Historical Dictionary of Jehovah's Witnesses
Originating from a small group of Bible students who met
under Charles Taze Russell’s leadership and grew into an
international Society, to which the second leader Joseph Franklin
Rutherford and gave the name ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses’. 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. The twenty-first century has seen some
important changes in the Watch Tower organization, and coverage is
given to changes in organizational structure, its use of the World
Wide Web, and its major relocation from Brooklyn to
Warwick.
This updated second edition of Historical Dictionary of Jehovah's Witnesses
contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive
bibliography. The dictionary section has over 300 cross-referenced
entries on key concepts, themes, and people relating to Jehovah’s
Witnesses. This book is an excellent resource for students,
researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Jehovah's
Witnesses.
Editor’s Foreword Jon
Woronoff
Preface
Acknowledgments
Acronyms and Abbreviations
Chronology
Introduction
THE DICTIONARY
Bibliography
About the Author
No one is more qualified to write a dictionary of
Jehovah’s Witnesses than Chryssides (Univ. of Birmingham and York
St. John University, UK). He has written several books on the
Jehovah’s Witnesses and new religious movements, and his
Jehovah’s Witnesses: Continuity and Change
(2016) is noteworthy as the most objective social science
analysis to date of the denomination. Chryssides's expertise shines
in this contribution to the "Historical Dictionaries of Religions,
Philosophies, and Movements" series. The volume opens with a long
introduction that could serve as the foundation for readers who
want to learn about the Jehovah’s Witnesses. This section is
followed by a chronology, the dictionary proper, and a
bibliography. The bibliography will prove to be especially useful
to novice learners, since the literature on and by Jehovah’s
Witnesses is so voluminous. Dictionary entries cover biographies,
themes, and terms that are part of the Jehovah’s Witnesses
vocabulary. Each entry also includes see references. This second edition is 100 pages
longer than the first (2008), and many of the entries are new or
are revisions of entries in the previous edition. Even those who
own the first edition should consider purchasing this one. This
dictionary is a distinguished introduction to a denomination that
is well known but little understood.
Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates
through faculty; general readers.
I recommend this work as book of reference to students and scholars and to anyone wanting to know more about Jehovah’s Witnesses and their organization.
Product Details
- Title : Historical Dictionary of Jehovah's Witnesses
- Author: Chryssides, George D.
- Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
- Publication Date: 2019
- ISBN: 9781538119525
George D. Chryssides is currently an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, and York St John University. He has published extensively on new religious movements and he is the author of Historical Dictionary of Jehovah's Witnesses (2008) and Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements, Second Edition (2011). He is currently president of the International Society for the Study of New Religions and Co-Vice-Chair of Inform (Information Network on New Religious Movements), based at King’s College London.