It was after having written some time ago on this blog an article on the history of the movement of Jehovah's Witnesses , who had also attracted a lot of very fast reactions from members of this organization that I 'had had the desire to acquire a comprehensive overview on the subject. However difficult to find a book fair on the issue, both Jehovah's Witnesses are controversial, in one way or another. The work of Bernard Blandre stands out. Professor of history, specializing in Jehovah's Witnesses, it examines uncompromising and unbiased hostile this organization which has done much about her in France, especially in the late 90s.
As he explains in his introduction, since their "founding father " Rutherford, Jehovah's Witnesses are considered to be the only religion approved by God. For them, all other churches are manifestations of the Devil, the "Babylons " in power. And yet! Jehovah's Witnesses are themselves from a religious family: they are a branch of the movement Bible Students , itself derived from the Adventism running inspired by the preaching of William Miller , a Baptist which only part of the long tradition of millenarian Christianity. We can also easily connect to Witnesses Protestantism as they swear by the Bible, even if they deny that Christ is God: they are monotheistic almost to the point of denying the Trinity. Bernard Blandre at the time, wants to write this book Collection The Sons of Abraham because of the fairly visible presence of Jehovah's Witnesses in everyday life, be it by the door to door . But they are quite hostile in general, questions or arrival of the researchers. According to the author, Jehovah's Witnesses have indeed evolved from mysticism original Bible Students to a very narrow framework of the individual in a true propaganda machine , facing the imminent arrival of the Kingdom of God on Earth. For Blandre, Jehovah's Witnesses are among the best examples of sects, in the scientific sense of the word (definition based on the work of sociology by Max Weber and Ernst Troeltsh: contractual group, which focuses on the intensity life of its members, who refuses all ties with society, rejected other churches and society, in a posture which is sometimes protest in return persecution).
The book is divided into three parts of about fifty pages each. In the first part, Bernard Blandre traces the history of the organization , the genesis of the movement, its formation and consolidation until 1991. The second part is a anthology of key reference texts of Jehovah's Witnesses from William Miller to the contemporary records of the organization. The third part offers no analysis u Witnesses Jehovah's themes: sacred art, spiritual, sociological profile, organization. The set is complemented by an extensive bibliography and annexes provided very (diagrams showing the origins of Jehovah's Witnesses from Adventism, the Bible Students; maps on the distribution of Witnesses in the world statistics Jehovah's Witnesses and its evolution throughout the country; booklet iconographic end of the book with the main figures of the movement, and illustrations drawn from the Jehovah's Witness pamphlets to explain their meaning shelled).
The only flaw of this book is that date unfortunately of 1991 and that 20 years later, he must be somewhat outdated in terms of statistics and trends very immediate movement Witnesses Jehovah. Nevertheless, the first two parts of the book (history and anthology), as annexes remain largely valid. An excellent book begins, therefore, to learn more about these strange characters.
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