I'll have to think about that and get back to you

by donny 14 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  donny

  Yesterday afternoon I was speaking to my JW neighbor and he managed to get on the topic of "unity" that defines true Christianity. I then said "What if you have some in a church who believes certain days are more holy than others and yet others who think all days are the same? Is that acceptable?"

  He replied "No, you can't have Christian unity if everyone if making up there own schedule of holidays to celebrate. You just can't."

  I then asked him to explain Romans 14:5 where it said something to the effect that that was ok. He then went to his car and got his mini New World translation and looked up the verse which reads " 5 One [man] judges one day as above another; another [man] judges one day as all others; let each [man] be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day observes it to Jehovah. Also, he who eats, eats to Jehovah, for he gives thanks to God; and he who does not eat does not eat to Jehovah, and yet gives thanks to God."

  He then closed the Bible and then looked at me and said "I'll have to think about that and get back to you."

  Any guesses as to what will be his answer?
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  Witness My Fury

  Yes but, no but, yes but, no but..... or else he wont ever mention it again.
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  designs

  You are about to get your house egged.
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  arko_n9ne

  he will cite issues of the watchtower with articles on why holidays are unchristian.

  he wont reference the scripture you asked about because the articles wont. itd be counterproductive.

  anything he offers will be ver batum from what his superior officer tells him. he will try to talk around your point and red herring you until either you get frustrated and end the discussion or you become so numb you actually believe he has a point.

  and if you sit through his sloppy mess and press the plain text of the scripture he will end the conversation and view you as an apostate.

  is this accurate
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  james_woods

  Valentines day is a pagan holiday even though St. Valentine was an early Christian who opposed the Roman Emporer.
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  Ding

  He will believe that Romans 14 is unimportant because the WTS never brings it up, so he will try to avoid discussing it and hope you forget about it.

  If he does get into it again, I think he will say that Paul was referring to OT holy days, not to holidays with pagan origins.

  So he will quickly try to bring you back to something he finds safe and familiar -- WT dogma about the evils of paganism -- missing entirely that uniformity v. diversity of opinion was your real point.

  If he is a smooth talker, you will also forget what your point was and will end up having a fruitless discussion in which you will find yourself trying to defend Saturnalia and pagan fertility rituals. He will also try to make you feel that by celebrating your birthday, you are complicit in evil akin to the murders of Pharaoh's baker and John the Baptist.

  He will conclude by offering you a "free home Bible study" and inviting you to come to the Kingdom Hall to learn even more so you can escape being destroyed at Armageddon.
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  james_woods

  Thanksgiving Day is a pagan holiday even though it was invented by fundamentalist christians who rejected pagan holidays (like Christmas).
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  watson

  He will use the "read between the lines" rationale that all loyal JWs use, when things just don't make sense.
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  LostGeneration

  I agree with the others. I don't think the WT addresses that scripture directly (they have a funny way of avoiding the hard ones like Luke 21:8)

  You planted a seed of cognative dissonance, usually most explain it away in their head with "Where else would I go?"

  But he won't come back with any sort of biblical answer
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  InterestedOne

  If he goes to the WT CD, w10 2/1 p. 14 says:

  Is it wrong, then, to set aside one day every week for rest and worship? No. God's Word leaves such a decision to each individual, saying: "One person decides that one day is holier than another. Another person decides that all days are the same. Every person must make his own decision." (Romans 14:5, God's Word) While some may choose to view one day as more holy than others, the Bible clearly indicates that God does not expect Christians to observe a weekly Sabbath.

  Here, although they only mention the Sabbath, I wonder if this paragraph leaves open the possibility for other days.