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Beliefs And Practices Of Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-founded Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society in 1881 to organize and print the movement's publications. A leadership dispute after Russell's death resulted in several groups breaking away, with Joseph Franklin Rutherford retaining control of the Watch Tower Society and its properties. Rutherford made significant organizational and doctrinal changes, including adoption of the name ''Jehovah's witnesses'' in 1931 to distinguish the group from other Bible Student groups and symbolize a break with the legacy of Russell's traditions. In , Jehovah's Witnesses reported a peak membership of approximately worldwide. Jehovah's Witnesses are known for their evangelism, distributing literature such as ''The Watchtower'' and ''Awake!'', and for refusing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Restorationism
Restorationism, also known as Christian primitivism, is a religious perspective according to which the early beliefs and practices of the followers of Jesus were either lost or adulterated after Crucifixion of Jesus, his death and required a "restoration". It is a view that often "seeks to correct faults or deficiencies, in other branches of Christianity, by appealing to the primitive church as normative model". Efforts to restore an earlier, purer form of Christianity are frequently a response to denominationalism. As Rubel Shelly put it, "the motive behind all restoration movements is to tear down the walls of separation by a return to the practice of the original, essential and universal features of the Christian religion." Different groups have tried to implement the restorationist vision in a variety of ways; for instance, some have focused on the structure and practice of the church, others on the Christian ethics, ethical life of the church, and others on the direct expe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
