What the Org Teaches #7 Birthdays

The Searcher

#7 Birthdays

What the Org Teaches:

"The Bible never refers to a servant of God celebrating a birthday. This is not simply an oversight, for it does record two birthday celebrations by those not serving God. However, both of those events are presented in a bad light." (Source - JW.0RG website)

What Does the Bible Really Teach:

When it comes to birthday celebrations being mentioned in the (RNWT) Bible, the Org suffers from selective amnesia when Job's sons are mentioned!

Job 1:4 - "And his sons went and held a banquet at the house of each one on his own day;" (Strong's h3117 - Aramaic - yowm)

Job 3:1* - "It was after this that Job opened his mouth and began to call down evil upon his day." (Strong's h3117 - Aramaic - yowm) *(cross-referenced with Jeremiah 20:14 - "Cursed be the day on which I was born! May the day that my mother gave me birth not become blessed!"

Using the same logic, Jehovah's Witness females should carefully examine their consciences after reading the following:

The Bible never refers to a servant of God wearing eye-makeup. This is not simply an oversight, for it does record two eye-makeup occasions by those not serving God. (2 Kings 9:30; Ezekiel 23:40) However, both of those events are presented in a bad light.

This Bible "principle" apparently/probably/evidently/clearly shows that Jehovah's Witness sisters should never wear eye-makeup, for fear of imitating a pagan practice!

The moral of the story is this - don't let elders know that you wore mascara at your birthday party!

In a similar vein, there is not a single reference in the Bible of a servant of God celebrating their wedding anniversary, therefore J.W.'s should be forbidden from carrying out such an "unscriptural" practice.

Bobcat

Searcher:

Thanks for the references to "his own day." Good 'searching'!

Bobcat

For those interested, and to bolster Searcher's point about birthdays, In the Hebrew construction of Job 1:4 his children hold a feast each one on "his day." (See Heb. here.) In Job 3:1, according to the NWT, Job curses "the day of his birth." But the Hebrew has literally (and so does the NWT footnote) "his day" (See Heb. here.) The writer of Job saw no need to explain what "his day" meant for his children. But Job 3:3 clearly explains that "his day" in Job 3:1 meant "the day . . . on which I was born." (See Heb. here.)

Bobcat

Saename

Actually, the first Christians probably didn't celebrate birthdays. For instance, Origen and Tertullian clearly forbid them because (1) in the Bible only unrighteous people honoured their births, and because (2) it was associated with paganism.

Origen wrote,

A certain one of those before us has observed what is written in Genesis about the birthday of Pharaoh, and has told that the worthless man who loves things connected with birth keeps birthday festivals; and we, taking this suggestion from him, find in no Scripture that a birthday was kept by a righteous man (Second Tome of the Commentary on Matthew, bk. X, ch. 22.)

Tertullian, on the other hand, saw that the pagans around him commemorated "birthdays" of their gods, which he likened to "every pomp of the Devil" (On Idolatry, ch. 10.) Additionally, canon 52 of the Council of Laodicea orders that birthdays and marriages be not celebrated during the Lenten fast.

There were Christian writers, like Leo the Great, who seemed not to have such problems with birthdays, but, overall, they were not held in high regard.

Keep in mind that I am an atheist, and as such, I don't believe that birthdays are wrong. I'm just reporting here, as a person who studies the history of Christianity, what the early Christians thought of this celebration. If you want to believe that the Bible doesn't condemn birthdays, then that's fine with me.

fastJehu

Another event in a bad light:

(2 Samuel 4:5-7) 5 And the sons of Rimʹmon the Be·erʹoth·ite, Reʹchab and Baʹa·nah, proceeded to go and come to the house of Ish-boʹsheth about when the day had heated up, as he was taking his NOONDAY SIESTA. 6 And here they came into the middle of the house as men fetching wheat, and then struck him in the abdomen; and Reʹchab and Baʹa·nah his brother themselves escaped detection. 7 When they went into the house, he was lying upon his couch in his inner bedroom, and then they struck him so that they put him to death, after which they removed his head and took his head and walked on the road to the Arʹa·bah all night long.

J.W.'s should be forbidden from carrying out such an "bad light" practice.

Finkelstein

The WTS. leaders/ GB associate the originating pagan practice of celebrating birthdays of pagan gods , which was true in ancient times as a form of imposing individualized idolatry .

Now days in are modern times its a more of expression or practice of love, appreciation and respect.

ie. a child's first birthday or a celebration of someone turning 100 years old.

This really isn't idolatry or idol worship in premise.

Saename

Finkelstein - The WTS. leaders/ GB associate the originating pagan practice of celebrating birthdays of pagan gods , which was true in ancient times as a form of imposing idolatry .
Now days in are modern times its a more of practice of love, appreciation and respect.
ie. a child's first birthday or a celebration of someone turning 100 years old.
This really isn't idolatry or idol worship in premise.

The problem with Jehovah's Witnesses—as with most Christian denominations—is that they think that the Bible is still applicable today. It's true that some teachings are; however, that is not true of most of what you can find in the Bible—or in the early Christianity, for that matter.

The authors of the Bible books were simply men who adhered to the cultural norms of their time. For instance, when Origen and Tertullian wrote against birthdays, it was because the early Christians (their culture) were scared—even terrified—of paganism. This goes back to the fourth, third, and second centuries BCE when the Jews began to see what influence the Greek culture had upon the Jewish customs. The Jews became scared of paganism—including the Hellenization—and that also affected the first Christians who were Jewish. And so the early Christians were afraid of anything even remotely pagan. This is why you have Paul saying that men should not have long hair: fear of paganism. It's simple culture affecting religion, and people can't see that.

Today our culture is not afraid of paganism. This is why churches that apply modern standards to their policies and rules are not scared of birthdays, Christmas, Easter, etc. They don't read the Bible and see it as a guide for all eternity. Some Christians, though not many, have learned how to differentiate between God and culture. Jehovah's Witnesses still have a long way to go.

Crazyguy

Romans chapter 14 clearly blows up the idea of not celebrating birthdays.

steve2

In line with Romans Chapter 14, I've long wondered why the observance of one's birthday is not simply a conscience matter? This follows the lead from the organization's tacit support of observing and celebrating wedding anniversaries. You could virtually apply the same "reasoning" the organization uses against birthdays.

daringhart13

You could apply their stupid, intellectually dishonest reasoning to almost anything:

Cars are dangerous, should you stop driving one?

You can burn your hand on the stove, should you stop using it?

Makeup/"cosmetics" were only worn by pagan women; why do 'sisters' use it?

Haircuts? Beards? Not supposed to to trim according the Bible

Jehovah's Witnesses don't think. They are literally intellectually brain dead. And they like it. You really can't help them until they decide to help themselves.

What the Org Teaches #7 Birthdays

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