Religious Event Research Paper

I decided to research the Davenport Kingdom Hall of Jehovah Witnesses for this project. Although somewhat different from the views of mainstream Christianity, the church belongs to a Christian denomination. More than 8 million members of the organization worldwide are constantly involved in evangelism, and more than 20 million people attend an annual memorial service. The church members are governed by the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses, a body of leaders with headquarters in Warwick, New York. They are responsible for creating church doctrines based on their own interpretations of the Bible. I was initially drawn to the group by their commitment to evangelism characterized by the door-to-door preaching and circulation of religious literature such as Awake! and The Watchtower. Based on biblical teachings, the literature is reflective of the beliefs of Jehovah Witnesses. Similar to most of the reforming churches, the beliefs of Witnesses are based on the Bible and the lives led by early Christians. The Holy book is considered God’s mode of communication to human beings, having been inspired by Him. However, they have their version of the Bible known as the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. Their New Testament is known as the Christian Greek Scriptures, while the Old Testament is referred to as the Hebrew Scriptures. While their Christian beliefs bring the concept of the Holy trinity to life, the Witnesses believe that God (known as Jehovah) is the Father, and the only true God, while Jesus Christ is his first born son, and inferior to God, his creator. The Holy Spirit on the other is the active force of God, and not a person, as commonly referred to by other Christian doctrines.

Unlike other Christians, the Witnesses are of the belief that upon death, a person’s existence stops. For them, hell doesn’t exist because sinners do not exist after death, and it is not God’s nature to torture His people. Their belief in heaven is also non-existent because the anointed people will spend eternity in paradise. This will be situated on Earth, consisting not only Witnesses but billions of other believers so as to fulfill the original plan of God for humankind when he placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

While Jehovah Witnesses take part in medical treatment and shun faith healing, they do not accept blood transfusions because the Bible commands against the ingestion of blood. Additionally, the members of JW do not get involved in war or political issues. In the nations with mandatory national service, Witnesses opt for civilian service as opposed to military service.

Jehovah Witnesses don’t observe Easter, Christmas, or other holidays that they deem to have origins of paganism that are incompatible with Christian beliefs. The staunch Witnesses commonly make reference to their beliefs as "the truth," where they consider their followers to be "in the truth." According to them, the secular society is morally crooked under the devil’s influence. This leads to limited social associations with non-Witnesses, sometimes only left to missionary work.

Practices

All Witnesses with physical capability take part in missionary work which entails visiting people door-to-door to talk about the scripture with those they meet. They believe that successful discussions result in return trips, and may also lead to home Bible studies. The aim of missionary work is persuading those that do not believe in the rightness of their cause, so that they may eventually convert into being a JW.

Followers of Jehovah's Witnesses are supposed to accept the core values and norms of the movement, against which they could be disciplined. However, an individual must confess or be reported by two witnesses for or an allegation to be proved against them. This, they say, is in accordance with the teachings of the Bible. The transgressions considered to bear more eight and gravity are handled by quasi-judicial local hearings. After a confession or accusation of a sin or spiritual transgression, they undergo an intensive questioning by elders. The guilty receive punishments that range from spiritual constraints, public reprimands or by being expelled from the congregation, an act that that is referred to as 'disfellowshipping'. The latter is considered the Witnesses' stringiest form of discipline, and is often set aside for intentional apostasy or serious mistakes including adultery, drunkenness, or stealing. The punishment s based on teachings from 1 Corinthians 5, which advises believers to get rid of the wicked from their midst. It is critical because it helps in upholding the cleanliness and moral integrity of their faith. The Witnesses also consider this a form of love since it allows sinners to repent, upon which they can be admitted back to the fold. Published in 152 languages in semi-monthly or monthly editions, The Watchtower is a magazine for the Witnesses, and also the basic Bible study aid for the believers, containing a lot of doctrinal content.

Founded in the late 19th century by Charles Taze Russell, the group was formed from a Bible study movement. Major doctrinal and organizational amendments under Joseph Franklin Rutherford saw a change of name from Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society to Jehovah Witnesses in 1931. The move was largely aimed at distinguishing the group from other Bible Student groups, and symbolizing a break from the legacy of Russell’s traditions. Rutherford introduced the Theocratic Government that eliminated democratic elections as the way of choosing local leaders, opting instead for a centralized form of structure whose allegiance was regarded as obedience to God. The major focus of the movement was missionary work, a factor that highly contributed to the choice of new name for the church.

In line with their beliefs, the movement refused to be conscripted into the Allied Forces in WWI, for which they received dire consequences for conscientiously objecting to the war. Some got beaten up, others feathered and tarred, while another group lost employment. Successive administrators have led to significant changes which have seen the movement develop to its current state. Frederick W. Franz was responsible for the current edition of the Bible, the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.

The local congregation of the Kingdom Hall that I attended had approximately between 150- 200 members. Most of these Witnesses were people that I knew since they were from the surrounding community in which I also live. I noticed that several congregations shared the single Kingdom Hall by holding alternating meeting at various times of the day. The congregants were especially committed to the happenings at the church with apparent enthusiasm and commitment. I realized that religion occupied a great portion of their time and as they planned ahead for the weekly activities, I realized that they regularly attended meetings, read and studied their faith deeply. This was done both on a personal level and during home-group gatherings, not to mention when taking part in missionary work.

Works Cited

Religions. Customs. Web. http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/witnesses/customs/customs.shtml [Accessed 29th November 2017]

Religions. The Beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses and how they Differ from Mainstream Christianity. Web. http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/witnesses/beliefs/beliefs.shtml [Accessed 29th November 2017]