Awake!
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Awake! (ISSN 0005-237X) is a magazine published by Jehovah's Witnesses, considered to be a companion magazine of The Watchtower.
The magazine's predecessor, first published in 1919 by the International Bible Students Association (an earlier name of Jehovah's Witnesses), was entitled The Golden Age. From 1937 it was called Consolation. In some countries it was also known as New World, for a while. In 1946 the magazine was released with the present name, Awake!.[citation needed]
Contents |
[edit] Content
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Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (September 2008) |
Awake! often contains articles reporting current medical opinion of various medical conditions. Conditions that have been featured in Awake! include dementia,[1] transient cerebral ischemia,[2] infectious diseases,[3] bipolar disorder,[4] and postpartum depression [5]. Awake! also frequently contains articles about nature, geography, and other general interest topics, generally from a religious perspective.
Issues of the The Golden Age, the forerunner to Awake!, frequently contained spurious material on medical subjects, such as the evils of aluminum,[6] vaccines[7] and modern medicine.[8]
[edit] Publishing
Until December 2005 Awake! was published semi-monthly. Since January 2006 Awake! has been published monthly. The magazine has 32 pages and is printed in full color. As of 2008, it is available in 81 different languages[9], with a total worldwide circulation of 35,754,000. It is considered to be the second most widely distributed magazine in the world (after The Watchtower).[citation needed] It is available, in selected languages, in audio cassette and compact disc (audio and MP3) formats.
In the past, Awake! and its companion The Watchtower were sold for a small charge, varying over time and from country to country.[citation needed] However, on January 17, 1990, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that sales of religious literature were subject to taxation, which would have required the Watchtower Society to pay tax on the price of the magazines. The Watchtower Society filed an amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief arguing that the sale of religious literature should be exempt from taxation.[10]
From March 1, 1990, the journals were made available at no cost, on a freewill donation basis in the United States, with the stated purpose of simplifying their Bible educational work and distinguishing themselves from those who commercialize religion.[citation needed] The article "Use Our Literature Wisely" which appeared in the May 1990 Our Kingdom Ministry stated, that "there are growing pressures against all religious elements" and it went on to say that their main concern was to move ahead in the worldwide Kingdom preaching work, "without hindrance."
The sale of the literature in other countries was gradually eliminated; since early 2000 Awake! has been distributed free of charge worldwide, its printing being funded by voluntary donations from Jehovah's Witnesses and members of the public.[citation needed]
[edit] Doctrinal notes
The purpose of the magazine has changed over time. In 1982 the aim of the magazine was listed as "this magazine builds confidence in the Creator's promise of a peaceful and secure new order before the generation that saw 1914 passes away".[11] When their belief regarding the "generation" of 1914 was changed to a less literal sense, the aim of the magazine changed to "this magazine builds confidence in the Creator’s promise of a peaceful and secure new world that is about to replace the present wicked, lawless system of things"[12]
[edit] References
- ^ Awake!, September 22, 1998
- ^ Awake!, February 8, 1998
- ^ Awake!, July 22, 1999
- ^ Awake!, September 8, 2001
- ^ Awake!, March 8, 2003
- ^ The Golden Age, September 23, 1936, p. 803.
- ^ The Golden Age, May 1, 1929, p. 502.
- ^ The Golden Age, September 8, 1937, p. 771.
- ^ Aktuelle Themen - Jehovas Zeugen: Offizielle Website der Wachtturm-Gesellschaft
- ^ Jehovah's Witnesses and Jimmy Swaggart
- ^ Awake! 8th January 1982, Page 2
- ^ Awake! 8th November 1982, Page 2
[edit] External links
- Official MP3 and AAC audio recordings of "Awake!" and "Watchtower" for downloads and listening
- Current Awake! and The Watchtower topics
- Archive of Awake! articles
- Online PDFs of The Golden Age for: 191919201921192219231924
- Archive of Golden Age magazines Archive of Consolation magazines (unofficial website)
