Jehovah Witnesses who published the Awake magazine and Watchtower magazine?

Question

Is it the organization or bible students? I ask since a JW said those magazines are published by bible students.

Answer 1

In the United States, recent English-language issues of The Watchtower and Awake! magazines list the publisher as "Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc" and the copyright holder as "Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania".

Until the 1930's, Jehovah's Witnesses were referred to formally as "International Bible Students". They continue to use a corporate entity called "International Bible Students Association" and continue to refer to themselves generically as "bible students".

It would be unsurprising if one or more country-editions or language-editions of Jehovah's Witness literature listed this corporate entity as its "publisher". It would also be unsurprising if a rank-and-file JW simply misunderstood the various legal corporations and misspoke.

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/languages.htm
http://jw-media.org/people/who.htm

Answer 2

The Watchtower and Awake are published by The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, which is the publishing arm of the Jehovah's Witnesses.

The Witnesses originally began as a group known as the Bible Students. As they expanded, they became known as the International Bible Students, the name by which they are still known in Great Britain.

Even though the organization legally changed their name in 1931 to Jehovah's Witnesses, many of the older members still call themselves Bible Students.

Answer 3

I was a little more careful when restringing pianos after I read in Awake! that one of the cast-iron "harps" (the plate) had cracked and shot though the ceiling! With over two hundred strings pulled to a tension of 120 lbs. or more EACH, I hadn't thought about where that twenty-five tons of pressure might GO if I'm not careful. I appreciate that they had articles with facts, statistics and quotations on smoking causing cancer and health problems when all the other magazines had smoking advertisements! Now we all know better, but they had the life-saving and health-saving facts forty years early. I also appreciated all the articles on all the archaeological evidence that the Bible is true. From a lot of the Q's and A's here on YA, it's obvious that most people are totally unaware of that evidence. Unless they read a journal on Bible archaeology, or Awake!, how could they be otherwise? I also appreciated all the articles on the scientific evidence for creation, and the fact that it isn't the literalist Creationism people always hear about, but that the Bible dovetails with proven science. The special issue on "Helping Baby Learn to Speak" was a big help to us, as were the articles encouraging breastfeeding our son, showing how it gives the baby the mother's immunities against diseases (maybe saving them a lot of sleepless nights with a sick baby!), and helps the mother's uterus to contract back to its normal size, and actually helps prevent breast cancer, so I didn't freak out, but could encourage my wife. The article citing the major medical journal when it said that 10,000 Americans died every year just from the three MAIN complications of blood transfusions--hemolytic reations, Hepatitis B and just plain mistakes in cross matching--even 'way back in the sixties, before AIDS, and the other medical study indicating that most transfusions were unnecessary, were helpful when explaining the Biblical position on avoiding blood in Acts 15:28, 29. There's so much, about so much, it's kind of hard to be specific. It just becomes part of your general fund of knowledge. Best regards, Mike

Answer 4

It is an organization made up of Bible students. They get an allowance for needs, but will never get rich from that. There are printing plants all over the world. In addition to the magazines, all manner of Bible education books, CDs, tapes are produced.

This is done all to increase Bible understanding and get the message of the good news of God's Kingdom as the only hope for mankind.

The people there have a spiritually rich environment with many mature Christians who continually help the younger ones with knowledge. I have some friends who were there and told me of some of the things. One elderly brother would suddenly come up with a question on material they had studied in a meeting the day before. Half a dozen younger guys scrambling to find the answer in their Bibles must have been a sight!

Answer 5

They are written by men at the headquarters of JW's. They are mere men, but they claim to have the only connection to God and he is giving them the information that they write. But, one would be wise to read "Crisis of Conscious" by Ray Franz..He was one of the ones that help to write those publications many years ago..He left the religion after seeing exactly how things were run and he didn't feel that God was directing them..His book is not a JW bashing book..It just tells exactly what goes on in the organization and how they come up with the new things, that God supposedly related to them. Its a very good insightful book..But,...JW will never , ever read it..because they are warned against it..Why can't a religion that is so certain they have the Truth..read such a book...because they will be enlighten tremendously on how they write their books and magazines..
Ray Franz..is a good Christan man ..he speaks highly of the JW in the book as good people..He is not bashing them so to speak..Its not that kind of book..I recommend it to anyone interested in finding out exactly how that organization is run.

His uncle was one of the ones that helped to translate their Bible..Ray Franz was a JW for many, many years.

Answer 6

Basically one and the same. Old name - new name.

Some JWs (mostly younger ones) do not know this.

Answer 7

Since none know anything other than empty claims, does it matter?

Answer 8

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Watchtower
note:I'm a christian and do't support either.