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Jehovah's Witness
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 refusi ... [...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] |
Nontrinitarian
Nontrinitarianism is a form of Christianity that rejects the orthodox Christian theology of the Trinity—the belief that God is three distinct hypostases or persons who are coeternal, coequal, and indivisibly united in one being, or essence (from the Ancient Greek ). Certain religious groups that emerged during the Protestant Reformation have historically been known as antitrinitarian. According to churches that consider the decisions of ecumenical councils final, trinitarianism was definitively declared to be Christian doctrine at the 4th-century ecumenical councils, that of the First Council of Nicaea (325), which declared the full divinity of the Son, and the First Council of Constantinople (381), which declared the divinity of the Holy Spirit. In terms of number of adherents, nontrinitarian denominations comprise a small minority of modern Christians. After the denominations in the Oneness Pentecostal movement, the largest nontrinitarian Christian denominations are the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conscientious Objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–industrial complex due to a crisis of conscience. In some countries, conscientious objectors are assigned to an alternative civilian service as a substitute for conscription or military service. A number of organizations around the world celebrate the principle on May 15 as International Conscientious Objection Day. On March 8, 1995, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights resolution 1995/83 stated that "persons performing military service should not be excluded from the right to have conscientious objections to military service". This was re-affirmed on April 22, 1998, when resolution 1998/77 recognized that "persons lreadyperforming military service may ''develop'' conscientious objections". History Many conscientious objectors h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Awake!
''Awake!'' is an illustrated religious magazine published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. It is considered to be a companion magazine of '' The Watchtower'', and is distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses. The Watch Tower Society reports a worldwide circulation of about 12.8 million copies per issue in 252 languages. History The magazine was originally published bimonthly from October 1, 1919, under the title ''The Golden Age''. It was founded for use in the Bible Students' new door-to-door ministry, though the founder of the movement, Charles Taze Russell, had indicated in his will that the Watch Tower Society would not publish any periodicals other than ''The Watch Tower''. Clayton J. Woodworth was editor of the magazine, and later went on to serve on the boards of several corporations of Jehovah's Witnesses. On October 6, 1937, the magazine was renamed ''Consolation'' and continued to be published biweekly until July 31, 1946. On August 22, 1946, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Watchtower
''The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom'', or simply known as The Watchtower, is an illustrated religious magazine, published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. Jehovah's Witnesses distribute ''The Watchtower—Public Edition'', along with its companion magazine, '' Awake!''. The Watch Tower Society reports a circulation of 21.7 million per issue for ''The Watchtower—Public Edition'' in 444 languages, with one new issue produced annually. ''The Watchtower—Study Edition'', used at congregation meetings, is published monthly. History The magazine was started by Charles Taze Russell in July 1879 under the title ''Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence''. According to its first issue, the magazine's original purpose was to draw attention to Russell's belief that people of the time were "living 'in the last days' 'the day of the Lord'—'the end' of the Gospel age," and that "the dawn of the 'new' age, are facts not only disc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evangelism
Evangelism, or witnessing, is the act of sharing the Christian gospel, the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is typically done with the intention of converting others to Christianity. Evangelism can take several forms, such as personal conversations, preaching, media, and is especially associated with missionary work. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are in their home communities or living as missionaries in the field, although some Christian traditions refer to such people as ''missionaries'' in either case. Some Christian traditions consider evangelists to be in a leadership position; they may be found preaching to large meetings or in governance roles. In addition, Christian groups who encourage evangelism are sometimes known as evangelistic or ''evangelist''. Etymology The word ''evangelist'' comes from the Koine Greek word (transliterated as ''euangelion'') via Latinised ''evangelium'' as used in the canonic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Watch Tower Society Presidency Dispute (1917)
