How /where did the Jehova's witness originate(from)?

Question

What's the history of the church or denomination, can anyone tell me? just interested to know...

Answer 1

Founder: Charles Taze Russell

Founding Date: 1879

Born in 1852, Charles Taze Russell founded the Zion's Watch Tower in 1879 and later incorporated the group under the name Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society in 1884. Because of his rejection of the doctrine of Hell, he would go on to reject nearly every other Christian doctrine as well as add many physically and spiritually dangerous doctrines of his own making. Many of these unique and bizarre teachings were to be found in his six volume series titled, Studies in the Scriptures.

Beginning with only a few followers in the 1880's, Russell began to spread his message to the world. In 1893 the first "national assembly" was held in Chicago. It was attended by "about 360" followers of Russell's teachings. At the conclusion of the assembly, Russell explains, "The Calvary Baptist Church of Chicago very kindly granted us the use of their baptistery; and, in all, 70 symbolized their baptism into Christ's death by immersion into water" (Jehovah's Witnesses In The Divine Purpose, p. 33). It was from this first national assembly that the idea for local assemblies grew into today's practice.

Russell died in 1916 and was replaced by the second president, Joseph F. Rutherford. "A process of replacing Russell's writings with Rutherford's began in 1921 with the publication of Rutherford's Harp of God. Between 1921 and 1941, Rutherford was to write twenty books and numerous pamphlets, which would slowly revise the doctrine and structure left him by Russell" (Encyclopedia of American Religions, G. Melton, Vol. 1, p. 485).

One of Rutherford's books that caused a great amount of controversy was the seventh volume of the Studies in the Scriptures. As a result of this replacing process, Rutherford had many critics. Some of the former followers of Russell's theology left the group and began their own organization. This was the beginning of groups such as the Laymen's Home Missionary Movement and later the Dawn Bible Students Association. Because of the confusion being caused by these and other new groups, the name of the organization was officially changed in 1931 to the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society (Jehovah's Witnesses In the Divine Purpose, p. 125-127).

It was under Rutherford's leadership that the organization began to experience its phenomenal growth. In 1928, the organization recorded 44,000 members and by his death in 1942, their membership had grown to over 115,000. Part of this growth can be attributed to Rutherford's insistence that the world was about to end and Armageddon was to happen any day.

The next president, Nathan H. Knorr, would streamline the organization and begin a worldwide outreach strategy that has survived into the 1990's. In 1943, he began the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead. This was to be the forerunner of the Jehovah's Witnesses teaching methods of today. It was also under Knorr's leadership that the New World Translation was published. This translation, published in six volumes between 1950-1960, supports many Jehovah's Witnesses doctrines while ignoring accepted rules of language translation. At Knorr's death in 1977, the Watchtower had over 2.2 million members (Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, 1978, p. 30).

Under the leadership of Frederick W. Franz, fourth president, the Watchtower reached a total membership of over four million members. With Franz death in 1992, the current president, Milton G. Henschel, took the helm.

Answer 2

The Jehovah's Witnesses was begun by Charles Taze Russell in 1872. He was born on February 16, 1852, the son of Joseph L. and Anna Eliza Russell. He had great difficulty in dealing with the doctrine of eternal hell fire and in his studies came to deny not only eternal punishment, but also the Trinity, and the deity of Christ and the Holy Spirit.

When Russell was 18, he organized a Bible class in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1879 he sought to popularize his aberrant ideas on doctrine. He co-published The Herald of the Morning magazine with its founder, N. H. Barbour and by 1884 Russell controlled the publication and renamed it The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom, and founded Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society (now known as the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society).

The first edition of The Watchtower magazine was only 6,000 copies each month. Today the Witnesses' publishing complex in Brooklyn, New York, churns out 100,000 books and 800,000 copies of its two magazines--daily!

Answer 3

Jehovah's Witnesses are an international Christian denomination that had its origins in the United States with the 19th century Millerite and Bible Student movements. They adopted their present name in 1931 under the presidency of Joseph Franklin Rutherford. The Witnesses believe that their faith is the restoration of first-century Christianity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah%27s_Witness

Answer 4

There is considerable documentation on how this group morphed from Millerite associates to pyramid-numbering semi-Masons to its business-model form created by Joseph Rutherford after the hostile corporate takeover of Russell's religious publishing house. The witnesses' form of Christianity is entrenched in their desperate need to get out the word using Watchtower literature. They believe as a group that they are Bible-based. They believe they are fulfilling Matthew 24:14 regarding preaching the gospel of the returning kingdom as a sign of the last days. In spite of the many churches doing similar work, they believe their work is the only one that counts.

Answer 5

The official name of the religion is "Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses", and so they believe their religion to be a restoration of the worship and pattern of the apostles and other first century C.E. Christians. Of course, the bible cites Jesus Christ and also Adam's son Abel as "Witnesses" and the beginnings of pure worship.

(Hebrews 11:4;12:1,2) Abel... had witness borne to him that he was righteous, God bearing witness... Because we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also put off every weight and the sin that easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, as we look intently at the Chief Agent and Perfecter of our faith, Jesus

(Revelation 1:5) Jesus Christ, “the Faithful Witness”


The modern history of the religion began in the 1870's.

Learn more:
http://www.jw-media.org/people/who.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/jt/index.htm?article=article_02.htm

http://watchtower.org/e/rq/index.htm?article=article_14.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/pr/index.htm?article=article_04.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/dg/index.htm?article=article_11.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/lmn/index.htm?article=article_01.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/ti/index.htm?article=article_09.htm

Answer 6

According to the Bible, the line of witnesses of Jehovah reaches back to faithful Abel. Hebrews 11:4–12:1 says: “By faith Abel offered God a sacrifice of greater worth than Cain . . . By faith Noah, after being given divine warning of things not yet beheld, showed godly fear . . . By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed in going out into a place he was destined to receive as an inheritance . . . By faith Moses, when grown up, refused to be called the son of the daughter of Pharaoh, choosing to be ill-treated with the people of God rather than to have the temporary enjoyment of sin . . . So, then, because we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also put off every weight and the sin that easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”

With reference to Jesus Christ, the Bible states: “These are the things that the Amen says, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation by God.” Of whom was he a witness? He himself said that he made his Father’s name manifest. He was the foremost witness of Jehovah.—Rev. 3:14; John 17:6.

Interestingly, some of the Jews asked whether the activity of Jesus Christ represented “a new teaching.” (Mark 1:27) Later, some Greeks thought the apostle Paul was introducing a “new teaching.” (Acts 17:19, 20) It was new to the ears of those who were hearing it, but the important thing was that it was the truth, in full harmony with God’s Word.

The modern-day history of Jehovah’s Witnesses began with the forming of a group for Bible study in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., in the early 1870’s. At first they were known only as Bible Students, but in 1931 they adopted the Scriptural name Jehovah’s Witnesses. (Isa. 43:10-12) Their beliefs and practices are not new but are a restoration of first-century Christianity.

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Answer 7

If you want honest anwers please go to www.watchtower.org.

Better yet call the local Kingdom Hall in your area, and ask for a 'free' bible study / discussion.

http://watchtower.org/

Answer 8

the wikipedia article is both a fair and balanced sourse of information.

If you want to learn more go to our offical site at www.watchtower.org

Answer 9

1872 pennsylvania. a guy named russell. original name was russellism. he didn't like the idea of hell so he created a cult that teaches there is no hell.

Answer 10

Charles Taze Russell in the 1800's, they are a cult.