No birthdays doctrine destroyed

by DoomVoyager 40 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  DoomVoyager

  Not sure if anyone has pointed this out before, but behold the January 8th Awake!, 2008, pages 26-27;

  What

  Are Customs?

  Customs are practices that apply to social life and are common to a particular place or class of people. Some customs, such as table manners and etiquette, may have

  arisen out of a need to regulate people’s behavior in group activities, enabling them to interact in a civil and mutually respectful manner. In such cases, social courtesies can be likened to oil, in that they lubricate the wheels of human relationships.

  Customs have been profoundly influenced by religion. Many, in fact, arose from old superstitions and non-Biblical religious ideas. For instance, giving flowers to bereaved ones may have had its origin in religious superstition. In addition, the color blue—often associated with baby boys—was thought to frighten away demons. Mascara served as a protection against the evil eye, while lipstick was used to discourage demons from entering a woman’s mouth and possessing her. Even a custom as innocuous as covering the mouth while yawning may have arisen from the idea that one’s soul could escape through a wide-open mouth. Over the years, however, the religious associations have faded, and today these practices and customs have no religious significance.

  The

  Concern of Christians
  

  When a Christian must decide whether or not to follow a certain custom, his main concern should be, What is God’s viewpoint as expressed in the Bible? In the past God condemned certain practices that may have been tolerated in some communities. These included child sacrifice, the misuse of blood, and various sexual practices. (Leviticus 17:13, 14; 18:1-30; Deuteronomy 18:10) Likewise, certain customs that are common today are clearly not in harmony with Bible principles. Among these are non-Biblical traditions connected with religious holidays such as Christmas and Easter or with superstitious practices related to spiritism.

  But what about customs that may once have been linked to questionable practices but that today are primarily viewed as social etiquette? For example, many popular wedding customs—including the exchanging of rings and the eating of cake—may have pagan origins. Does this mean that Christians are forbidden to observe such customs? Are Christians required to scrutinize meticulously each custom of the community to see whether somewhere or at some time it had negative connotations?

  Paul points out that "where the spirit of Jehovah is, there is freedom." (2 Corinthians 3:17; James 1:25) God wants us to use this freedom, not as an inducement for selfish cravings, but to train our perceptive powers to distinguish right from wrong. (Galatians 5:13; Hebrews 5:14; 1 Peter 2:16) Hence, in a matter where there is no clear violation of Bible principles, Jehovah’s Witnesses do not create a hard-and-fast rule. Instead, each Christian must weigh the circumstances at hand and make a personal decision.

  Wedding rings are based on pagan traditions. By the same reasoning that permits the Hateful and Disgusting Slave to give wedding rings the OK, Witlesses should be able to celebrate birthdays as well.
• 

  AlmostAtheist

  When I was about to leave, I mentioned the Pinata article from the Awake magazine to the elders, which made the same points about how something was viewed years ago need not affect how Christians view it today. I said, "If that's our attitude toward the Pinata, why don't we have the same attitude toward birthdays?"

  One elder said, "We're not talking about Pinata's, we're talking about birthdays." In his mind, they were two completely different things. And I guess they are. One is in the "Watchtower says it's ok" category, and one isn't. :-)

  You're right, of course. It just shows that the Watchtower is completely arbitrary about what it allows and what it forbids. The scriptures and "pagan origins" and all that crap serve only as justification.

  Dave
• 

  IP_SEC

  The only use of eye make up in the bible was in connection with jexabel. Does that mean xians cant wear eye makeup too?
• 

  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  Recently heard this story, probably a JW urban legend. Little boy comes home after one of his first few days in school and tells his JW mom that they had the most fun today. They all had cupcakes and sang a special song. Mom says, "That wasn't a birthday party was it?" The little boy says, "Well, I looked around and didn't see any heads on plates, so it couldn't have been a birthday party."

  The whole point of the stand against celebrating birthdays is to make the JWs more different, less pagan, less evil, more holy, more persecuted, and way more superior than everyone else. Plus, it's about denying kids any fun. The thought being that the JW kids would hate the world for excluding them from acceptable 'Christian' fun activities. Actually, most JW kids grow up hating how being a JW took the fun out of being a kid. Yeah, going in FS on Saturday morning, then the family Watchtower Study in the afternoon was way more fun than sleeping in, watching cartoons, playing with your friends, and going to a birthday party.

  Even my 'JW most of her life' grandma said, "I wish we could celebrate birthdays. I wish we were allowed to have some kind of fun."
• 

  Leolaia

  Unfortunately, while any reasonable person would conclude from this that birthdays are okay, the Society would not agree. Notice what they say:

  *** w08 1/8 pp. 26-27 What Are Customs? ***

  Hence, in a matter where there is no clear violation of Bible principles, Jehovah’s Witnesses do not create a hard-and-fast rule.

