Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity.
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Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity.
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Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses are directed by the Governing Body of Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses, a group of elders in Warwick, New York, United States, which establishes all doctrines based on its interpretations of the Bible.
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Consequently, some Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses have been persecuted and their activities are banned or restricted in some countries.
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Persistent legal challenges by Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses have influenced legislation related to civil rights in several countries.
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Jehovahs Witnesses's election was disputed, and members of the Board of Directors accused him of acting in an autocratic and secretive manner.
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Worldwide membership of Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses reached 113,624 in 5,323 congregations by the time of Rutherford's death in January 1942.
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Jehovahs Witnesses organized large international assemblies, instituted new training programs for members, and expanded missionary activity and branch offices throughout the world.
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In 1995, Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses abandoned the idea that Armageddon must occur during the lives of the generation that was alive in 1914 and in 2010 changed their teaching on the "generation".
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Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses are organized hierarchically, in what the leadership calls a "theocratic organization", reflecting their belief that it is God's "visible organization" on earth.
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Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses do not practice infant baptism, and previous baptisms performed by other denominations are not considered valid.
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Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses believe their denomination is a restoration of first-century Christianity.
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Doctrines of Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses are established by the Governing Body, which assumes responsibility for interpreting and applying scripture.
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Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses consider the Bible to be scientifically and historically accurate and reliable and interpret much of it literally, but accept parts of it as symbolic.
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Regular personal Bible reading is frequently recommended; Jehovahs Witnesses are discouraged from formulating doctrines and "private ideas" reached through Bible research independent of Watch Tower Society publications, and are cautioned against reading other religious literature.
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Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses believe that Jesus was resurrected with a "spirit body", and that he only assumed human form for a temporary period after his resurrection.
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Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses believe that Satan was originally a perfect angel who developed feelings of self-importance and craved worship.
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Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses teach that Satan and his demons were cast down to earth from heaven after October 1,1914, at which point the end times began.
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Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses believe death is a state of non-existence with no consciousness.
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Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses consider the soul to be a life or a living body that can die.
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Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses believe that humanity is in a sinful state, from which release is only possible by means of Jesus' shed blood as a ransom, or atonement, for the sins of humankind.
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Jehovahs Witnesses believe that a "little flock" of 144,000 selected humans go to heaven, but that the majority are to be resurrected by God to a cleansed earth after Armageddon.
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Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses believe that God's Kingdom is a literal government in heaven, ruled by Jesus Christ and 144,000 "spirit-anointed" Christians drawn from the earth, which they associate with Jesus' reference to a "new covenant".
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Central teaching of Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses is that the current world era, or "system of things", entered the "last days" in 1914 and faces imminent destruction through intervention by God and Jesus Christ, leading to deliverance for those who worship God acceptably.
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Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses believe that Jesus Christ began to rule in heaven as king of God's kingdom in October 1914, and that Satan was ousted from heaven to the earth, resulting in "woe" to humanity.
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Jehovahs Witnesses are assigned to a congregation in whose "territory" they usually reside and attend weekly services they refer to as "meetings" as scheduled by congregation elders.
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Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses are known for their efforts to spread their beliefs, most notably by visiting people from house to house, distributing literature published by the Watch Tower Society.
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The objective is to start a regular "Bible study" with any person who is not already a member, with the intention that the student be baptized as a member of the group; Jehovahs Witnesses are advised to consider discontinuing Bible studies with students who show no interest in becoming members.
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Jehovahs Witnesses are taught they are under a biblical command to engage in public preaching.
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Jehovahs Witnesses are taught that association with "worldly" people presents a "danger" to their faith, and are instructed to minimize social contact with non-members to better maintain their own standards of morality.
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Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses believe their allegiance belongs to God's kingdom, which is viewed as an actual government in heaven, with Christ as king.
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Jehovahs Witnesses are told that spontaneous giving at other times can help their children to not feel deprived of birthdays or other celebrations.
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Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses accept non-blood alternatives and other medical procedures in lieu of blood transfusions, and their literature provides information about non-blood medical procedures.
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Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses do not accept the transfusion of "whole blood, packed red cells, platelets, white cells or plasma".
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Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses have established Hospital Liaison Committees as a cooperative arrangement between individual Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses and medical professionals and hospitals.
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Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses have an active presence in most countries, but do not form a large part of the population of any country.
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Controversy surrounding various beliefs, doctrines and practices of Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses has led to opposition from governments, communities, and religious groups.
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Political and religious animosity against Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses has at times led to mob action and government oppression in various countries.
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Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses were interned in camps along with political dissidents and people of Chinese and Japanese descent.
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Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses faced discrimination in Quebec until the Quiet Revolution, including bans on distributing literature or holding meetings.
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Roncarelli provided bail for Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses arrested for distributing pamphlets attacking the Roman Catholic Church.
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In socialist East Germany, from the 1950s to the 1980s, Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses were persecuted extensively by the State Security Service, who frequently used decomposition methods against them.
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Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses were considered to be a threat because their belief system did not conform to socialist standards, and their members sometimes had contact with the West.
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Several cases involving Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses have been heard by Supreme Courts throughout the world.
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Jehovah's Jehovahs Witnesses have received criticism from mainstream Christianity, members of the medical community, former members and commentators regarding their beliefs and practices.
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Critics accuse the group's leaders of exercising "intellectual dominance" over Jehovahs Witnesses, controlling information and creating "mental isolation", which former Governing Body member Raymond Franz argued were all elements of mind control.
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