Mashahidi wa Yehova

Makao makuu ya kimataifa huko Brooklyn, New York, Marekani.

Mashahidi wa Yehova (kwa Kiingereza Jehovah's Witnesses) ni wafuasi wa dini jamii ya Ukristo ambayo ilianzia Marekani na kuenea ulimwenguni kote.

Tofauti na Wakristo karibu wote, hao hawamuamini Yesu kuwa Mungu sawa na Baba, wala Roho Mtakatifu kuwa nafsi, na kwa jumla hawakubali imani katika Utatu wa nafsi katika Mungu pekee. Kwa sababu hiyo madhehebu mengi hayawatambui kama Wakristo wala hayakubali ubatizo wao.

Mwanzilishi alikuwa Charles Taze Russell pamoja na kikundi cha wanafunzi wa Biblia (miaka ya 1870). Jina la sasa lilianza kutumika mwaka 1931.

Kwa sasa wako milioni 7.5 katika jumuia 107,210 (kadiri ya 2011 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses). Ongezeko ni la asilimia 2.5 kwa mwaka.

Hoja dhidi yao

Wengi wamelaumu Mashahidi wa Yehova hasa kutokana na jinsi walivyotafsiri na wanavyofafanua Biblia, mafundisho yao, katazo la utoaji damu, mara kadhaa za utabiri wao kutotimia hasa kuhusu mambo ya mwisho, pamoja na jinsi waumini wanavyofuatiliwa na kushinikizwa.

Kwa sababu hizo katika nchi mbalimbali dini hiyo iliwahi kukatazwa, kama nchini Tanzania wakati wa urais wa Julius Nyerere au bado ni marufuku.

Wenyewe wamekataa daima lawama hizo, lakini kila mwaka wengi wanajitenga nao.

Marejeo

• Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement by Andrew Holden. An academic study on the sociological aspects of Jehovah's Witnesses phenomenon. Publisher: Routledge; 1st edition 2002, ISBN 9780415266109.
• Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaimers of God's Kingdom (1993) by Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. Official history of the development of the beliefs, practices, and organisational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses.
• Counting the Days to Armageddon by Robert Crompton (1996). A detailed examination of the development of Jehovah's Witnesses' eschatology. James Clarke & Co, Cambridge, ISBN 0227679393.
• Millions Now Living Will Never Die by Alan Rogerson. Detailed history of the Watch Tower movement, particularly its early years, a summary of Witness doctrines and the organizational and personal framework in which Witnesses conduct their lives. Constable & Co, London, 1969. SBN 094559406
• State and Salvation by William Kaplan (1989). Documents the Witnesses' fight for civil rights in Canada and the US amid political persecution during World War II. University of Toronto Press, ISBN 0802058426.

Viungo vya nje

Wikimedia Commons ina media kuhusu:

Mashahidi wa Yehova

Tovuti rasmi

• Watchtower^® - Official Web Site of Jehovah's Witnesses
• Worldwide Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses - Publication downloads in various digital formats
• Jehovah's Witnesses Official Media Web Site

Tovuti nyingine

• 'Knocking' – A documentary about Jehovah's Witnesses. Sample Trailer
• Why Do Jehovah's Witnesses Grow So Rapidly: A Theoretical Explanation – Theory documented by sociologists Rodney Stark & Laurence R. Iannaccone.
• Who are Jehovah's Witnesses, What are their beliefs Chapter from book, Religious Denominations In The United States by Frank S. Mead, Samuel S. Hill and Craig D. Atwood, (2005). Abingdon Press.

Makala hii kuhusu mambo ya dini bado ni mbegu. Je, unajua kitu kuhusu mada hii kama historia yake au uenezi wake? Labda unaona habari katika Wikipedia ya Kiingereza au lugha nyingine zinazofaa kutafsiriwa? Basi unaweza kuisaidia Wikipedia kwa kuihariri na kuongeza habari.