Judging Jehovah's Witnesses: Religious Persecution and the Dawn of the

Rating:
Summary: great history book
Review: As a history major and a Jehovah Witness I ound this book to be absolutely amazing. The book discusses in detail the facts leading up to the presecution of JWs in America, and also the persecution itself. I was amazed to lean how lil "freedom" there was in America at that time, as will all readers. If it was not for the JWs who knows what the US would have been able to do to people if the people themselves did not rise up, as this book shows the JWs did.

5 stars great history book for anyone who likes history of the US, religion, or JWs.

Rating:
Summary: Gripping stories, brilliant analysis
Review: As one of Jehovah's Witnesses, let me tell you that Donald Kerns is totally wrong with what he said in his review. Ask one of Jehovah's Witnesses, not some person who is not one.

As for the book, it's ok, but if you really want all that history, ask one of Jehovah's Witnesses. Im sure they'd gladly tell you what you want to know.

Rating:
Summary: Eye-opening Look at USA during the 1940's
Review: First, let me state I'm neither a legal scholar nor a Jehovah's Witness. I just like to read different books about different subjects. This book is a great read, very interesting background about the witnesses and the U.S. legal system.

I couldn't seem to stop reading and "had" to finish this book. Peter's style, although noticeable in the beginning, disappears after about 30 pages and the book becomes totally captivating. To me, this indicates a Very well written book.

I would easily recommend Judging Jehovah's Witnesses to friends.

Rating:
Summary: To Been There
Review: I have been privileged to be one of Jehovah's witnesses since the time I was a teenager. I have made it a point to read anything I could regarding the unprecedented series of Supreme Court decisions in the late 1930's and early 1940's brought about by the activities of, and opposition to, Jehovah's witnesses. This is by far the most enlightening of these works, for several reasons. First, the author has thoroughly researched this work and included a great deal of information regarding the often ignored decisions of the lower courts. In many cases the eloquence of the lower courts and their grasp of the constitutional issues involved surpassed that of the majority of the Supreme Court. Second, the role of those courageous enough to champion the witnesses' civil rights was given a prominence I have not seen in other works. The ACLU, certain liberal clergymen, and the editorials of the Christian Century were given a prominence that has been downplayed or ignored in other works. In addition, the brilliance of the witnesses' legal team, Hayden Covington in particular, in orchestrating their strategy is acknowledged. Third is the author's uncomfortableness with, and in some cases dislike of, the teachings and practices of Jehovah's witnesses. Although I found some of the comments regarding the witnesses unnecessary (weird, odd, obstreperous, etc.), it made his acknowledgement of the witnesses contributions to freedom in this country all the more meaningful. Finally, the role that this series of decisions played in shaping the Supreme Court for its role as the guardian of civil liberties in the 1950's and 60's is explained in a way that makes me swell with pride to be a part of the group that helped to guarantee the freedoms that at one time in the not too distant past were in danger of being suppressed.

Rating:
Summary: Good Book, but stops short of the full truth!
Review: S. F. Peters does an excellent job portraying the Watchtower Society's struggles in the 1930s/40s to guarantee their members the rights granted by the US Constitution. Sixty years later, the Watchtower Society has an extensive worldwide legal department which will immediately file suit against anyone even hinting at abidging their legal rights. Maybe Peter's next book could deal with the contradictions that exist within this same organization's own intra-church judicial system, which refuses to allow its own members the right to a public hearing, right to have the proceedings documented, right to representation, right to not be prosecuted under an ex-post facto law, and on and on. Jehovah's Witnesses are even forbidden to publicly disagree with any doctrine promoted by the Watchtower Sciety. Basicly, the Watchtower Society refuses to grant to its own members the very rights it legally demands for itself!(...)

Rating:
Summary: been there
Review: Sorry, Cody.....Donald Kern hit the nail right on with his comments here. The WTS does deny its own members the very rights that it demands for itself. Judicial committee hearings are more akin to closed-door heresy trials than anything else. They are NOTHING like the legal proceedings held by government, which the WTS uses to fight for their own rights when they feel infringed upon.
At my own judicial hearing, the first thing asked of me at each session was if i had any recording devices on me!
As for asking a JW about themselves.....thats of course a good idea...just be assured that they will only say what makes them look good. Ex-members are often the best source for info....they have actually been there, held the mentality, and seen through the flaws. Ex-JWs will not gloss over the serious issues that are plauging the religion.
If you want to know the scoop on the Unification (Moonies) church, you wont get a balanced answer from a current member....but you will from an ex-member. Same is true of the JWs.

Rating:
Summary: A History Worth Remembering
Review: The author is not one of Jehovah's Witnesses nor is he sympathetic toward their beliefs. (Which he makes clear in various comments throughout the book.) However, he does support their legal right to have such beliefs, to proclaim them, and to act in harmony with them.

What I liked about the book was the background the author gives to the legal cases. He doesn't just give you the legal facts but he gives you the story of the Witnesses, their persecutors, the police officers, and the judges. He tries to help you see why each group acted the way they did. He shows how the persecution affected the private lives of the Witnesses. I particularly enjoyed the behind the scenes look into the Supreme Court. What the Justices thought in private and how they wrangled with one another before making their decisions.

Mr. Peters has done a good job in bringing back to public attention a momentous period in legal history that helped to shape in a significant way the legal environment of our present time. A time in which even hated minorities can look to the courts with a certain amount of confidence that their legal right to think, proclaim, and act in harmony with their beliefs will be protected.

Rating:
Summary: A Remarkable Story!
Review: This book is about the legal battle Jehovah's Witnesses waged, in the 1930's and 1940's, to secure their constitutional rights to practice their beliefs in the midst of the hysteria that consumed the USA in the years leading up to and into the Second World War. The author, Shawn Francis Peters, is not one of Jehovah's Witnesses nor is he sympathetic to their beliefs. However, he does believe in their right to think, proclaim, and act in harmony with their beliefs.

If you are interested in American, legal, or religious history this book will be of interest to you. What I particularly enjoyed was the background material he gives. The Witnesses, their persecutors, the police and judges. He helps us to see what motivated each group. He takes us behind the scenes of the Supreme Court. There we see that there were not just dry legal deliberations that went on but the beliefs of the Justices caused them to become emotionally involved as well.

The book is full of many firsthand accounts. So we get a sense of what it felt like to be living during that time. We feel the anguish of the Witnesses, as they endure their trials, facing discrimination and prejudice from what may be called 'petty officials'. We see policeman, sheriff, mayor, governor, and the U.S. Justice Dept basically ignore their pleas for help against their persecutors. They finally realized that "their only recourse was the Courts".

We, also, see that there were others who could see that if the actions against Jehovah's Witnesses were allowed to stand then the rights of all minorities would be at stake. So various groups such as the ACLU, the Christian Century magazine, liberal clergymen and numerous journalists, while always making clear that they did not share the Witnesses religious beliefs nonetheless supported their rights to have and share such beliefs without being persecuted.

The author has done a good job in bringing back to public attention an episode of American life that few people are familiar with. It is a story that deserves to be remembered. As he says in his introduction: "Largely forgotten for the past fifty years, their simple but eloquent voices tell a remarkable story, one that lays bare the extremes of cowardice and courage so often found in nations engrossed by war."