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List of contents
1. Origins
2. Becoming a Jehovah’s Witness
3. Teachings
4. Congregational life
5. Lifestyle
6. Rites of passage and festivals
7: Expectations
8: Opposition
9: Pressures to reform
10: Prospects
Bibliography
Index
About the author
George D. Chryssides is Honorary Research Fellow at York St John University, UK, and was formerly Head of Religious Studies at the University of Wolverhampton, UK.
Summary
What would happen if I accepted an invitation to Bible Study from Jehovah’s Witnesses? What would attending a Kingdom Hall meeting involve? And if I invited door-knocking Witnesses into my home?
This book introduces Jehovah’s Witnesses without assuming prior knowledge of the Watch Tower organization. After outlining the Society’s origins and history, the book explains their key beliefs and practices by taking the reader through the process of the seeker who makes initial contact with Witnesses, and progresses to take instruction and become a baptized member.
The book then explores what is involved in being a Witness – congregational life, lifestyle, rites of passage, their understanding of the Bible and prophetic expectations. It examines the various processes and consequences of leaving the organization, controversies that have arisen in the course of its history, and popular criticisms. Discussion is given to the likelihood of reforms within the organization, such as its stance on blood transfusions, the role of women and new methods of meeting and evangelizing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Additional text
Jehovah’s Witnesses is a master class in religious ethnography, or the study of lived religion … Chryssides’ reflexivity and self-consciousness adds to the readability of the volume; his sympathy towards his subject walks the line between situated objectivity to apologia without crossing it.
