Post by JEM on Jul 8, 2007 23:15:18 GMT
A Brief Summary History of the JEHOVAHS WITNESSES
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who are active in the Saffron Walden District and who meet at their own premises off Rowntree Way, formerly the Club House of the St Raphael Club which they bought in 2011.
Introduction
#########
Jehovah's Witnesses grew out of the 19th-century American Adventist tradition.
Note: this article uses the term "Witnesses" for clarity throughout, even though the term was not widely used before 1931.
Charles Taze Russell.
===============
1880s: organised by Charles Taze Russell
It was organised by Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916), who came from a Presbyterian family in Pittsburgh. He was fascinated by religion from his school days, and discovered Adventist beliefs when he was 17.
He was also a Freemason as was John Smith the founder of the Mormons. Freemasons are a Satanic cult with rites and symbols associated with Satanism, including the Pyramid and the Eye of Soros. The Freemasonic god is Baphomet.
Another of the associated symbols of satanism is the scull and crossbones and this occurs as a symbol within Roman Catholicism which replaced true Christianity by the 7th century AD and dominated the planet until the Protestant Reformation in the 15th - 16th centuries delaying the evangelism of the planet. .
In 1875 Russell was introduced to the idea that Christ had returned invisibly to earth in 1874, and soon decided to devote his life to faith. He started Bible study groups and a religious publishing company.
Pastor Russell, as he was often called, launched the magazine Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence in 1879.
The group continued to preach, convert and publish its magazine and as the membership rose it expanded into neighbouring states.
By 1880 there were scores of congregations around the United States and the following year the Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society was formed.
In 1884 it was incorporated, with Russell as president, and the name was eventually changed to the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.
Followers of the movement called themselves Bible Students at that time.
1890: first hymn book
===============
In 1890 the Witnesses published Poems and Hymns of the Millennial Dawn which included over 300 hymns and a number of poems.
1900s: growth
===========
By 1909 the work had become international, and the society's headquarters were moved to its present location in Brooklyn, New York.
Printed sermons were syndicated in newspapers, and by 1913 these were being printed in four languages in 3,000 newspapers in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Russell predicted that the anointed would be called to heaven by 1914, although he later amended this date.
Joseph F Rutherford
###############
After Russell's death in 1916 the movement was led by Joseph Franklin Rutherford (1869-1942).
Rutherford made big changes in the organisation's staff and certain changes to its doctrines. This led some followers to split from the movement and form their own groups.
1916: Witnesses persecuted for wartime pacifism
===================================
During the First World War, Witnesses in Britain, Canada and the USA suffered from government action against people who refused conscription into the military forces
.
Rutherford and seven of his colleagues were sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiring to promote draft evasion during a time of war.
The convictions were overturned a year later, but the experience hardened Rutherford's heart against public institutions and he referred to politics, commerce, and religion as "the three chief instruments of the Devil".
Rutherford thought deeply about a key passage in Romans 13, and concluded that the proper interpretation of the passage no longer required Witnesses to cooperate with secular law unless those laws were in accordance with God's laws.
The relationship between the Witnesses and the civil authorities deteriorated further as a result.
1920s: organisational changes
---------------------------------------
Rutherford introduced what he called "Theocratic Government" to the organisation.
This downgraded democratic elections as a way of choosing local elders, and brought in a highly centralised structure, obedience to which was considered obedience to God.
Rutherford focussed the movement on missionary work, and soon every member who wanted to keep their status had to take part in visiting non-members to try and convert them.
1931: a new name
==============
In 1931, to reflect its greater emphasis on the public witness of missionary work, the movement adopted the title "Jehovah's Witnesses".
1930s and 40s Germany: Persecution by the Nazis
Witnesses had been unpopular in Germany in World War I and this continued.
The Nazis were very hostile to the Witnesses, and punished them under conscription and other laws.
The Witnesses, who had initially tried to reach an accommodation with the German Government to keep the freedom to do their missionary work, were intransigent. They refused to give the Nazi salute, and refused to salute the swastika (regarding that as idolatry).
By the second half of World War II over 50% of German Witnesses had been sent to concentration camps. Overall, one in four German Witnesses died during the Nazi period.
1940s US and UK: Resistance to conscription
================================
The Witnesses resisted conscription into the Allied forces in World War II. In America they refused at that time to accept any alternatives on the grounds that enforced civilian work was also conscription.
Witnesses suffered badly for taking this stand. Some were beaten up, others tarred and feathered, while yet others lost their jobs. Many went to jail: Witnesses made up 75% of those imprisoned as conscientious objectors in the USA.
