World Religions

Introduction to World Religions Study Guide

©2018 Achieve Page 91 of 96 is a millennialism Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs, which distinguishes it from mainstream Christianity. The Trinity is the three-in-one Godhead: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There are over 7.8 million adherents involved in this practice, with convention attendance of 12 million and the annual Memorial attendance of over 19 million. The direct governing body is a group of elders in Brooklyn, New York, and they establish all doctrines. Jehovah’s Witnesses’ beliefs are based on their interpretations of the Bible and they use their own translation, the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures . They believe the end of the world will happen and Armageddon is imminent. At that time, God’s kingdom on earth will be the solution for all of mankind’s problems. The Third Great Awakening The Third Great Awakening occurred in 1850-1910 and was characterized by new denominations, highly active missionary work, and the Social Gospel approach to social issues. The Third Great Awakening resulted in more than 1 million converts to Christianity in the United States. It helped to religiously prepare the United States for the bloodbath that was coming with the Civil War in 1861- 1865. Revivals swept the armies of the South during the days of the war. It produced the leadership, like that of Dwight L. Moody, and was the impetus to the creation of the Christian and Sanitary Commissions and numerous Freedmen’s Societies that were formed in the midst of the war. 9.5 Christian Science Christian Science is a system of religious thought developed by Mary Baker Eddy (1821-1910). She was an American who based her book, Science and Health (1875), on her reading of the Bible and her personal experience. The Bible and her book were the central texts of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, which Eddy founded in 1879 in Lynn, Massachusetts. In a 1936 census, nearly 270,000 individuals were adherents in the United States and in 2010, there were 100,000 followers worldwide. The ideas of Christian Science have been compared to philosophical idealism. Christian Scientists believe that spiritual reality is the only reality and the material world is an illusion; this includes death and sickness. When someone becomes ill, they believe they need to practice healing prayers rather than seek medical attention. They do not have an anthropomorphic conception of God. They do not believe in a conventional Heaven and Hell. They see Christ as the Divine ideal of man. Christian Scientists further believe that Jesus is not a deity, but is Christ’s highest human manifestation. While the deaths of members and their children in the early days can be attributed to the lack of medical treatment and vaccinations, in 2010, the church stated they would not continue to allow that to happen. Medical care and Christian Science healing are not to be mixed. However, Christian Science healing can be used to supplement conventional medicine, but not as a replacement for it. 9.6 Jehovah’s Witnesses Jehovah’s Witnesses