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AWAKE!
Cover of Awake! magazine
Awake! is a general-interest magazine published by Jehovah's Witnesses. It is considered a companion magazine to The Watchtower which focuses mostly on Bible study and doctrine. Awake! has a wider scope than the Watchtower, publishing articles on science, nature and geography, usually with a religious slant.
History
The magazine's predecessor, first published in 1919 by International Bible Students (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 present magazine called by the name Awake! was released.
Features
The magazine includes Bible crosswords or quizzes; "The Bible's Viewpoint," a column applying the Bible to current issues; "Young People Ask,", a column 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; and "From Our Readers", a selection of letters commenting on previous Awake! articles.
Several articles relating to medical conditions have been published in "Awake!". These include the following ailments: dementia (Awake 1998, 22 September); transcient cerebral ischemia] (Awake 1998, 8 February); infectious diseases: (Awake 1999 22 July); bipolar (manic depressive) disorder (Awake 2001, 8 September); and postpartum (postnatal) depression (Awake 2003, 8 March) to cite just a few examples. In addition, articles containing the lifestories of individual members regarding their experiences and circumstance and articles addressing concerns faced by youths are also regular features
Publishing
Until January 2006, Awake! was published semi-monthly. It is currently published once a month in most of its available languages. The magazine has 32 pages and is printed in full color. As of the start of 2006, it is available in 82 different languages (59 monthly, 23 quarterly), including English, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, and Zulu with a total worldwide circulation of 32,412,000. It is also available, in selected languages, in audio cassette and compact disc (audio and MP3) formats.
Cost
In the United States, The Watchtower and its companion Awake! were sold for a small charge until March 1, 1990, when they were made available at no cost, on a freewill donation basis. This has helped to simplify their Bible educational work and to separate themselves from those who commercialize religion.
Two months earlier, on January 17, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled religious literature being sold was subject to taxation, which would have required the Watchtower Society to pay tax on the price of the magazines. The Watchtower Society had filed an amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief arguing that the sale of religious literature should be exempt from taxation. 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 that their main concern was to move ahead in the worldwide Kingdom preaching work, “without hindrance.”
The sale of the magazines, and all Jehovah's Witnesses' literature, continued around the world until the early 1990s. The Watchtower is now distributed free of charge everywhere, its printing being funded by voluntary donations.
External links
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