Who Founded the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society?
The organization traces its roots to the 1870s and the leadership of Charles Taze Russell. Born in 1852, Russell was raised within a Protestant background but became disillusioned with mainstream Christian teachings.
The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, also known as the Jehovah's Witnesses, is a religious organization known for its distinctive beliefs and practices. The group's teachings are largely based on its own translation of the Bible, known as the New World Translation, and its publication, The Watchtower. But who founded the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, and what are its origins?
The organization traces its roots to the 1870s and the leadership of Charles Taze Russell. Born in 1852, Russell was raised within a Protestant background but became disillusioned with mainstream Christian teachings. In 1870, at the age of 18, he co-founded a Bible study group in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which later evolved into the religious movement now known as the Jehovah's Witnesses.
Russell's leadership and influence were pivotal in the early development of the group. In 1879, he began publishing a magazine called Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, which laid the groundwork for the specific doctrines and teachings that would come to define the Jehovah's Witnesses. The distinctive theological beliefs, including the rejection of the Trinity, the denial of the immortality of the soul, and the prediction of an imminent Armageddon, were expounded through this publication, which was later renamed The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom.
One of the most significant contributions by Russell and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society was the production of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, the group's own translation of the Bible. Completed in various stages from 1950 to 1960, this translation is notable for its departures from traditional renderings of key passages, especially those relating to the divinity of Jesus Christ. It incorporates theological interpretations consistent with the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses and has been a central text in advocating their distinct doctrines.
Following Russell's death in 1916, the leadership of the Watchtower organization passed to Joseph Franklin Rutherford, who succeeded Russell as the president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. Under Rutherford's leadership, the Jehovah's Witnesses experienced significant growth and organizational development. Rutherford continued to emphasize the impending Armageddon and the establishment of God's kingdom on earth, and he oversaw the expansion of the group's preaching and publishing activities.
The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society continues to be the primary legal and administrative arm of Jehovah's Witnesses. The society oversees the production and distribution of the organization's literature, including The Watchtower and Awake! magazines, as well as various books and brochures.