Jehovah's Witnesses is a christian religious movement with more than 8 million practitioners around the world. The followers of this religion believe in a only God called Jehovah and they are followers of his son, Jesus Christ.
Created in the 1870s by Charles Russell in the United States, this movement became popular with the publication and distribution of the magazine "The Watchtower", the world's largest religious publication, translated into over 300 languages.
Jehovah's Witnesses are known for their preaching work in public places and from house to house. They base all their attitudes on biblical teachings and take those precepts and principles to others.
Beliefs and Practices of Jehovah's Witnesses
The beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses apply to their entire way of life: relationships, work, health and leisure. It is necessary to follow the teachings seriously and those who publicly disagree with the doctrine are expelled from the group.
THE bible is the word of god and it is studied daily by the followers of this religion, the Bible studies can be done individually, or in groups. Weekly congregation meetings are held at Kingdom Halls or at the home of a member of the congregation.
Despite believing in and being followers of Jesus Christ, Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe that he is God. Jehovah is the only God, adored by these faithful. Unlike other Christian currents that believe in the idea of the Triune God, composed of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
This religion has a governing body, which is composed of experienced men considered brothers of Christ. This group is responsible for assisting in teaching and understanding the biblical precepts.
Becoming a Jehovah's Witness requires studying for months or even years, and people are only baptized after they confidently express their desire to be part of the group. Baptism is performed by immersing a person in water.
Jehovah's Witnesses usually do volunteer work for the benefit of the organization. They are in public places distributing literature free of charge or making house-to-house visits to preach.
know more about Jehovah and religious diversity.
Among the main beliefs of this religion are:
- Political and military neutrality: Jehovah's Witnesses should not be involved in political or military acts or groups. When called upon, Jehovah's Witnesses refuse to participate in military conflicts.
- sexual morality: sex before marriage is strictly prohibited, it is necessary to get married in order to have sex. Furthermore, masturbation is prohibited and condemned, masturbating is considered an impure act.
- No blood transfusion: based on the interpretation made by the Bible, Jehovah's Witnesses do not accept receiving the blood of other people, so these religious people do not accept this medical procedure.
Origin of Jehovah's Witnesses
This religion started in the United States in 1870 with the pastor Charles T. Russell, who organized Bible study groups. As a result of these studies, Russell started the publication of the magazine "The Watchtower" and thus the movement became popular.
To produce this magazine, Russell created the Zion Watch Tower Tract Society, which later became known as Jehovah's Witnesses. Today the religion has a worldwide coordinating structure and local congregations.
See also the meaning of Christian and Jesus.