Christian denomination Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Christian denomination - Research Paper Example Though the denominations have a similar origin and are all followers of Christ, their variations arise from their differing views about the bible and its interpretations. A major factor connecting the denominations is the fact that they all rely upon the Bible for guidance, though there may be variations in these Bibles. As such, an example of a Christian denomination is the Jehovah Witnesses that started in the late 1800’s. Charles Taze Russell, who was a child to Joseph and Anna Russell, started this denomination while under bible study class at 18. During his bible studies, he interpreted the bible and came up with the conclusion that there was no such thing as the Holy Trinity and, on this, he started organizing himself to mobilize others who shared similar ideas. Moreover, he broke away from his then church as his views differed with what was spread by his church. Apart from this, he was also of the idea that hell fire was nonexistent and did not buy the idea that Christ was a deity. In the course of popularizing his ideas, he started publishing magazines and journals mostly countering other denominations, and by 1884, after gaining much foot, he came up with The Watchtower and established Watch Tower Tract Society that later transformed into the present Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society (Butalia 123). This assisted in the denominations publications that were mainly biased upon Russell’s ideas, as he was the sole author, and his main motive was to make his ideas known. Moreover, he organized denominational congregations where the followers received continuous teachings and Bible interpretations. This went on until his death in 1916. Upon Russell’s death, the society, which was then under the name International Bible Students Association due to its composition of bible study students, was taken over by Joseph Franklin. Joseph had the eccentricity of Russell, and he too made various controversial decisions while reigning at the society . This led to further split in the society but Joseph was unrelenting in his thoughts. Despite this, he retained the majority of followers. In light of this, in 1931, he changed its name to Jehovah’s Witnesses, a name that stuck to date. After the passing on of Joseph, the society went under the leadership of various personalities such as Nathan Knorr and William Franz in the course of its transformational journey (Butalia 145). Nathan was accredited with commissioning a new Bible translation and incorporating policies that enabled for continued growth worldwide. Others who have graced the management of the society include Milton Herschel and Don Adams, through which the denomination has grown in leaps and bounds, transforming under each individual leadership. The early and founding leadership of the society was well known for their penchant for coming up with chronologies that tried to predict the dates that the world would end. After a series of uneventful episodes and disa ppointments, the society abandoned the culture of trying to figure out the end of the world. Jehovah’s Witnesses are involved in a variety of practices that set them apart from the rest of the denominations. Their main practice is evangelism, which they mainly carry out on a door-to-door basis. Their principles are based upon their interpretation of the Bible, which at times differ from other Christians. A main point of divergence between Jehovah’s Witnesses and other Christians is their denial of the holy trinity and view that hell is nonexistent. They are not