ThirstyFish

The Jehovah's Witness headquarters has been located in Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO since 1909. The complex is made up of 33 buildings, many connected with tunnels and walkways. The pictured building is seen through the Tobacco Warehouse walls.

Jehovah's Witnesses are best known for their evangelism; distribution of religious literature and door-to-door preaching. Witnesses believe that their religion is a restoration of first-century Christianity and hold beliefs which are distinct from mainstream Christianity. They consider Jehovah as the only "true God", and hence reject Trinity. They dispute other beliefs such as the immortality of the soul, hellfire and predestination. The have attracted criticism from mainstream Christianity, governments, and other religions for their beliefs and practices.

Jehovah's Witnesses, like many other religions in the world, believe that there can only be one truth from God, and only their religion represents the truth. Therefore they reject interfaith and ecumenical movements. They believe that other religions that fail to meet all the requirements set by God and will soon be destroyed. Maybe religious exclusivism explains why Witnesses have a low (37%) retention rate among members.

All religions, sciences, philosophies and political systems are locked in a competition for the truth. Everyone wants a piece of it. Each disciple or system claims to have a handle on it. Is the answer in Christianity, Buddhism, Islam or Hinduism? Is it in capitalism or socialism? Is there an inherent meaning to life, or is meaning an illusion? Is it Democrats or Republicans who are going to solve our social woes? Do science and technology have an answer to all our problems? Any claim to an exclusive answer is a lie. No one person, entity or institution has a monopoly on the truth. The sooner humanity recognizes this, and removes the constraints arising out of thinking within a single doctrine, the sooner it will be on the path to a sustainable future. Science, philosophy or politics can not single-handedly address the needs of the complex we call the human being. Nor can any one religion or religious denomination...

Song of the Day: Personal Jesus - Depeche Mode (1989)