by Samsie 42 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Romans 14:5 NIV -5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.
Colossians 2:16-New International Version
Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.
Romans 14:5 New International Version
One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.Colossians 2:16 New International Version
Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.
rooted in him and built upon him and established in the faith as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one captivate you with an empty, seductive philosophy according to human tradition, according to the elemental powers of the world and not according to Christ. Sovereign Role of Christ. For in him dwells the whole fullness of the deity bodily, and you share in this fullness in him, who is the head of every principality and power. In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not administered by hand, by stripping off the carnal body, with the circumcision of Christ. You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. And even when you were dead [in] transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he brought you to life along with him, having forgiven us all our transgressions; obliterating the bond against us, with its legal claims, which was opposed to us, he also removed it from our midst, nailing it to the cross; despoiling the principalities and the powers, he made a public spectacle of them, leading them away in triumph by it. Practices Contrary to Faith. Let no one, then, pass judgment on you in matters of food and drink or with regard to a festival or new moon or sabbath. These are shadows of things to come; the reality belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, delighting in self-abasement and worship of angels, taking his stand on visions, inflated without reason by his fleshly mind, and not holding closely to the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and bonds, achieves the growth that comes from God. If you died with Christ to the elemental powers of the world, why do you submit to regulations as if you were still living in the world? “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” These are all things destined to perish with use; they accord with human precepts and teachings.Colossians 2:7-22
Yes Carla it's exactly the opposite. Do not let anyone to judge you for not observing Jewish festivals, new moons or Sabbaths according to the mosaic law. The Jews that became Christians tried to make the pagans who became Christians to observe the Jewish law too.
sorry about double post!
Oh dear, oh dear, show me a scripture to back up your argument and I’ll show you mine!
This does not reflect well to Samsie.
Look, people, keep this in mind when quoting scripture to back your argument, especially GodBeliever:
CONTEXT, CONTEXT, CONTEXT!!!
I found it helpful when I was exiting the Dubs to read plenty of Bible commentaries to help me evaluate scripture texts. Then I went to Bible college and it has opened my eyes to what is really being spoken about in various Bible passages.
BTW merely quoting scripture texts in isolation and out of context is no proof, quite the opposite.
Cheers,
Ozzie 🍷
Ozziepost
I understand your point and I am open for criticism. My faith is based on the bible with big Jehovah's witness influences. However, this is how I understand the bible too. Where I can't agree with some of their current teachings I go back to the bible and pray to God for the correct understanding. I used to celebrate Christmas, New year but I just can't find a common ground between everything is done in this life and the relationship I have with God. I experience a lot of rejection since I stopped joining people I grew up with in this way of life. I find that everything is so aggressively forced upon you. I don't believe it does come from Almighty God. Nowadays I get blamed even when I say that I don't celebrate Halloween or Valentine's day which are clearly pagan celebrations. I find people very superficial and in great numbers just pleasure seeking. This is what people look for when they have this sort of celebrations. I don't think I am misinterpreting the bible. Bible can only be understood with God's help. No school of this world will reveal you the meaning of the bible although good education helps.
"so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God. The True Wisdom. Yet we do speak a wisdom to those who are mature, but not a wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age who are passing away. Rather, we speak God’s wisdom, mysterious, hidden, which God predetermined before the ages for our glory, and which none of the rulers of this age knew; for, if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written: “What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him,” this God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God. Among human beings, who knows what pertains to a person except the spirit of the person that is within? Similarly, no one knows what pertains to God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the things freely given us by God. And we speak about them not with words taught by human wisdom, but with words taught by the Spirit, describing spiritual realities in spiritual terms. Now the natural person does not accept what pertains to the Spirit of God, for to him it is foolishness, and he cannot understand it, because it is judged spiritually. The spiritual person, however, can judge everything but is not subject to judgment by anyone. For “who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to counsel him?” But we have the mind of Christ."