  In its typically stupid way, the Society claims that in contrast to this, birthdays do violate Christian principles:

  *** w64 9/1 p. 534 Youths, Guard Your Spirituality ***

  Some schools may allow for birthday parties and celebration of religious holidays such as Christmas, which even encyclopedias and the public press have repeatedly shown to be of pagan religious origin. Despite the fact that the Bible shows that only pagans celebrated birthdays (Gen. 40:20; Mark 6:21) and despite its warning against worship that is mixed with paganism, some may feel that joining in such celebrations is such a small thing that no harm can come from it. But it is a matter of principle. Those who think that a little violation of principle will not hurt are like people who would not think of committing a bank robbery, but they do not mind cheating people out of a few dollars, because it is just a "little thing." They excuse their violation on the basis of "littleness," but in doing so they undermine their own morals.

  *** w88 12/1 p. 17 par. 10 Jehovah Rewards Faith and Courage ***

  When Christian parents really have the spiritual interests of their children at heart, they will put these first in their own lives, in keeping with Matthew 6:33. Then they can expect that their children will be able to resist the temptations and pressures of peers and schoolteachers to celebrate birthdays or holidays or to violate Scriptural principles in other ways.

  So the Society has it both ways. Birthdays violate Christian principles because they say so, while they say at the same time that it is unreasonable to ban customs that no longer have pagan connotations or current religious significance.
• 

  oldflame

  while they say at the same time that it is unreasonable to ban customs that no longer have pagan connotations or current religious significance.

  Christmas has a religious significance but they do not celebrate that ! It's all about control period..........
• 

  oompa

  DoomV: may have arisen out of a need to regulate people’s behavior (from WT)

  Geeze, never thoght I would see these words int he WT!!!...thye are the MASTERS at this................oompa
• 

  Fatfreek

  DoomVoyager, you may have hit on something here. This may be their trial balloon intended to see what kind of reaction they get from the flock.

  Len Miller
• 

  The Oracle

  You are right, Len Miller.

  This is their trial balloon.

  The new found quest for moderation and the retention of member$ has begun in earnest.

  The wise will see through it.

  The Oracle
• 

  truthseeker

  My take on this:

  Birthdays are a way of how we record time in years.

  Why can we celebrate the birth of a child but not the anniversary of that birth. It doesn't have to be religious.

  The idea that early Christians didn't celebrate birthdays is a non-argument. The early Christians, for the most part, were former Jews.

  Everyone who has ever lived over the age of 1 has had at least one birthday.

  Birthdays can be cause for celebration. When a child turns one, when they turn 15 or 16, when they turn 18 or 21 and can legally have their first drink.

  It gives us a reason to celebrate, not idolize, a person and there standing in life.

  In Spanish culture, turning 15 is a big thing.

  http://www.quinceanera-boutique.com/quinceaneratradition.htm

  Today's ceremonies embrace religious traditions, and the virtues of family and social responsibility. The custom is a celebration of the young girl (la Quinceanera), and a recognition of her journey from childhood to maturity. The celebration highlights God, family, friends, music, food, and dance.

  Even though la Quinceanera has religious roots, notice that this is for virtue not vice or paganism. "The celebration highlights God, family, friends, music, food and dance."

  Concerning birthdays mentioned in the Bible, there is suggestive evidence that God was at least partially involved in one birthday. How?

  Who else could be responsible for giving Pharaoh's cupbearer and baker dreams of divine origin concerning their future on Pharaoh's birthday?

  http://thecrucifixions.blogspot.com/2007/02/cupbearer-and-baker.html

  The Cupbearer and the Baker

  Genesis 40
  
  1 Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. 2 Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3 and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined. 4 The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them. After they had been in custody for some time, 5 each of the two men—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison—had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.

  6 When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. 7 So he asked Pharaoh's officials who were in custody with him in his master's house, "Why are your faces so sad today?"

  8 "We both had dreams," they answered, "but there is no one to interpret them." Then Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams."

  9 So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, "In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, 10 and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes. 11 Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup and put the cup in his hand."

  12 "This is what it means," Joseph said to him. "The three branches are three days. 13 Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh's cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. 14 But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. 15 For I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon."

  16 When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation, he said to Joseph, "I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread. 17 In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head."

  18 "This is what it means," Joseph said. "The three baskets are three days. 19 Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat away your flesh."

  20 Now the third day was Pharaoh's birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials: 21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh's hand, 22 but he hanged the chief baker , just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation.

  23 The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.

  There are many questions associated with this birthday.

  1) On the assumption that God gave both of these men divine dreams, why would God have foretold the exoneration of the cupbearer and the execution of the baker on Pharaoh's birthday?

  2) If interpretation of dreams only belong to God, why would God have involved himself with non-worshippers?

  The WT should allow birthdays to be matters of personal choice, but as someone mentioned here, the WT wants to be so very different that it is willing to place huge burdens on its members, children included, to make them feel that they "are no part of the world."

  The WT compromised it's principals by becoming an NGO of the United Nations. Such hyporcisy will be their undoing.