A dispute developed in 1917 within the leadership of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society following the death of society president Charles Taze Russell and the election of legal counsel Joseph Franklin Rutherford as his successor. An acrimonious battle ensued between Rutherford and four of the society's seven directors, who accused him of autocratic behavior and sought to reduce his powers. Rutherford claimed the dissident directors had formed a conspiracy to seize control of the society and overcame the challenge by gaining a legal opinion that his four opposers had not been legally appointed. He subsequently replaced them with four new sympathetic directors. The four ousted directors later gained 12 legal opinions that Rutherford's actions were unlawful. The leadership crisis divided the Bible Student community and helped contribute to the loss of one-seventh of the Watch Tower adherents by 1919. Origins of the dispute Watch Tower Society president Charles Taze Russell d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society
The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania is a Non-stock corporation, non-stock, not-for-profit organization headquartered in Warwick, New York. It is the main legal entity used worldwide by Jehovah's Witnesses to direct, administer, and disseminate doctrines for the group and is often referred to by members of the denomination simply as "the Society". It is the parent organization of a number of Watch Tower subsidiaries, including the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., Watchtower Society of New York and the International Bible Students Association. The number of voting shareholders of the corporation is limited to between 300 and 500 "mature, active and faithful" male Jehovah's Witnesses. About 5,800 Jehovah's Witnesses provide voluntary unpaid labor, as members of a Jehovah's Witnesses religious order, religious order, in three large Watch Tower Society facilities in New York City, New York. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum
The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum () is a museum on the site of the Nazi German Auschwitz concentration camp in Oświęcim, Poland. The site includes the main concentration camp at Auschwitz I and the remains of the concentration and extermination camp at Auschwitz II-Birkenau. Both were developed and run by Nazi Germany during its occupation of Poland in 1939–1945. The Polish government has preserved the site as a research centre and in memory of the 1.1 million people who died there, including 960,000 Jews, during World War II and the Holocaust. It became a World Heritage Site in 1979. Piotr Cywiński is the museum's director. Overview The museum was created in April 1946 by Tadeusz Wąsowicz and other former Auschwitz prisoners, acting under the direction of Poland's Ministry of Culture and Art. It was formally founded on July 2, 1947 by an act of the Polish parliament. The site consists of in Auschwitz I and in Auschwitz II, which lies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The American Heritage Dictionary
''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' (''AHD'') is a dictionary of American English published by HarperCollins. It is currently in its fifth edition (since 2011). Before HarperCollins acquired certain business lines from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2022, the family of American Heritage dictionaries had long been published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and its predecessor Houghton Mifflin. The first edition appeared in 1969, an outgrowth of the editorial effort for Houghton Mifflin's ''American Heritage'' brand of history books and journals. The dictionary's creation was spurred by the controversy during the 1960s over the perceived permissiveness of the ''Webster's Third New International Dictionary'' (1961). A college dictionary followed several years later. The main dictionary became the flagship title as the brand grew into a family of various dictionaries, a dictionary-thesaurus combination, and a usage guide. History James Parton (1912–2001) was a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pew Research Center
The Pew Research Center (also simply known as Pew) is a nonpartisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the world. It also conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, random sample survey research, and panel based surveys, media content analysis, and other empirical social science research. The Pew Research Center states it does not take policy stances. It is a subsidiary of the Pew Charitable Trusts and a charter member of the American Association of Public Opinion Research's Transparency Initiative. History In 1990, the Times Mirror Company founded the Times Mirror Center for the People & the Press as a research project, tasked with conducting polls on politics and policy. Andrew Kohut became its director in 1993, and the Pew Charitable Trusts became its primary sponsor in 1996, when it was renamed the Pew Research Center for the Pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ontario Consultants On Religious Tolerance
The Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance (OCRT) was a group in Kingston, Ontario that was dedicated to the promotion of religious tolerance through their website, ReligiousTolerance.org from 1995 to 2023. History of the group and its website Bruce A. Robinson, who is described as the "chief architect" of the organization, has presented a history of the group and its website in the book ''Religion on the Internet: Research Prospects and Promises'' (edited by Jeffrey K. Hadden and Douglas E. Cowan). In 2008, the group consisted of an Agnostic, an Atheist, a Christian, a Wiccan and a Zen Buddhist. Feeling that much of the information about religious minorities from the media was inaccurate, the group created its ReligiousTolerance.org website in an attempt to explain the nature of these beliefs.Klein, Sarah (October 25, 2006)"The kinder, gentler Satanist. The devil sells out, moves to suburbia and dons a fluffy bunny suit" ''Metro Times''. Retrieved on January 7, 2009. Sa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