##################################
who are active in the Saffron Walden District and who meet at their own premises off Rowntree Way, formerly the Club House of the St Raphael Club which they bought in 2011.
Introduction
#########
Jehovah's Witnesses grew out of the 19th-century American Adventist tradition.
Note: this article uses the term "Witnesses" for clarity throughout, even though the term was not widely used before 1931.
Charles Taze Russell.
===============
1880s: organised by Charles Taze Russell
It was organised by Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916), who came from a Presbyterian family in Pittsburgh. He was fascinated by religion from his school days, and discovered Adventist beliefs when he was 17.
He was also a Freemason as was John Smith the founder of the Mormons. Freemasons are a Satanic cult with rites and symbols associated with Satanism, including the Pyramid and the Eye of Soros. The Freemasonic god is Baphomet.
Another of the associated symbols of satanism is the scull and crossbones and this occurs as a symbol within Roman Catholicism which replaced true Christianity by the 7th century AD and dominated the planet until the Protestant Reformation in the 15th - 16th centuries delaying the evangelism of the planet. .
In 1875 Russell was introduced to the idea that Christ had returned invisibly to earth in 1874, and soon decided to devote his life to faith. He started Bible study groups and a religious publishing company.
Pastor Russell, as he was often called, launched the magazine Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence in 1879.
The group continued to preach, convert and publish its magazine and as the membership rose it expanded into neighbouring states.
By 1880 there were scores of congregations around the United States and the following year the Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society was formed.
In 1884 it was incorporated, with Russell as president, and the name was eventually changed to the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.
Followers of the movement called themselves Bible Students at that time.
1890: first hymn book
===============
In 1890 the Witnesses published Poems and Hymns of the Millennial Dawn which included over 300 hymns and a number of poems.
1900s: growth
===========
By 1909 the work had become international, and the society's headquarters were moved to its present location in Brooklyn, New York.
Printed sermons were syndicated in newspapers, and by 1913 these were being printed in four languages in 3,000 newspapers in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Russell predicted that the anointed would be called to heaven by 1914, although he later amended this date.
Joseph F Rutherford
###############
After Russell's death in 1916 the movement was led by Joseph Franklin Rutherford (1869-1942).
Rutherford made big changes in the organisation's staff and certain changes to its doctrines. This led some followers to split from the movement and form their own groups.
1916: Witnesses persecuted for wartime pacifism
===================================
During the First World War, Witnesses in Britain, Canada and the USA suffered from government action against people who refused conscription into the military forces
.
Rutherford and seven of his colleagues were sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiring to promote draft evasion during a time of war.
The convictions were overturned a year later, but the experience hardened Rutherford's heart against public institutions and he referred to politics, commerce, and religion as "the three chief instruments of the Devil".
Rutherford thought deeply about a key passage in Romans 13, and concluded that the proper interpretation of the passage no longer required Witnesses to cooperate with secular law unless those laws were in accordance with God's laws.
The relationship between the Witnesses and the civil authorities deteriorated further as a result.
1920s: organisational changes
---------------------------------------
Rutherford introduced what he called "Theocratic Government" to the organisation.
This downgraded democratic elections as a way of choosing local elders, and brought in a highly centralised structure, obedience to which was considered obedience to God.
Rutherford focussed the movement on missionary work, and soon every member who wanted to keep their status had to take part in visiting non-members to try and convert them.
1931: a new name
==============
In 1931, to reflect its greater emphasis on the public witness of missionary work, the movement adopted the title "Jehovah's Witnesses".
1930s and 40s Germany: Persecution by the Nazis
Witnesses had been unpopular in Germany in World War I and this continued.
The Nazis were very hostile to the Witnesses, and punished them under conscription and other laws.
The Witnesses, who had initially tried to reach an accommodation with the German Government to keep the freedom to do their missionary work, were intransigent. They refused to give the Nazi salute, and refused to salute the swastika (regarding that as idolatry).
By the second half of World War II over 50% of German Witnesses had been sent to concentration camps. Overall, one in four German Witnesses died during the Nazi period.
1940s US and UK: Resistance to conscription
================================
The Witnesses resisted conscription into the Allied forces in World War II. In America they refused at that time to accept any alternatives on the grounds that enforced civilian work was also conscription.
Witnesses suffered badly for taking this stand. Some were beaten up, others tarred and feathered, while yet others lost their jobs. Many went to jail: Witnesses made up 75% of those imprisoned as conscientious objectors in the USA.