Kerala Blast - Who are Jehovah’s Witnesses?

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• Jehovah’s Witnesses
• Who are Jehovah’s Witnesses?
• Jehovah’s Witnesses in India

Why in news?

• Two people were killed and scores injured after a series of blasts at a Sunday prayer convention of the Jehovah’s Witnesses sect near Kochi.
• Dominic Martin, an estranged member of Jehovah’s Witnesses, who is now in police custody, posted a video on social media taking responsibility for the act.

Who are Jehovah’s Witnesses?

• A Christian sect
  • Jehovah’s Witnesses are a Christian sect, but do not believe in the Holy Trinity.
    • The Holy Trinity doctrine says that God exists in three equal persons of the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit.
• Origins of the sect
  • The origins of the sect lie in a Bible Student movement started in the 1870s by American pastor Charles Taze Russell.
  • Today, the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses is located in Warwick, New York.
• Gods they worship
  • They worship Jehovah as “the one true and Almighty God, the Creator”, who is “the God of Abraham, Moses, and Jesus”.
  • They believe Jesus Christ to be the “King of God’s Kingdom in heaven”, but not as the Almighty God.
• Religious text
  • They base their beliefs only on the text of the Bible, which they see as the word of God.
• Festivals
  • They don’t celebrate Christmas or Easter, because they believe such festivals to be inspired by Pagan traditions.
    • Paganism describes a group of contemporary religions based on a reverence for nature.
    • These faiths draw on the traditional religions of indigenous peoples throughout the world.
• Known for their evangelical work
  • Evangelical work- Believing that religious ceremony is not as important as belief in Jesus Christ and study of the Bible. For this they go door to door, to spread “The Truth”.
  • They believe the end of the world is near, and the Kingdom of God will replace human governments and accomplish God’s purpose for the earth.

Jehovah’s Witnesses in India

• Presence
  • Jehovah’s Witnesses have been present in India since 1905.
  • They established an office in 1926 in Bombay (now Mumbai), and obtained legal registration in 1978.
• SC verdict and Jehovah’s Witnesses
  • A landmark case involving the sect in India was Bijoe Emmanuel vs State Of Kerala.
  • The Supreme Court, in its 1986 verdict, granted protection to three children belonging to the sect, who did not join in the singing of the National Anthem at their school.
  • The court held that forcing them to sing the Anthem violated their fundamental right to religion under Article 25 of the Constitution.

Q1) What is the Holy trinity doctrine?

The doctrine of the Trinity is a Christian belief that one God exists as three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The doctrine states that these three persons are co-equal and co-eternal, with the same nature and attributes. They are worthy of the same worship, confidence, and obedience.

Q2) Who was Moses?

Moses was a Hebrew prophet, teacher, and leader in the 13th century BCE. He is considered the most important prophet in Judaism and one of the most important prophets in Christianity, Islam, the Druze faith, the Baháʼí Faith, and other Abrahamic religions.

Source: Kerala blast kills two: Who are Jehovah’s Witnesses | BBC | Indian Express