Beliefs and Ways of Life - Case Study Example

 Preparing a World Religious Report is a tiresome task as there are a number of religious sects all over the world with different beliefs and ways of life. The essay attempts to make a study on the Jehovah’s witnesses, bringing out its basic doctrines and missionary work, comparing and contrasting it with that of the basic tenets of Judaism. The study assumes significance as Jehovah’s Witnesses are a growing religious group despite various setbacks regarding conversions. Jehovah’s Witnesses are often considered to be non- Christian as they do not consider Jesus to be a savior, does not believe in His physical resurrection, and salvation by grace. The Jehovah’s witnesses postulated the non-existence of hell, the non-existence of the Trinity, reduced the Holy Spirit from a person to a force and believed in the mortality of the soul. Similarly they do not celebrate Christmas as they do not celebrate holidays or birthdays. According to them Jesus never commanded Christians to celebrate his birth. On the other hand, he asked his disciples to memorize or remember his death. Thus, the most important annual event for the Jehovah witness is the commemoration of Jesus’ death. They also do not believe in the Christian doctrine of Trinity, the concept of the three persons in God- the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. To support its doctrines, the Watchtower organization (which is the author and teacher of all official Jehovah's Witness theology), has even altered the Bible to make it agree with its changing and non-Christian teachings. The lives of Jehovah’s disciples are thus governed by their understanding of the scripture as interpreted by the Watchtower Bible and Tract society of New York. For them Jehovah is the Supreme Being and creator of everything and Jesus is only yet another creation of this supreme entity. Even though they don’t believe Jesus to be the son of God, they believe that Jesus’ death was necessary for the atonement of the sins committed by the first man Adam. They strongly believe in the Word of God and resort to preaching as a major part of their missionary life. Thus, one finds the Jehovah witnesses moving from door to door, house to house preaching about God’s kingdom and interpreting the Bible. For them, “living by Bible principles gives purpose to life, promotes strong family ties, and develops productive and honest citizens.” (Jehovah’s Witnesses, 2004). Thus, they try to promote Bible education through preaching and the distribution of Bibles and Bible study aids. Until 1931, the Jehovah’s Witnesses were known as international Bible Students. The other religious sects like the Catholics, Protestants and the Judaists develop ill-feeling towards the Jehovah’s witnesses mainly due to their tendency to spread their version of the Bible to everyone. The places of worship of the Jehovah’s Witnesses where religious services are being organized are known as Kingdom halls. Usually a kingdom hall is a modest structure and one doesn’t find any images or the symbol of the cross inside it as the Jehovah’s witnesses consider them as idol worship. Their “worship starts and ends with prayer, and most services include singing. All services focus on reading and discussing the Bible and seeing how to apply it in one's life.” (Jehovah’s Witnesses, 2004). The public is always welcomed for the worships and the hospitality and compassion shown by the Jehovah’s witnesses to strangers who attend their prayers is praiseworthy. They also talk to the people in streets, parks and other public places following the same approach undertaken by Christ and his disciples. They strongly believe that following Bible’s practical principles can keep them closer to God, experience him as a real person in their lives and that it can maintain their family ties and community relations sound and stronger. The efforts made by the religious group in the spread of literacy are remarkable. The following fictional interview with a Jehovah’s Witness named Riyan makes clear the basic beliefs and the nature of their religious mission:- Question: Riyan, who is a real Jehovah’s Witness? Answer: A real Jehovah’s Witness is a person who believes in Jehovah, the only supreme God, a person who spreads the message of the Bible and who moulds his life as per the scripture. Q2: Can you tell me about the mission of a Jehovah’s Witness? Ans: The mission of a Jehovah’s Witness is to learn and preach the Word of God to the people and bring them closer to Jehovah. Q3: Why don’t you believe in the Christian doctrine of Holy Trinity and Jesus as the Son of God? Ans: For us there is only one God whom we should worship- Jehovah. The Holy Spirit is just a force and not a person who has supreme power as that of Jehovah. Jehovah is the supreme creator and Jesus is not the son of God but a creation of Jehovah. Q4: What are the essential differences between Christianity and Jehovah’s Witnesses? Ans: As mentioned earlier, we do not consider Jesus as the Son of God and do not believe in the concept of the Holy Trinity. Therefore, we do not celebrate Christmas or perform Eucharist. Besides, we have no faith in the existence of hell, the concept of salvation by grace or in the immortality of soul. A comparative and contrastive study of Judaism and Jehovah’s Witnesses is essential as one comes across similarities as well as differences between the two religious sects. Judaism is one of the oldest and organized monotheistic religions in the world which has a legacy of more than 3500 years. Judaism is based on the belief that “there is a single God who not only created the universe, but with whom every Jew can have an individual and personal relationship. They believe that God continues to work in the world, affecting everything that people do.” (BBC.Co.UK, 2008). For them, God is omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing) and omnipresent (in all places at all times). The Jews believe themselves to be specially chosen by the God to be His people to set an example to the world, and they give a lot of importance to the community. The Jews strictly adhere to the observation of Sabbaths and the circumcision ceremony when the new born child is only 8 days old. Judaism considers all the good and holy actions performed by the Jews equal to worship to God. The Synagogue is the Jewish place of worship; it is very often used as their study centre and place for community gatherings. Judaism believes in prophets, of whom Moses was the first. The Holy Book of Judaism is Torah which consists of the five Books in the Old Testament and they give a great amount of value to the Ten Commandments given to Moses by God at Mount Sinai. They believe in the equality of all men as they believe that God has created all men in His own image and likeness. The Jews believe in the final day Judgment when God will punish the evil and reward the good; unlike Jehovah’s witnesses, the concept of heaven and hell are thus significant to the belief of Judaism. The Talmud, the body of Jewish law, is considered Yahweh’s excusive and unchallengeable law. Unlike Christians, Jews and Jehovah’s Witnesses do not have faith in the concept of the Holy Trinity. The concept of Trinity is not Jewish. For them, it is entirely pagan and Christian in origin. Similarly, Judaism doesn’t recognize Jesus as a Jewish prophet or the son of God. Christ, for them, is just an ordinary Jew; he is neither the Messiah nor a divine person. As Judaism rejects the idea of Jesus as Messiah, his mission is of no relevance for them. Thus, like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jews do not celebrate Christmas and non- celebration of Christmas has become a mark of fidelity to the Jewish community. Similarly, Judaism holds the view that the Holy Spirit is not a distinct person, but a divine power which for example, was given to the prophets. The believers of Judaism believe in salvation which can be attained through good works, sacrifices and the grace of God. Judaism commemorates the pass over from Egypt as they believe that it was Yahweh who liberated them from the Egyptians and chose them to be His people. The Jehovah’s Witnesses celebrate the communion supper only once a year and this is done on the Passover date on the Jewish calendar. The number of Jehovah’s witnesses is increasing day by day: fifty years ago, their total number was below 1000,000 which has increased to millions today. Most of the increased Jehovah’s witnesses are converted either from Catholic or Protestant Churches. The Jehovah’s Witnesses organization was founded in the United States in the 1870s. Just like the Jews, the Jehovah’s witnesses had to endure a lot of persecutions under the Nazi regime. Even before Hitler became the Chancellor in 1993, there were efforts to spread the growth of Jehovah’s Witnesses by banning their religious literature including the booklets The Watch Tower and The Golden Age. Germany introduced compulsory military service in 1935 and as the Jehovah’s Witnesses refused to do so, they were arrested and put in prisons and concentration camps. The Jehovah's Witnesses were honest and abided by the law. However they considered “themselves as citizens of Jehovah's Kingdom; they refused to swear allegiance to any worldly government. They were not pacifists, but as soldiers in Jehovah's army, they would not bear arms for any nation.” (A Teachers guide to the Holocaust, 2005). As a result around 10,000 witnesses were imprisoned in the concentration camps of which hundreds were executed for refusing to offer military service and thousands of them met with death in prisons or concentration camps. However, all these efforts couldn’t silence the witnesses as they went ahead with their work during the liberation of camps, turning even the survivors into converts. As an article appeared in Awake on July 8, 1998 observes: “Jehovah’s witnesses are well-known for their firm adherence to God's Word, the Bible. This often calls for courage, and it certainly affects their lives and their relationships with others.” (Awake, 2006). No doubt, it was their literal interpretation of the Word of God that has made the organization scornful and raised resentful feelings against them. The study on Jehovah’s Witnesses and their major religious beliefs, missionary works, worship place and their similarities and differences between Judaism convince one that they do have a common goal to preach the scripture; the organization of the group is effective for its functioning. For them the scripture is the final authority on their lives and beliefs, and any disputes are being effectively handled by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society which acts as the governing body of the organization. They do have many beliefs in common with the Judaism but they do not believe in any other religion. Fidelity to Jehovah has been the major concern in the life of Jehovah’s Witnesses and preaching the scripture and being witnesses to the Supreme Being Jehovah has proved to be their mission as well as vision. Reference A Teachers guide to the Holocaust. (2005). Jehovah’s Witnesses: Victims of the Nazi Era, 1933- 1945. Retrieved February 12, 2008, from http://fcit.usf.edu/Holocaust/people/USHMMJeh.HTM Awake. (2006). Courageous in the Face of Nazi Peril. Jehovah’s Witnesses. Retrieved February 12, 2008, from http://www.watchtower.org/e/19980708/article_01.htm BBC.Co.UK. (2008). Religion & Ethics- Judaism. Retrieved February 12, 2008, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/beliefs/beliefs_1.shtml Jehovah’s Witnesses. (2004). Who are Jehovah’s Witnesses? Retrieved February 12, 2008, from http://www.jw-media.org/people/who.htm Jehovah’s Witnesses. (2004). Worship and Conventions. Retrieved February 12, 2008, from http://www.jw-media.org/people/worship.htm Read More