Don't you think there should be more thorough histories of the Witnesses available? I knew lawyers who were history majors in college who researched small, esoteric groups. I am paranoid when I read Witness lit.
College Class about JWs .... book suggestions?
by Shepherd Book 22 Replies latest watchtower bible
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CaptainSchmideo
http://www.amazon.com/Judging-Jehovahs-Witnesses-Persecution-Revolution/dp/0700611827
"Judging Jehovah's Witnesses" is a good history of the many court cases that occurred in the 30s-50's (for instance, The Gobitas Case). It's not Pro or Con Witnesses exactly (the writer does think that wasting the various courts time with "Witnessing" to the judge was not a good legal technigue.)
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Shepherd Book
Thanks again for these suggestions; I am listing them all on a Word file and I will look into them all soon.
To answer some of the questions above...this is through the History department. It is a four credit class. Yes, I'll have to submit an outline, first as a high-level syllabus, and then a more detailed idea of what I want to write.
I agree that maintaining neutrality will be tough, but I think that's a good opportunity for me here. As this is through the History department, I am going to explore the origins of the organization, so I should be able to be more objective with that than with doctinal issues.
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neverendingjourney
Don't you think there should be more thorough histories of the Witnesses available?
There just isn't a market for it. The only people who are interested in Jehovah's Witnesses are current witnesses, former witnesses, and academics who study religion as a career.
Current witnesses won't read anything not approved by the Watchtower. The former witness market isn't big enough to draw an interest. Ray Franz's book sales were meager when you look at the big picture. It's not like he was able to make a career out of selling books. I've always wondered whether there might be good academic papers (not books, necessarily) that aren't readily available. Stuff like unpublished PhD dissertations or master's theses.
I believe there is a biography on CT Russell, but if I remember correctly it was written by a current Bible Student. It may not be an unbiased source. I've not seen anything on Rutherford. I would love to read a good book on Rutherford.
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Frazzled UBM
As it is a history course you should try to go to the original source documents if possible. You could structure it as 1. pre-Russell Millerite/millenarian background, 2. Russell and the Bible Students, 3. the Rutherford coup and restructure of the organisation, 4. the Knorr consolidation and 5. the post Knorr empowerment of the GB. The theme should be to show how it went from being about the individual leaders and what they believed to being about the organisation such that it has become a self-perpetuating organisation. You should look at what Max Weber, the sociologist, says about bureaucracy and organisations and see if that applies. Also look at what was happening at the time the organisation was born and how that influenced the authority structure - is it simply a coincidence that fascism and communism developed as political systems around the same time?
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RobCrompton
I hope this doesn't count as simply self-promotion, but my own book, "Counting the Days to Armageddon" is directly relevant here. It's a historical study of the WT interpretation of end times prophecies. You should be able to get it through your unversity library or direct from me at: http://snigsfoot.blogspot.co.uk/p/blog-page.html
I wrote this as a post-grad research project in the University of Durham (UK) and later published it in book form.
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Shepherd Book
Frazzled- Thanks for the outline! I will start with something like that. Yes, I want to show the inner power struggles (something I knew nothing about when i was a JW).
Rob - No worries, I appreciate your suggestion. I will add your book to my syllabus. Thanks!
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nugget
ICSA may also have articles about JWs they ran a 2 day workshop last summer and may be able to offer research on them.
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Old Goat
If you were one of my students pursuing this subject, this would be my short list:
Cultic Histories
One can’t ignore a religion’s self-view. These are the principal Watchtower produced histories:
1. The Modern History series in the 1955 Watchtower
2. Qualified to be Ministers, first edition only.
3. Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Divine Purpose (1959). Really good in places. Not so good on Russell’s early years.
4. 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses
5. Proclaimers.
Generalist Insider Books
1. Both of Ray Franz books. I know he’s a hero to many who read this board. I still suggest you read with a critical eye.
2. A. H. Macmillan: Faith on the March (1957). Shaky on Russell’s early years. Omits key events on the 1918 separation.
3. M. Cole: Jehovah’s Witnesses. Dated but a must read.
Generalist Histories
Penton’s Jehovah’s Witnesses in Canada (really good); Apocalypse Delayed.
H. Stroup: Jehovah’s Witnesses. (Poor, but you should still read it.)
Russell Era:
1. Schulz and de Vienne: Nelson Barbour: The Millenniums Forgotten Prophet; A Separate Idenity. Both books are superior. They don’t write them better than this.
2. P. S. L. Johnson: Parousia Messenger. Very fringie. Use with caution, but full of interesting things.
3. Russell – White Debate.
Rutherford Era:
1. Manwaring: The Flag Salute Controversy. As with Schulz and de Vienne, this is top of the heap history.
2. S. F. Peters: Judging Jehovah’s Witnesses: Religious Persecution and the Dawn of the Rights Revolution. (Excellent)
3, Norman Long: Social Change and the Individual. (African Witnesses)
4. S. A. Liebster: Facing the Lion. (Personal experiences in Nazi Occupied France)
5. Hans Hesse: Am Mustigsten Waren Immer Weider de Zeugen Jehovas: Verfolgun un Widerstand der Zeugen Jehovahs im Nationalsozialismus.
6. Milton Stacey Czatt, The International Bible Students: Jehovah's Witnesses (Yale. Studies in Religion, No. 4, 1933)
Knorr-Franz Era
1. Beckford: Trumpet of Prophecy.
2. Blackwell: Or’e the Ramparts they Watched (Rutherford to Knorr era by a Watchtower Society lawyer.)
3. W. Schnell: Thirty Years a WatchTower Slave. Read the first edition. Schnell in my personal experience was a very distasteful man. Still, the book is worth a read. Be aware that he either lied in 1935 or in this book. And the accusation that he behaved inappropriately with young Witness girls seems well founded.
4, Many of the Goodrich tracts focus on this era. Goodrich was a fruit-cake. But he wrote interesting things, not all of them especially accurate.
Anti-Cult Literature.
Most of it is crap. Use caution.
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ablebodiedman
I am going to explore the origins of the organization
Good place to start is in January of 1885:
w01 1/15 p. 28 How the Governing Body Differs From a Legal Corporation
How the Governing Body Differs From a Legal Corporation
ANNUAL meetings of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania have been held since January of 1885. When the ingathering of anointed Christians was underwayin the late 19th century, the directors and officers of this corporation had the heavenly hope. In fact, this has almost always been the case.
Properly understand the initial mandate stated above and its implications in regard to the profound fulfillment of prophecy.
Recommend that you use the CD library to get comfortable with the idea that the "anointed Christians" are "Kings of the Earth".
When you make the connection to end time prophecy you should realize that something truly insidious and reprehensible has been happening in the world for over a 100 years now.
Something that Jesus Christ said would happen!
Watching the video I linked above will help put the pieces together.
abe