutral in matters of politics. They believe that human ills can only be ended by Jehovah putting an end to the present system. Witnesses are also renowned for the refusal to accept blood transfusion, believing it to violate God's command to Noah (Genesis 9:3-4), and reinforced at the first Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15:28-29). Jehovah's Witnesses also attract attention for their refusal to participate in traditional religious and cultural festivals, such as Christmas, Easter, saints' days, and personal birthdays. They practise adult baptism by total immersion, and observe annually the Memorial of Christ's death. They firmly maintain that the Watch Tower Society exclusively teaches the truth, and that men and women should be encouraged to leave other religious organisations. Members are expected to engage in evangelising (which they call "publishing") by going house-to-house in pairs, or taking their teachings into public places with literature carts. There are just over 9 million publishers worldwide. Worship is at Kingdom Halls, which are unpretentious buildings devoid of any artwork, and currently takes place twice weekly. Kingdom Halls are overseen by elders and ministerial servants, and these offices are exclusively open to men. Women do not take part in the governance or preaching at meetings. Elders maintain discipline within congregations, having power to disfellowship offenders, who must then be avoided by all until they repent and are reinstated. The Governing Body, based at Warwick, New York, is the ultimate authority for matters of doctrine and governance. Their principal magazines are The Watchtower and Awake!, previously published twice monthly, but now less frequently, since the Society wishes to direct the public to its website JW.org.