Awake! (ISSN 0005-237X) is a magazine published by Jehovah's Witnesses, considered to be a companion magazine of The Watchtower . Both titles are prepared under the direction of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses[1]. The copyright is held by Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania and the publisher is Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.
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 1946 the magazine was released with the present name, Awake!.[2] In some countries it was known as New World, for a time[3].
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Awake! contains articles about nature, geography, and other general interest topics, generally from a religious perspective. Awake! often contains articles reporting current medical opinion of various medical conditions. Conditions that have been featured in Awake! include dementia,[4] stroke,[5] infectious diseases,[6] bipolar disorder,[7] and postpartum depression [8].
Between the World Wars, The Golden Age, the forerunner to Awake!, sometimes commented upon medical subjects according to unscientific ideas of the day, such as the dietary evils of aluminum,[9] vaccines[10] and modern medicine.[11]
Features
The magazine includes a number of regular columns: The Bible's Viewpoint, a column which applies the Bible to current issues; Young People Ask, giving Bible-based advice aimed at teens and young adults; Watching the World, a selection of single-paragraph news items from a variety of sources; From Our Readers, a selection of letters commenting on previous Awake! articles; and How Would You Answer?, a compilation of biblical trivia. There are also sections for historic biblical dates, questions from the current issue's articles, and a section where youths can search for pictures throughout the magazine.
Articles relating to medical conditions are commonly featured in Awake!. These include dementia,[12] transient cerebral ischemia,[13] infectious diseases,[14] bipolar disorder,[15] and postpartum depression [16] to cite just a few examples.
World War III has also been a perennial theme, with issues printed during the Cold War years of the 1950s and 1960s reporting heavily on conferences of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and other notable events in the USSR, particularly as they pertained to the possibility of Nuclear War. This topic continued to fill pages well into the 1980s, with the release of the TV movie The Day After being responded to with special attention.
Autobiographical articles by individual members regarding their experiences and circumstances also appear periodically, and are notable as the only regularly credited writings in any Society publication.
Publishing
The magazine's editor under the titles of The Golden Age and Consolation was Clayton J. Woodworth[17]. Woodworth was a former editor and textbook writer, and later served on the boards of several corporations of Jehovah's Witnesses until just a few years before his death in 1951 at the age of 81.[18] After receiving the name Awake!, the journal's editorship became anonymous and by committee.
The magazine was originally (according to its cover) "Published every other Wednesday", The Golden Age from 1 October 1919 until 22 September 1937 and Consolation from 6 October 1937 until 31 July 1946. From 22 August 1946[19] until 22 December 2005 Awake! was published semi-monthly in major languages, monthly in most languages, and quarterly in a few languages. Since January 2006 Awake! has been published monthly[20]. The magazine has 32 pages and is printed in full color. As of January 2009, it is available in 82 different languages[21], with a total worldwide circulation of 36,725,000. Awake! is considered to be the second most widely distributed magazine in the world (after The Watchtower)[22]. It is also available, in selected languages, on audio compact disc and via download in both MP3 and AAC formats[23].
In the past, Awake! and its companion The Watchtower were available for a particular small charge, varying over time and from country to country[24] On January 17, 1990, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that sales of religious literature were subject to taxation, which introduced ambiguity into the formerly tax-free practice of suggesting a particular donation in exchange for the magazines. The Watchtower Society had filed an amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief arguing that the sale or perceived "sale" of religious literature should be exempt from taxation.[25]
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[26]. 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 and perceived sale of the literature in other countries was gradually eliminated during the next few years; 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[27].
The magazine is printed in nineteen different countries;[28] about 25% of the total is printed in the United States[29] at the organization's printery at Wallkill, New York[30].
Purpose
The stated 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".[31] When their belief regarding the "generation" of 1914 was changed to a less literal sense, the aim of the magazine was restated as "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"[32]
References
- ^ The Watchtower, March 1, 1987, page 15,
"Each article in both The Watchtower and Awake! and every page, including the artwork, is scrutinized by selected members of the Governing Body before it is printed."
- ^ Revelation - Its Grand Climax At Hand, pages 146-147, notes,
"The Golden Age, was announced at their 1919 convention. It was a biweekly magazine, designed to intensify the sting of their witnessing. (footnote) This magazine was renamed Consolation in 1937 and Awake! in 1946."
- ^ The Watchtower, April 1, 1990, page 28, "In 1930 the magazine The Golden Age (now Awake!) began to be published in Danish under the name The New World."
- ^ 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.
- ^ Awake!, September 22, 1998
- ^ Awake!, February 8, 1998
- ^ Awake!, July 22, 1999
- ^ Awake!, September 8, 2001
- ^ Awake!, March 8, 2003
- ^ Woodworth was editor except during a brief period of incarceration in 1918 and 1919 in connection with his commentary on Revelation in The Finished Mystery
- ^ "Announcements", The Watchtower, February 15, 1952, page 128
- ^ "Periodicals (magazines)", http://www.freeminds.org/sales/wtpubs.htm#wg
- ^ Our Kingdom Ministry, March 2005, published by the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, explained the matter,
"beginning with its January 2006 issue, Awake! will be published as a monthly magazine. This will result in considerable simplification in the preparation, translation, and shipping of our literature. This change will affect about 40 percent of the languages in which Awake! is published. In most languages, Awake! is already a monthly or a quarterly publication."
- ^ http://www.jw-media.org/people/statistics.htm
- ^ http://www.custompublishingcouncil.com/news-members-article.asp?ID=111
- ^ Jehovah's Witnesses' maintain a site allowing audio downloads of most of their major publications. Several recent issues of Awake! in several languages are at this url: http://www.jw.org/index.html?option=QrYQZRQVNZNT
- ^ For example, over seven decades in the United States, the suggested donation varied as follows:
1919 $0.10 per copy, Our Kingdom Ministry, October 1976, page 1. 1950 $0.05 per copy, The Watchtower, May 15, 1950, page 4.
1956 $0.05 per copy, The Watchtower, December 1, 1956, page 2.
1975 $0.05 per copy, Awake!, January 8, 1975, page 6.
1978 $0.10 per copy, Our Kingdom Ministry, October 1978, page 4.
1983 $0.15 per copy, Our Kingdom Ministry, August 1983, page 2.
1984 $0.20 per copy, Our Kingdom Ministry, October 1984, page 2.
1989 $0.25 per copy, Our Kingdom Ministry, October 1989, page 2.
1990 No suggested donation (see body of article)
- ^ Jehovah's Witnesses and Jimmy Swaggart
- ^ Our Kingdom Ministry, May 1990, page 7, noted,
"At the end of February 1990, it was explained that magazines and literature will be provided to publishers and to the interested public on a complete donation basis, that is, without asking or suggesting that a specific contribution be made as a precondition to receiving an item."
- ^ 2001 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 18, noted,
"Another factor in reaching more people with the good news has been the simplified literature distribution arrangement. Jehovah has blessed the faith shown by his servants in this matter. The voluntary donation arrangement is explained to people, but no charge is made for the literature. As of January 2000, that arrangement was extended to all lands where it was not already in operation."
- ^ The Watchtower, November 1, 2005, page 27
- ^ 2004 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 21
- ^ 2005 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 22
- ^ Awake! 8th January 1982, Page 2
- ^ Awake! 8th November 1982, Page 2
External links
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