The Watchtower

Japanese: ものみの塔 - ものみのとう（英語表記）The Watchtower

The Watchtower Bible is a popular periodical pamphlet about the Bible, which was first published in 1879 by CT Russell, the founder of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (commonly known as Jehovah's Witnesses). The Watchtower was also established in Japan in 1953, and a Japanese pamphlet is published under the name "Watchtower". Jehovah's Witnesses is a religious organization that was born in the United States and that espouses millennialism. Its predecessor was the International Bible Students Association, which Russell founded in Pittsburgh in 1872. The name "Jehovah's Witnesses" was given to them in 1931 by their successor J. Rutherford. They emphasized that Jehovah (→Yahweh), the God of the Old Testament, is the true God, and predicted the coming of the millennium based on apocalyptic literature. They also believed that only the true God should be worshiped, and refused to show respect (such as saluting the flag) or serve the nation or established churches. Through person-to-person tactics and the distribution of books such as The Watchtower, the group spread rapidly throughout the world and contributed to respecting freedom of conscience, peace, and anti-war, but it also has strong fundamentalist tendencies and maintains an anti-evolutionary stance and refusal to accept blood transfusions.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

「ものみの塔聖書冊子協会 (通称エホバの証人) 」の創始者 C.T.ラッセルが 1879年に創刊した同協会の機関紙で，聖書に関する大衆的定期小冊子。日本でも 1953年同協会が設立され，『ものみの塔』の名称で邦文冊子が刊行されている。「エホバの証人」とはアメリカで生れた至福千年説を奉じる宗教団体で，その前身は 1872年ピッツバーグでラッセルが創設した国際聖書学生協会。「エホバの証人」の名称は 1931年後継者の J.ラザフォードの命名。旧約聖書の神エホバ (→ヤハウェ ) が真の神であることを強調し，黙示文学に基づいて至福千年の到来を予言した。また真の神にのみ礼拝すべきであるとして，国家や既成教会などに対する表敬行為 (たとえば国旗敬礼) や奉仕なども拒絶。人対人戦術と『ものみの塔』など書籍配布によって急速に全世界に広まり，良心の自由の尊重，平和，反戦などに貢献しているが，ファンダメンタリズムの傾向が強く，反進化論，輸血拒否などの姿勢を貫く。

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