Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Chryssides
Lanham, ML: Scarecrow Press, 2008
(A subsidiary of Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group)
ISBN-13: 978-0-8108-6074-2
ISBN-10: 0-8108-6074-0
HISTORICAL DICTIONARIES OF
RELIGIONS, PHILOSOPHIES, AND MOVEMENTS
Jon Woronoff, Series Editor
There are many books about Jehovah’s Witnesses. Most of these are evangelical Christian
polemic, and there are few academic studies that consider the Watch Tower Society in an
impartial way. The Historical Dictionary of Jehovah’s Witnesses belongs to the Scarecrow
Press’s Historical Dictionaries series, and is a reference work explaining some 250 key
concepts relating to the organization. Additionally, there is an extended introductory essay
tracing the Society’s origins from its 19th century Adventist background to its 21st century
developments, together with a chronological table. A wide-ranging bibliography includes
extensive electronic and Internet sources.
The author explores how the Society originated from a small group of Bible students who
met under Russell’s leadership and it grew into an international Society, how Joseph Franklin
Rutherford became his successor, and gave them the new name ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses’.
Chryssides shows how the two World Wars shaped Watch Tower attitudes to civil
government, armed conflict, and medical innovations such as blood transfusion, as well as to
mainstream churches. Also discussed is the development of the Witnesses’ door-to-door
evangelism, with which the public are well familiar. The theme of prophecy, the doctrine of
the 144,000, end-time calculations, Armageddon, and the Witnesses’ denial of hell are all
considered.
Although the writer endeavors to understand the beliefs and lifestyle of the Witnesses as
objectively as possible, the book is not an apology. He demonstrates how the Watch Tower
Society’s beliefs and practices have changed through time, and no attempt is made to cover
up predicted dates that failed to materialize, or controversial incidents associated with the
Society’s leaders.
This Historical Dictionary should be of interest to the general reader as well as to students of
religion. The author has gained considerable acquaintance with Jehovah’s Witnesses over the
past 15 years, and this book is the result of substantial contact with them. One Watch Tower
researcher commented, “You have produced a singular work on Jehovah's Witnesses. I know
of no other non-Witness publication that covers the subject of Jehovah's Witnesses and their
belief as thoroughly as yours does.”
• Features
The author gives an account of the history of Jehovah’s Witnesses from the inception of the
Watch Tower Society to the present day. It is the only reference work, explaining key figures
and concepts relating to the movement. The author seeks to be objective, and the material is
carefully researched and written in a scholarly, yet lucid, way.
• Target readership
The book is primarily a reference work, suitable for academic and public libraries. It is of
interest to students and researchers, as well as to clergy and those involved in pastoral and
counseling work.
About the Author