Jehovahs Witnesses Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers

Jehovahs Witnesses Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers Jehovahs Witnesses There is more to Jehovah's Witnesses than we may believe. When we think of them as people who go door to door ringing doorbells and talking about religion. This particular faith is a separate part of the religion related to Christianity. They have their own thoughts about life and after life. They also have their own views on issues dealing on a worldly basis. The founder of Jehovah's Witnesses is Charles Taze Russell. The faith is simple and is derived from Orthodox Christianity. This faith is led by the Watchtower Society, whose headquarter is in Brooklyn, New York. They believe in Almighty God, whom they refer to as Jehovah. They believe that Christ is God's son and is inferior to him. There will be a kingdom under Christ, and he will rule it in peace. They believe that the Earth as we know it today will be changed after the battle of Armageddon. At the end of everything, the wicked people will be destroyed, the good people will live on Earth, and 144,000 people will go to heaven (Fama 1). In 1884, Russell founded the Watchtower Society. This was the early name for Jehovah's Witnesses. This society is what leads and governs the religion. The Society believes that they are the sole channel between God and humanity (Campbell 1). The headquarter for the Witnesses is located in Brooklyn, New York. Jehovah's Witnesses are expected to go to meetings at local Society meetings within their own local community at least three times a week. The Society is what the followers are a part of. Going to meetings held by the Society is a big part of their faith. It makes up and determines many laws for the followers. One major issue that the Watchtower Society is to make predictions. They had many predictions in the past. A few are as follows: In 1874, they believed that Jesus had come back to Earth to set up his invisible kingdom. In 1914, Jesus would judge the Earth and its good and bad people; they then looked forward to momentous events in 1918 (Campbell1). By the time it hit 1925, and nothing supernatural happened, the Watchtower Society had lost three-fourths of its members (Campbell 1). The Society makes predictions for the battle of Armageddon and the ending of the world. They believe that a generation lasts eighty years. After each marking point of a generation something can happen. The ending of the last generation was in 1994, 1914 plus 1998 equals eighty, eighty years after the prediction was expected. They say this because they believe that the average lifespan of a human in eighty years according to the psalms. The Society does a lot of ruling and regulates the religion (Campbell 2). The followers are expected to abide by the laws of the Watchtower Society, and there are no exceptions for this. They are to do what they are advised and told to do so. Any member not obeying can be reported to by another member and later be shunned or get a punishment set by the Watchtower Society (Shaun 1). The role of Christ in this religion is quite large. They believe that Christ is the Son of God and inferior to him, and that Christ was first of God's creations. They also believe that Christ's human life was paid as ransom for obedient humans. They say that Jesus inspected their organization in 1919 and found a faithful and discreet slave class, dispensing fine spiritual food to true believers (Fama 1). Right now they believe that Christ is present, but in the form of a spirit. According to the witnesses Christ's kingdom is here but invisible to all. A lot of what they believe about life after death has to do with him. They believe that his death, being sacrificed, saved humanity and this sacrifice is what is letting humanity survive today (Fama 1). Although they do not believe that Jesus has died on a cross, but rather he died on a stake. This is why it is prohibited for them to wear or own a cross because it goes against what they believe about Jesus dying on a stake. One aspect important to this faith is