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The Rediff Special/ Venu Menon

The Christian Fringe

They don't believe Jesus is God. They don't believe in the holy Trinity. They don't carry or install the cross. Their churches have no altars. They have no popes or pontiffs, no robes or rosaries.

They will not sing the national anthem. Or join the army. Blood, transfusion is taboo. So is eating meat with blood on it.

They believe Jehovah is the sovereign of the universe, and that Jesus is his son. In the Bible, Jehovah tells his followers to bear witness to him. Hence the name Jehovah's Witness. They believe in Paradise, but also in Heaven on Earth. Paradise has room for a little over 100,000 individuals who qualify to enter it. The rest of mankind will be accommodated here on earth when the time comes. That is, when Jehovah guides humanity through its final cataclysm, dissolves all nationalities and nations and installs a World Government. There are intimations in the Bible of when all this will happen.

The run-up to that event is being monitored on a day-to-day basis from a skyscraper in New York called The Watchtower.

They call themselves the original Christians and claim that other Christians follow a Christianity diluted by early Roman influence. Jehovah's Witness has a worldwide following of 5.8 million, with India accounting for 20,390. The bulk of the Indian following comes from Kerala. The group's headquarters in India is in Lonavla, near Pune. Its world capital is New York.

Witnesses gather routinely in around 200 Kingdom Halls across the state to listen to sermons based on the Bible. The organisation is self-funded, that is, it receives no money from abroad and rung on cash generated by the sale of its publications and the offerings of its followers. Jehovah's Witnesses are mostly volunteers who pursue regular jobs.

Matthew Thomas, for instance is a bank manager. Originally a member of the Marthoma church, he stumbled on a book titled The Truth about God which changed his life. He was convinced by the Biblical analysis that established that Jehovah is God. Likewise, P P Mathai, a journalist, left the Church of South India to become a Witness after he was disabused of the concept of the Trinity.

There are converts from all faiths in the ranks of the Jehovah's Witness. Codes of conduct are strictly enforced. And there is no compromise on basic organisation principles. Jehovah's Witness faces court actions in 40 countries for refusing to salute the national flag or sing the national anthem. In all the cases, including the litigation in India, the courts uphold the stand of the Witnesses. "We will stand in respectful silence but we will not sing the national anthem. It goes against our faith," Matthew points out. "Singing is an act of devotion or worship. We can show devotion only to Jehovah."

Like the Pentecostals, Jehovah's Witness faces intolerance from both the local community as well as the established church. But its faith is strong. Witnesses bear the brunt of ridicule and ostracism with the stoic courage of those who tread a solitary path, with only the Bible as companion.

'Our church is now a small wayside stall. We must make it grow into a big supermarket'
'There is nothing wrong about conversions'

The Rediff Specials

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