Zoe Knox's analysis of the English-language historiography of the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society was published in this journal in 2011. It assessed four types of historical writing on the organisation: the Watch Tower Society's own publications; material produced by two categories of detractors, namely ex-Witnesses and Christians writing from other denominational perspectives; and academic studies. There are vast quantities of all but the last of these. Her article thus concluded with a call for scholars to take this religious community more seriously as an historical subject, echoing an appeal made by Rodney Stark and Laurence Iannaccone to social scientists in 1997. This review essay is intended to supplement Knox's historiographical analysis by appraising recent publications on the history of the Jehovah's Witnesses. As we shall see, although scholarship on this topic remains sparse, particularly given the organisation's visibility, since 2011 several important books have appeared alongside others which make contributions to the limited sum of our knowledge of the origins and emergence of the organisation and the way it has operated in different historical contexts. In short, the field requires reappraisal in light of these publications.

中文翻译：

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耶和华见证人的历史：对近期奖学金的评价

佐伊·诺克斯 (Zoe Knox) 对耶和华见证人和守望台圣经书社英文史学的分析于 2011 年发表在该杂志上。它评估了有关该组织的四种历史著作：守望台社自己的出版物；由两类批评者制作的材料，即从其他教派角度写作的前见证人和基督徒；和学术研究。除了最后一个之外，还有大量的所有这些。因此，她的文章最后呼吁学者更认真地将这个宗教社区作为一个历史主题来看待，这呼应了 Rodney Stark 和 Laurence Iannaccone 在 1997 年对社会科学家的呼吁。这篇评论文章旨在补充诺克斯的观点。通过评价最近关于耶和华见证人历史的出版物来进行史学分析。正如我们将看到的，虽然关于这个主题的学术研究仍然很少，特别是考虑到该组织的知名度，但自 2011 年以来，几本重要的书籍与其他书籍一起出现，它们对我们对组织的起源和出现及其方式的有限知识做出了贡献。在不同的历史背景下运作。简而言之，该领域需要根据这些出版物进行重新评估。自 2011 年以来，几本重要书籍与其他书籍一起出现，它们为我们对本组织的起源和出现及其在不同历史背景下的运作方式的有限了解做出了贡献。简而言之，该领域需要根据这些出版物进行重新评估。自 2011 年以来，几本重要书籍与其他书籍一起出现，它们为我们对本组织的起源和出现及其在不同历史背景下的运作方式的有限了解做出了贡献。简而言之，该领域需要根据这些出版物进行重新评估。