Term Paper on "Religious Services of Jehovah Witnesses"

Term Paper 4 pages (1296 words) Sources: 4

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Religious Services of Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses is essentially a Christian denomination that was founded in the 1870s. Currently, this particular Christian organization has an estimated 7.78 million members all over the globe that are involved in evangelistic activities. This text largely concerns itself with the misconceptions people have with regard to the religious services of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Misconceptions about Jehovah's Witnesses

The emergence of Jehovah's Witnesses is credited to a Bible Student Movement initiated by Charles Taze (Holden, 2002). Adopted in 1931, the name Jehovah's Witnesses was meant to differentiate the denomination from other Bible student groups, and also as a symbolic breakaway from the legacy of Russell's traditions. Today, the denomination is directed by a council of elders known as the governing body of Jehovah's witnesses. The council is currently situated in Brooklyn, New York.

The beliefs held by Jehovah's witnesses are a result of their independent interpretation of the bible using their preferred translated version - the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Holden, 2002). Essentially, the denomination holds non-Trinitarian beliefs, which are different from mainstream Christian beliefs (Bowman, 1994). Indeed, it is such differences in belief that have raised a number of misconceptions among many non-adherents of the denomination. Some of these misconceptions arise due to a lack of a clear understanding of the denomination's doctrine and beliefs.

To begin with, there is a misconception that Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe in Jesus Christ. There are even those who believe that Jehovah's Witnesses do not invoke the name of Jesus Christ in their prayers. It is however important to note that members of this very denomination not only believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but also his role in our salvation. Jehovah's Witnesses do not however believe in the trinity since they cannot reconcile their interpretation of the said trinity with that of mainstream Christians. For this reason, they deny that Jesus is part of God in the trinity. This is perhaps one of the reasons why some people think that Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe in Jesus (Shaw, 2006). Like mainstream Christians however, they believe that Jesus is the Son of God - just as it is stated in the bible. In fact, they consider Jesus to be their savior, and they always strive to live according to his teachings i.e. By going out to spread the gospel in response to the call in Matthew 28:10, 19, 20 and 1st Corinthians 15:6. It is also important to note that most Jehovah's Witnesses start their prayers by directing them to their father, Jehovah, and end them by invoking Jesus Christ. This is a clear indication that they do believe in Jesus Christ.

The second common misconception is that Jehovah's Witnesses do not partake any form of religious holiday. The truth, however, is that Jehovah's Witnesses do not observe holidays such as Christmas and Easter because they believe that the ideas behind these holidays are not compatible with true Christian beliefs. However, Jehovah's Witnesses do recognize the holiday wherein there is a commemoration of the death of Jesus Christ. For this commemoration, the Witnesses assemble in the Kingdom Hall where they say prayers and pass wine and bread around as symbols of Christ's body and blood (Larry, 2010).

There is also a general misconception that Jehovah's Witnesses do not accept medical care. Nothing could be further from the truth. Just like ordinary mortals, Jehovah's Witnesses fall ill and routinely seek medical attention. In fact, there are witnesses who also engage in medical and clinical practice as doctors, pharmacists, etc. This misconception probably emanates from the fact that Jehovah's witnesses do not accept blood transfusions (Bowman, 1994). It should however be noted that Jehovah's Witnesses do not decline all forms of blood transfusions. They are open to the reception of transfusions from substitutes of blood such as 'blood expanders' (Shaw, 2006).

The… READ MORE

How to Reference "Religious Services of Jehovah Witnesses" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

Who Are Jehovah's Witness and What Are Their Teachings? Term Paper

Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witness

The Jehovah's Witness movement began in 1869 in Allegheny, Pennsylvania by Charles Taze Russell, however its name based on Isaiah 43: 10-12, was not adopted until… read more

Term Paper 8 pages (2222 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Religion / God / Theology

---

Government Should Be Added Extra Point System for Those Who Served the Military Service Research Paper

Government in South Korea should add extra points system for those who served the military service'

There is a compulsion for men to work in the army in South Korea.… read more

Research Paper 10 pages (3333 words) Sources: 10 Topic: Military / Army / Navy / Marines

---

Discrimination Based on Religious Belief Research Proposal

Discrimination Based on Religion

Within the medical community many individuals have the right to refuse to provide care which transgresses from religious beliefs. Doctors have the right to refuse to… read more

Research Proposal 10 pages (2985 words) Sources: 10 Style: APA Topic: Child Development / Youth / Teens

---

Cultural Competency Based on the Movie Selena Essay

Purnell Model

The book the Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down describes the healthcare travesty of a hospital not knowing enough about the culture of its patients. Anne Fadiman… read more

Essay 7 pages (2241 words) Sources: 4 Topic: Family / Dating / Marriage

---

Ethical and Legal Aspects of Therapeutic Relationships Essay

Ethical and Legal Aspects of Therapeutic Relationships

MEDICAL HERBALIST

Daniel was a 19-year-old male suffering from mild depression. His family was well aware of the situation, and had obtained various… read more

Essay 8 pages (2640 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Ethics / Morality

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>