Sample by Topic from Apologia Report

 

JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES
 
"Faith of Our Fathers: Part One, Were the Early Christians Jehovah's Witnesses?" by Robert U. Finnerty -- first of two parts responding to the very peculiar JW version of church history. Christian Research Journal, Wtr '96, p28.
(from Apologia Report 1:2, January 15, 1996)
 
"1914: Another Dark Day in Brooklyn" -- cover story, with two related articles elsewhere in this issue, has a focus on how the Watchtower has changed its position on apocalyptic date calculation once again. Watchman Expositor, 13:1 '96, p3.
(from Apologia Report 1:5, February 5, 1996)
 
"The Jehovah's Witnesses' Experience in the Nazi Concentration Camps: A History of Their Conflicts with the Nazi State" by Jerry Bergman -- from the author of the article in the Sum '96 issue Christian Research Journal on Jehovah's Witnesses and mental health. Journal of Church and State, Wtr '96, p87.
(from Apologia Report 1:13, April 8, 1996)
 
"Faith of Our Fathers (Part Two): Were the Early Christians Jehovah's Witnesses?" by Robert U. Finnerty -- "demonstrates how [JWs] further misrepresent the [early church] fathers' views on the Holy Spirit, the soul, and hell." Christian Research Journal, Spr '96, p36.
(from Apologia Report 1:13, April 8, 1996)
 
"Paradise Postponed...and Postponed: Why Jehovah's Witnesses Have a High Mental Illness Level" by Jerry Bergman -- "Scientific literature documents that the rate of mental illness among Jehovah's Witnesses is considerably above the population norm. Bergman, who has participated in this research himself, explains how the Watchtower teachings and subculture adversely affect the mental health of those involved." Christian Research Journal, Sum '96, p36.
(from Apologia Report 1:20, July 15, 1996)
 
"Romanian Church Calls for Ban on Congress for Jehovah's Witnesses" -- the leader of the country's Orthodox church objects to JW plans; mentions that a protest rally also took place; notes that the Witnesses constitute the third-largest religious system in Poland. ENI Bulletin, Jul '96, p15.
(from Apologia Report 1:23, August 12, 1996)
 
"Jehovah's Japanese Witnesses: Growth, Conflicts and Prospects of a Transplanted American Religion" by Jack E. Nelson -- Reports that Japan "now has the fifth largest population of Jehovah's Witnesses (after the United States, Mexico, Brazil and Italy)." Includes the statistic that, as of 1994, there were close to 200,000 pioneer-class members in Japan. You can double that figure if you want to include all the people who would be considered nominal JWs. Repeated is the estimate I've seen at least once before that there are "an estimated 3,000 new religious movements in Japan." Of the 25-to-30 groups that claim a larger membership than the Witnesses, "it is unlikely that any of these achieves a higher proportion of proselytizing activities than the Watch Tower Society does." Between 60 and 90 hours of service per month is an average effort for JW pioneers. It should be no surprise, then, that "the most severe ongoing conflict faced by Jehovah's Witnesses in Japan occurs on the domestic level." Roughly 70 percent of their membership is female. The Watchtower's teaching has a "lack of any emphasis on the extended family unit," something highly valued by Japanese culture. Consequently, non-JW husbands often resent their wives' involvement with the group. In addition, "Women seem to find in the Watch Tower Society's ideology a legitimization of their self-assertion in the face of male domination."
Other problems mentioned that face the Witnesses in Japan include being seen as a cult due to their rejection of blood transfusion. They also face the opposition of indigenous anti-JW groups and ex-members. A number of sources new to me were mentioned in the lengthy bibliography and endnotes section.
Progress for the Witnesses in Japan has actually slowed. "During the 1970s growth rates climbed above 35 percent annually and were higher in Japan than anywhere else in the world." Now their growth has dropped to the current annual seven to eight percent. However, "this compares with a recent growth rate of barely one percent in a combined tabulation of Protestant and Catholic membership" in Japan. No wonder Jehovah's Witnesses "exceed in membership the largest Protestant group in Japan and, [are] second only to the Roman Catholic Church" there, not counting Asian religions. Japan Christian Review, v62 - 1996, p30.
(from Apologia Report 2:3, February 24, 1997)
 
"Ex-JWs Summoned by Norwegian Police" -- "In a bold move aimed at suppressing dissident Jehovah's Witnesses, the Watchtower Society's New York headquarters has filed charges with the police against ex-members Kent Steinhaug and Jan Haugland of Norway. Steinhaug reported for questioning this morning to the police station in Skein, his home town. Both men are accused of violating copyright laws by posting copies of a secret Witness elder's manual on the Internet." Comments from the Friends (Press Release), Mar 4 '96.
(from Apologia Report 2:6, March 17, 1997)
 
"Jehovah's Witnesses' Future Bright at Home and Abroad" by Richard Cimino -- surveys an essay in the Journal of Contemporary Religion (May '97) by Rodney Stark and Lawrence Iannaccone. Reports that the JWs are "becoming a global religious force that has not received much attention from scholars" being "more 'globalized' than even the Mormons; while nearly half of all Mormons reside in the U.S., only 19 percent of Jehovah's Witnesses do." Religion Watch, Jun '97, p2.
(from Apologia Report 2:20, July 1, 1997)
 
"The Tragic Consequences of Faith" by Dave Mackmiller -- a review (pro, not con) of Blood on the Altar: Confessions of a Jehovah's Witness Minister, by David Reed (Prometheus, 1996). Free Inquiry, Sum '97, p61.
(from Apologia Report 2:22, July 21, 1997)
 
--------
 
Sources:
 
Bibliotheca Sacra (Dallas Theo. Sem.), (800) 992-0998, <bibsac@dts.edu>, <http://www.bible.org/dts/dts.htm>
 
Christian Research Journal (Christian Research Institute), (888) 700-0274, <http://www.equip.org>
 
Church and State, (202) 466-3234, <americansunited@au.org>, <http://www.netplexgroup.com/americansunited/>
 
Comments from the Friends (ex-Jehovah's Witness), (508) 763-8050, <davereed@webshowplace.com>, <http://www.webshowplace.com/Comments>
 
ENI Bulletin (Ecumenical News Int'l), fax (41-22) 798-1346 (Switzerland), <eni@wwc-coe.org>
 
Free Inquiry, (716) 636-7571, <http://www.secularhumanism.org>
 
Japan Christian Review (Christian Literature Society of Japan), (0422) 33-3539, Kyo Bun Kwan, 4-5-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104.
 
Religion Watch, (516) 785-6765, <relwatch1@aol.com>
 
Watchman Expositor (Watchman Fellowship), (800) 769-2824, <http://rampages.onramp.net/~watchman/index.html>


TOP OF PAGE

PARENT PAGE

MORE SAMPLES

APOLOGIA HOME PAGE