| Watchtower Bible & Tract Society (Jehovah's Witness) Opposition to the Jehovah's Witnesses Much criticism has been directed at the Society because of its unique beliefs, its severe criticism of other faith groups, its refusal to accept blood transfusions and its continued unsuccessful efforts to predict the date of Armageddon. Some examples of the opposition are: - In 1913, Russell was criticized for selling miracle wheat seed at an inflated price. When he and the seed was ridiculed in a local paper, he sued the newspaper and lost. Government witnesses testified that the wheat was of an inferior grade. - Rev. J .J .Ross of Hamilton ON wrote a pamphlet denouncing Russell's morals and qualifications for the ministry. At a subsequent libel trial, the defense attorney showed that Russell had lied when he claimed to have been ordained, to have had advanced theological training and to be familiar with Greek and other languages. He had left school at the age of 14. He was also shown to have perjured himself during the trial. - Their translation of the Bible has been criticized severely for changing the meanings of many key passages by insertion of words, such as other and a in places in a way that reverses the meaning of the verses. Some have claimed that the WTS's Translation Committee was devoid of credentials; all but one apparently were untrained in Biblical Greek and Hebrew. - They interpreted Matthew 24 and 24 as predicting that the start of Armageddon would occur in 1914. This was later delayed unti11918, 1920, 1925 and 1941. A recent prediction centered on 1975. They interpreted Psalms 90: 10 as defining the length of a generation to be 80 years. Since 1914 plus 80 equals 1994, they predicted Armageddon would occur around that year. 1975 looked likely as it was computed as the 6000th anniversary of the creation of Adam in the Garden of Eden in 4026 BCE. When it did not occur at the expected time, a new calculation has been offered. It is to be 6000 years after the creation of Eve; the WTS has not determined when that will be. They are now considering the term "generation" to mean an age of indeterminate length. They still hold to the belief that Armageddon will start soon, before the last of the Anointed Class die. Since the Anointed were all selected on or before 1935, they are now mostly over 70 years of age; their life expectancy is not great. Jehovah's Witnesses' References See the li5:.t of WTS books listed above. Other resources are: - Kingdom Ministry an in-house Watchtower monthly publication D G.A. Mather & L.A. Nichols, "DictionaryofCults, Sects, Religions and the Occult", Zondervan, Grand Rapids, (1993), P. 147-160 - W.A. Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults, Bethany House, Minneapolis, (1985- 36th Edition), P. 38-125 - R. Larson, Larson's New Book ofCults, Tyndale House, Wheaton IL, (1989), P. 268-273 Jehovah's Witnesses' Resources on the Net - There seem to be relatively few WWW sites maintained by Jehovah's Witnesses. The WTS has apparently restricted Internet participation by its members (ref. Kingdom Ministry, 1995-SEP). The following have disappeared or may vanish at any time: - Friends was a mailing lists for Jehovah's Witnesses. It appears to have (temporarily?) gone away or relocated. The contact for a subscription was: [email protected]. corn - A home page maintained by a Jehovah's Witness, which contains information and news related to the WTS can be seen at: htt1d:1 Iwww .afn.orgl~witnessL - A glossary of Jehovah's Witnesses' terms can be seen at: htt:llwww.eecs.umich.edul~lnewtol1/ lossa fleadme.html - There are many WWW sites established by ex-Jehovah's Witnesses or non-Jehovah's Witnesses. Some are humorous, others critical, a few downright paranoid. Some of the better ones are: - Tower Watch, a support group for ex-Jehovah's Witnesses is at: htt :1 Iwww.nano.nol~telemark/DnSEn .htInl - Jesus-Witnesses is a mailing list for Ex-Jehovah's Witnesses and other interested people (Christian or non-Christian). To subscribe, contact: [email protected] - A "Rebuttal to the Doctrines of Jehovahfs Witnesses" is at: htt :1 Iwww .realtime.netl~wdoudlicel.w .htInJ - "Giving the Jehovah's Witnesses a Broadside'i is at: htt .llfreethou ht.tamu.edulfreethou htlmark vuleticl.ehovahs witness.html D A WWW site helping Christians reaching out to Witnesses is at: htt :llwww.eskimo.com/~bar slindex.html - Some "How to Get Rid of a Jehovah 's Witness II humor can be read at: htt :llwww.dur.ac.ukl~d40557Icomed I.ehovah.html - A critical analysis of the BTS organization, beliefs and culture is at: ft :1 liclnet93 .iclnet.or j ublresourcesltextla Vwlloroan.html - A brief essay on the WTS from an English perspective is at: htt :llwww.observer.co.ukla-z-cultsl:.cults.html |
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