1919 -The Most Important JW Belief -Built On Circular Reasoning

The Timeline of Jehovah Supposedly Choosing the Jehovah’s Witnesses

According to Jehovah’s Witnesses’ doctrine, the year Jehovah (through Jesus Christ) inspected and chose their organization is 1919.

  • The Context: While 1914 is considered the year Jesus began ruling in heaven and the “last days” started, the Witnesses believe that a period of testing, refining, and judgment occurred between 1914 and 1919.
  • The Inspection: They believe that in 1919, Jesus inspected all religious groups claiming to be Christian, found their leaders (then known as the Bible Students) to be the only faithful ones, and appointed them to be his “faithful and discreet slave”.
  • Significance: 1919 is considered the year they were “freed from Babylon the Great” (false religion) and commissioned to carry out the modern preaching work.
  • Name Adoption: Although they believe they were chosen in 1919, the group officially adopted the name “Jehovah’s Witnesses” later, in 1931.

The organization—then led by J.F. Rutherford—had been reeling from the death of their first president, Charles Taze Russell, in 1916 and the imprisonment of key members in 1918. Their subsequent release and the restructuring of their preaching work in 1919 are viewed as evidence of divine approval. [1, 2]

Most Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t know the full story of what happened in 1919 or why their entire religion hinges on it. The claim is that God cleansed and chose this organisation as his only channel in 1919. This entire doctrine is based on circular reasoning.

Here’s the logic from the Governing Body’s position:-

‘Our authority is valid because Jesus chose us in 1919. How do we know? Because we say so’.

So they’re saying ‘listen to us because we’re God’s only channel’. ‘How do we know?’ ‘Because Jesus chose us in 1919’.

This makes no sense. And round and round it goes. That’s literally the entire argument for 1919. It’s a self-authenticating claim.

They point to 1919 to justify their authority and then try and use this supposed authority to prove 1919. Logically, it just doesn’t work.