Jehovah's Witnesses

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Jehovah's Witnesses

Otherwise known as the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, Jehovah's Witnesses are one of the largest, and among the most prominent, of sectarian movements arising out of Christianity in the nineteenth century.

With approximately 5.5 million followers worldwide and almost a million adherents in America alone, Jehovah's Witnesses are popularly known for their fervent opposition to war and military service and to important medical procedures such as blood transfusions, skin grafts, and organ transplants. They also gained notoriety throughout the twentieth century with their predictions of Armageddon, the final battle between God and the legions of Satan, and the end of the world.

The phrase "Jehovah's Witnesses" is taken from the following passage in the Book of Isaiah: " 'You are my witnesses,' says [Jehovah]." (Isaiah 43:10, Revised Standard Version). The word "Jehovah" derives from an early English transliteration of the Hebrew title for the Deity. The word today is generally rendered by Biblical translators and scholars as "Yahweh," but Jehovah's Witnesses hold that the earlier pronunciation is accurate. Moreover, they maintain that "Jehovah" is the one, true, proper name for the Deity. Jehovah's Witnesses reject a number of the main tenets of orthodox Christianity, specifically the doctrine of the Trinity and the belief that Jesus was equal with God. Instead they look upon Jesus as an incarnation of the Archangel Michael, a created being.

The movement that later became known as Jehovah's Witnesses began with a Bible fellowship in Pennsylvania founded by Charles Taze Russell (1852–1916) shortly after the Civil War. These early "Russellites" radically reinterpreted traditional Protestant doctrine in light of what they took to be the proper interpretation of Scripture. Incorporated in the 1880s as Zion's Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, the movement had grown by the advent of World War I to a sizable sect of Christianity. The sect adopted the name Jehovah's Witnesses in 1931 to avoid confusion with other Bible-based associations.

Jehovah's Witnesses, as in the Protestant faith, recognize the twin sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper. However, they only celebrate the Lord's Supper once a year as a "memorial" to Christ's death. The memorial service, which has attracted as many as eleven million people on a global scale at any given time, usually coincides with the Jewish holiday Passover.

Jehovah's Witnesses uphold the same strict posture as fundamentalist Christian groups concerning the infallibility of Scripture, the condemnation of abortion, the status of women, and the prohibition of homosexuality and sexual relationships apart from marriage. But they are even more rigorous when it comes to observing what they consider "pagan" celebrations such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, and the Fourth of July. Jehovah's Witnesses can be excommunicated for certain practices or observances that are an accepted part of modern, secular society. Jehovah's Witnesses do not have a weekly Sabbath.

The leadership and governance structure of Jehovah's Witnesses is distinctive among twentieth-century religious movements. Those who belong to Jehovah's Witnesses are not called "members" in the normal sense of the term, but "pioneers" and "publishers." The distinction between these two groups is based on the amount of time each spends going door to door involved in the pursuit of evangelism. There is no formal ministry or clerical hierarchy. All Jehovah's Witnesses are expected to proselytize. The most intensive practitioners are the "pioneers." "Regular pioneers," the organization's elite, commit to a minimum of one thousand hours per year of spreading the word. At the low end, "publishers" spend about one hour a week.

The congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses are known as Kingdom Halls. Kingdom Halls are under the leadership and authority of elders and "overseers." Groups of twenty congregations are termed "circuits." Circuits are contained within districts, which are included within branches and zones. The supreme headquarters for Jehovah's Witnesses is in Brooklyn, New York.

Besides the reading of Scripture, the worship and evangelism of Jehovah's Witnesses is built around articles in their Watchtower magazine.

Jehovah's Witnesses sponsor missionary activity in almost every nation on Earth and recently have been especially active in the former Soviet Union, where they have reportedly made about a hundred thousand converts. After the Russian parliament passed legislation in 1997 restricting recruiting efforts by "nontraditional" religious groups, prosecutors in that country targeted Jehovah's Witnesses in particular. Jehovah's Witnesses also have clashed with both religious and political authorities over their recruitment policies in the State of Israel.

The theology of Jehovah's Witnesses centers on their unique brand of eschatology. They believe that Armageddon is close at hand, and have predicted its arrival on various occasions, including the years 1914, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941, and 1975. The failure of these predictions to prove true has been an ongoing source of tension between Jehovah's Witnesses and the rest of American Christianity. According to Jehovah's Witnesses' beliefs, Christ returned in 1914 and was enthroned as King of Kings and Lord of Lords but his kingdom remains invisible and is peopled by the 144,000 members of the elect mentioned in the Book of Revelation. In addition, Jesus' enthronement resulted in the expulsion of Satan from Heaven and his fall to Earth, unleashing the woes of the twentieth century.

World War I forced Jehovah's Witnesses to confront the issue of obedience to the state. They were pacifists from the outset, and the war experience prompted a hardening of their views on the relationship between believers and the government. Jehovah's Witnesses not only refuse to support war, even indirectly, they also will not salute the flag or take loyalty oaths. Their overtly "unpatriotic" attitudes have made them objects of fierce persecution in many different countries and principals in numerous court tests of the meaning of religious freedom in the United States.

Various critics and ex-members in recent years have wrongly labeled Jehovah's Witnesses a "cult." These accusations are usually in response to the demanding system of administration, doctrine, and morality that Jehovah's Witnesses exercise over their flock. Cults as a rule are focused on the charismatic leadership of a single individual, or small cadre of individuals. The historical strength of Jehovah's Witnesses, on the other hand, has been their ability to mobilize advocates at the grassroots level without reliance on any "cult of personality."

The rapid expansion of Jehovah's Witnesses, both inside and outside the United States, can probably be explained by its message concerning the surety of redemption for those caught up fearfully in the apocalyptic currents of the twentieth century. Within the United States the movement has spread rapidly among both white and African-American populations. As old social and economic orders crumble, especially in the Third World, the appeal of Jehovah's Witnesses will most likely continue to accelerate.