Understanding the Faith of the Jehovah’s Witnesses

by

Have you ever wondered about the beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses?  Here is a summary of their history and beliefs.

History

  • Begun by Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916) in 1872.
  • His family was a part of a Presbyterian church in Pittsburgh.
  • Russell had difficulty accepting the doctrine of an eternal hell.
  • This prompted him to deny eternal punishment, the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
  • In order to get out his controversial teachings, he began to publish what we now know as the Watchtower magazine.
  • The Watchtower printed 6,000 copies the first month. Its Brooklyn headquarters now prints 100,000 books and 800,000 copies of magazines daily.
  • Russell claimed that the Bible could only be understood based upon his own interpretations written within the Watchtower magazine.
  • After Russell’s death, Joseph Franklin Rutherford took over presidency of the Watch Tower Society.
  • In 1931, he officially changed the name of the organization to “The Jehovah’s Witnesses.”
  • They currently have over 4 million members worldwide.
  • 200,000 members join each year.
  • It takes 740 house calls to recruit 1 new member.
  • Jehovah’s Witnesses have several studies each week that train them in their doctrine.
  • The average Jehovah’s Witness is constantly indoctrinated with teaching and can easily confuse or convince the average Christian who is unprepared to defend his or her beliefs.

Beliefs

  • There is one God, Jehovah.
  • Jehovah’s first and only creation was Michael the archangel who would later turn into Jesus.
  • Jesus did not die on a cross and he did not rise physically.
  • There is no hell.
  • Good works are necessary for salvation.
  • Only 144,000 will get to enter heaven.
  • They forbid blood transfusion.
  • They refuse certain national and religious customs.

If you are interested in reading more, you can visit the blog as I write about Jehovah’s Witnesses.