1 Corinthians 2:5-16
For the Lord has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep. He has shut your eyes (the prophets) and covered your heads (the seers). For you the vision of all this has become like the words of a sealed scroll. When it is handed to one who can read, with the request, “Read this,” the reply is, “I cannot, because it is sealed.” The Lord said: Since this people draws near with words only and honors me with their lips alone, though their hearts are far from me, And fear of me has become mere precept of human teaching, Therefore I will again deal with this people in surprising and wondrous fashion: The wisdom of the wise shall perish, the prudence of the prudent shall vanish.
Isaiah 29:10-11, 13-14
The bible clearly shows that we cannot understand it without God's help. It's a book only for those who dedicate completely to Him and make a clear split from everything that can spoil the true worship.
You say context. Yes. However, God's rules are universally valid they do not change as He doesn't change.
“But those with insight shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, And those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever."
Daniel 12:1-3
Here's something to ponder on:
In Acts 15, it clearly says to abstain from food sacrificed to idols. But in Corinthians (don't remember the exact chapter), Paul says to Christians that they should eat whatever food non-believers offer them, not inquiring of its source - whether or not it was previously offered to idols. How can that be? This utterly demolishes JWs 'origin's matter' argument. Paul was clearly showing that origins do not matter! What matters is intent and effect on others. A Christian can eat food sacrificed to idols provided that:
1. They eat such a meal with a clear conscience, treating it as any other mundane meal and not as some kind of religious observance to the god it was offered to.
2. Their being seen eating such a meal would not stumble someone with a weaker conscience.
Interestingly, there is another place in Acts where the abstain from blood and abstain from food sacrificed to idols is mentioned. In that passage is actually gives a reason for these abstentions - and the reason is very insightful and interesting. The writer says words to the effect: 'Because Moses is read in the synagogues every Sabbath'. It seems the author was implying that some of these abstentions are necessary only to avoid stumbling Jews familiar with the mosaic law. (2. above) Arguably this applies to the the command to abstain from blood. Because going back to Paul's advice, how is a Christian to know that the meat offered to them by the non-believer was properly bled? Or how do they know that blood wasn't part of the ingredients in preparing the meal? Remember: Paul said they're to just eat and not ask!
So apply Paul's principles principles to Christmas:
What is the intent of those who celebrate Christmas? Are they doing so with religious devotion toward Mithra or Saturn or some other pagan god? No! They celebrate with a clean conscience treating it as just a fun secular holiday or as a commemoration of the birth of Jesus. Of course, if they engage in gluttony or over drinking then that would be wrong from a Biblical standpoint. But that would be a matter of how a person celebrates Christmas rather than whether or not it is allowable to celebrate it, period. One does not have to engage in gluttony and overdrinking to celebrate Christmas and many don't.
Will others be stumbled by seeing you celebrate Christmas? If so don't celebrate it in their view. That can mean celebrating it secretly or not at all, depending on your circumstances.
But the takeaway from Acts and Paul which is quite in contrast to Watchtower, is that God is not some petty deity who stigmatizes things based on origins. Rather, he looks at the conscience and intent of the person involved and if their actions stumble others.
Imagine being disfellowshipped and losing touch with your family and being marked for destruction at Armageddon because you unrepentantly celebrate Christ's birth on a particular day even if it's the wrong day. There is no excuse for creating and enforcing the commands of men. Watchtower religion is absolutely vain going beyond what is written and claiming moral superiority to others who love and serve Jesus Christ.
They do this because they have no fellowship with, nor do they know God's Son. Yes they know some things about Jesus, but they do not know Him. They never communicate with Him. There is something wrong when someone says they know someone but never have spoken to them. They "know" and have a "relationship" with Jesus Christ in the same way as they know and have a relationship with the apostle James or Peter.
Imagine, they cannot even say:
"Thank you Jesus for giving up your glory in heaven and taking on human flesh for our salvation!"
"Thank you Jesus for dying on Calvary for my sins; for taking my punishment!"
"I love you Jesus!"
How to tell if you are in an anti-Christian cult?
say “I love you Jesus” around your group and watch their reaction.
imagine saying this in a KH. Committee Meeting on apostasy!
