The
group now known as the Jehovah's Witnesses was founded in 1879 by
Charles Taze Russell, a Pennsylvania businessman. Russell's Adventist
background and study of the Bible led him to conclude, among other
things, that the second coming of Christ would occur in 1914, that
Hellfire did not exist, and God was not a Trinity.
Jehovah's
Witnesses adhere to Russell's teachings on Hell and the Trinity and
emphasize the immanent End Times, clean and moral living, the
equality of all races, and adherence to the teachings of the Bible.
They reject blood transfusions because of the New Testament command
to abstain from blood and do not vote or serve in the military.
Witnesses reject the symbol of the cross, do not celebrate any
traditional Christian holidays, and do not celebrate
birthdays.
Jehovah Witness Beliefs
Witnesses use a
special translation of the Bible known as the New World Translation.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe in one God, the Creator of the universe
and the God of the Hebrew and Christian scriptures. They stress the
fact that God has revealed his personal name to humanity, which is
Jehovah. Jehovah has a spirit body and lives in heaven, but sees all
things. Jehovah's Witnesses reject the doctrine of the
Trinity.
Witnesses believe that Jesus was not God, but rather
God's first creation. Jesus existed in pre-human form as God's agent
of creation and God's chief spokesman, the Word, and took on human
form as the man Jesus by means of a virgin birth. In accordance with
their rejection of the doctrine of the Trinity, Witnesses disagree
that the Holy Spirit is one of the three Persons in the Godhead.
Instead, they believe the Holy Spirit to be God's active
force.
Jehovah's Witnesses trace humanity's current situation
to the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden. The disobedience of the
first couple caused death to enter the world, and as a result, all
human beings get sick, age, and die. This is against God's plan,
which was to make the entire Earth a paradise. Witnesses do not
emphasize the spiritual consequences of Adam's sin on humanity nor
they teach that human free will has been damaged. Rather, Witnesses
expect and encourage their members to strive to do God's will and
remain pure in his eyes.
Jehovah's Witnesses, believe that the
purpose of life is to earn the right to participate in God's future
Kingdom on earth, and to help others to do so. Witnesses therefore
focus on living a moral, acceptable life before God and witnessing
about their faith to others. Witnesses believe that salvation was
made possible through Christ's death, who made up for the sin of
Adam. But eternal life comes not simply from faith in Jesus,
but from learning about Jehovah and obeying his requirements, proving
oneself to be God's loyal subject, and listening to the Kingdom
message and acting on it.
Jehovah's Witnesses deny the
existence of hell. Instead, they hold that the souls of the wicked
will be annihilated. The death that Adam brought into the world is
spiritual as well as physical, and only those who gain entrance into
the Kingdom of God will exist eternally. However, this division will
not occur until Armageddon, when all people will be resurrected and
given a chance to gain eternal life. In the meantime, the dead are
conscious of nothing.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that only
144,000 people will go to heaven to rule with God and Jesus. The
remainder of the righteous will enjoy paradise on earth - a restored
Garden of Eden in which there is no sickness, old age, death or
unhappiness.
Jehovah's Witnesses place a high value on moral
living, teaching that believers will be saved to eternal life only if
they continue to adhere to all of God's requirements and that persons
who practice things that God says are bad will not inherit God's
kingdom. Those who have committed serious sins before their baptism,
or even after, will be forgiven by Jehovah and welcomed in the
congregation so long as they abandon their sin completely. However,
even after full restoration, such repentant sinners will probably
never be eligible to lead the congregation as elders.
One of
the more well-known practices of the Jehovah's Witnesses is their
non-celebration of holidays. All holidays, including birthdays, are
considered pagan holidays and may not be observed by Witnesses.
Jehovah's Witnesses condemn immorality, adultery, homosexuality,
bestiality, incest, and the use of pornography as serious sins before
God.
Jehovah's Witnesses are allowed to drink a little beer
or wine, but over drinking and drunkenness is regarded as a sin that
also has negative consequences on one's health and family life.
Jehovah's Witnesses condemn abortion, teaching that life
begins at conception and life is sacred to Jehovah.
Jehovah's
Witnesses refuse to participate in wars, but on primarily religious,
not moral grounds. War will be right to participate in when it is
conducted by Jehovah himself at the Battle of Armageddon
