Several people were killed and injured in a shooting inside a building where Jehovah’s Witnesses met on Thursday night in the northern German city of Hamburg, officials said.
International Christian denomination founded in the United States has a history of over 100 years Germany, Today about 170,000 members call the European country home, according to the sect’s website.
The sect itself dates back to the 19th century. It was founded by Charles Taze Russell, a minister from Pittsburgh. now at headquarters warwick, New York, it claims a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million. Members are known for their evangelistic efforts which include knocking on doors and distributing literature in public squares.
Here’s a quick look at the International Sect’s beliefs and their history in Germany:
– In Germany, there are approximately 2,020 Jehovah’s Witnesses congregations and 170,491 ministers. According to the sect’s website, one in 498 Germans adhere to this doctrine.
– Jehovah’s Witnesses do not call their place of worship a church, but a “Kingdom Hall”. This is because they believe that the Bible refers to the worshipers – not the building – as the church. The building or hall where congregations meet to worship Jehovah (the God of the Bible and his Kingdom) is therefore called the “Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses”.
– Jehovah’s Witnesses do not use crosses in worship because they believe that the Bible indicates that Jesus died not on a cross, but on a simple pillar, and that the Bible “exhorts Christians to avoid idolatry.” which would mean not using the cross in worship,” the sect’s website states.
– Each congregation is overseen by a body of elders. About 20 congregations form a circuit and are sometimes visited by traveling elders called circuit overseers.
– On January 27, 2021, the German State Parliament applauded Jehovah’s Witnesses’ courageous stand against Nazi abuse. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the ceremony was held online and was watched by over 37,000 people from Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
About 1,500 of the approximately 35,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses who died during the Holocaust lived in Germany and Nazi-occupied countries at the time. More than 1,000 died in prisons and concentration camps. Members of the faith were persecuted by the Nazi regime because they remained politically neutral. He also refused to sign a document renouncing his beliefs and defied the regime’s orders by continuing to meet for worship, perform public ministry, and show mercy to the Jewish people.
– On January 27, 2017, Jehovah’s Witnesses received the same legal status as major religions in Germany, meaning they are viewed as a single religious entity. Prior to achieving this status, their national headquarters in Germany and thousands of congregations in the country were considered independent religious associations.
– In the US, Jehovah’s Witnesses stopped door-knocking in the early days of the start of the pandemic, just as the rest of society went into lockdown. The organization also ended all public meetings at its 13,000 congregations nationwide and canceled 5,600 annual gatherings worldwide—an unprecedented step not taken even during the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918, which killed 50 million people worldwide. Took life
International Christian denomination founded in the United States has a history of over 100 years Germany, Today about 170,000 members call the European country home, according to the sect’s website.
The sect itself dates back to the 19th century. It was founded by Charles Taze Russell, a minister from Pittsburgh. now at headquarters warwick, New York, it claims a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million. Members are known for their evangelistic efforts which include knocking on doors and distributing literature in public squares.
Here’s a quick look at the International Sect’s beliefs and their history in Germany:
– In Germany, there are approximately 2,020 Jehovah’s Witnesses congregations and 170,491 ministers. According to the sect’s website, one in 498 Germans adhere to this doctrine.
– Jehovah’s Witnesses do not call their place of worship a church, but a “Kingdom Hall”. This is because they believe that the Bible refers to the worshipers – not the building – as the church. The building or hall where congregations meet to worship Jehovah (the God of the Bible and his Kingdom) is therefore called the “Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses”.
– Jehovah’s Witnesses do not use crosses in worship because they believe that the Bible indicates that Jesus died not on a cross, but on a simple pillar, and that the Bible “exhorts Christians to avoid idolatry.” which would mean not using the cross in worship,” the sect’s website states.
– Each congregation is overseen by a body of elders. About 20 congregations form a circuit and are sometimes visited by traveling elders called circuit overseers.
– On January 27, 2021, the German State Parliament applauded Jehovah’s Witnesses’ courageous stand against Nazi abuse. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the ceremony was held online and was watched by over 37,000 people from Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
About 1,500 of the approximately 35,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses who died during the Holocaust lived in Germany and Nazi-occupied countries at the time. More than 1,000 died in prisons and concentration camps. Members of the faith were persecuted by the Nazi regime because they remained politically neutral. He also refused to sign a document renouncing his beliefs and defied the regime’s orders by continuing to meet for worship, perform public ministry, and show mercy to the Jewish people.
– On January 27, 2017, Jehovah’s Witnesses received the same legal status as major religions in Germany, meaning they are viewed as a single religious entity. Prior to achieving this status, their national headquarters in Germany and thousands of congregations in the country were considered independent religious associations.
– In the US, Jehovah’s Witnesses stopped door-knocking in the early days of the start of the pandemic, just as the rest of society went into lockdown. The organization also ended all public meetings at its 13,000 congregations nationwide and canceled 5,600 annual gatherings worldwide—an unprecedented step not taken even during the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918, which killed 50 million people worldwide. Took life
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