Exodus 23:14-17 You CAN celebrate Thanksgiving. !!

by hubert 22 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  hubert

  <under 74> ... Isn"t the festival of the fruits the second festival, according to Exodus23:14?

  <Gumby> ... It sounds like the festival you are describing is the first Festival?

  Exodus23:14..... "Three times in the year you are to celebrate a festival to me".

  I'm thinking the 3rd. festival could be the one for Thanksgiving.

  Exodus 23:16 ....."AND the festival of INGATHERING at the OUTGOING OF THE YEAR, when you gather in YOUR LABORS FROM THE FIELD". ie: 3rd festival.

  Am I right or am I missing a point?

  Hubert
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  shotgun

  There is nothing wrong with Thanksgiving...they outlawed it to keep seperate from worldly traditions..ya know traditions of men like no beards and only dresses for woman.

  Besides don't go doing everything those crazy Iraelites did...they were so gullible they let an old sheep herder lead them around in circles for 40 years and wiped their bum with a stick...man it must have been easy to follow that group considering the trail of shitty sticks.

  I saw Gumby's response and sent two sow bears down to rumage around his tent for mocking the true God.
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  hillbilly

  yea.........that "turkey is too cheap to pass on" excuse gets a little lame......Thanksgiving is sorta observed by dozens of JW families I have know over the years...Never saw a problem with Thanksgiving or birthdays ........maybe that's why I am out?

  ---------Hill (hmmmmmm cranberries class)
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  undercover

  There is nothing wrong with Thanksgiving...they outlawed it to keep seperate from worldly traditions..

  If the WTS as an organization wanted to not endorse or encourage any particular holiday, especially when your corporation exists in dozens of countries around the world I wouldn't have a problem with that.

  If they were to say something like, "The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society does not publicly celebrate or encourage celebration of any holidays or customs not specifically tied to Bible events and teachings but at the same time it does not force it's practices or opinions on others. It is up to each person and group to decide how they will observe customs and traditions in their respective lands." I wouldn't have a problem with that.

  But we all know that they aren't that reasonable. They use holidays and customs, or the non-celebration of them, to further isolate their followers from the mainstream. It's the "us vs. them" thing. Holidays=bad; people who celebrate=bad; not celebrating=good; WTS=good; JWs=good. So holidays become "outlawed". Some of them are outlawed outright such as Christmas and Easter. Others are just as condemned but not outlawed and still others are just badmouthed but not outlawed and good little dubbies buy into the whole thinking and treat all holidays and customs the same: bad; so in their minds all are outlawed and evil.
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  eyeslice

  The more I think about it - the more I see that spirituality and religion should be about celebration - something that the Witnesses know nothing about.

  eyeslice
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  stillajwexelder

  Well I am having thanksgiving in Oklahoma
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  heathen

  I think the WTBTS likes to use the scriptures that include jesus warnings of not letting the jewish traditions and customs get in their way of worshipping him but I don't see how that could really apply to thanks giving , there isn't anything there that could remotely be considered anti christian , I still understand and agree with their condemning of christmas and easter ,those 2 celebrations are just too pagan in origin for a christian to concern themselves with . There is nothing wrong however of remembering that jesus was resurected but I don't see the need for easter bunnies and the name easter is actually that of a pagan god . Christmas was derived from the feast of saturnalia besides the obvious facts that the main stream religions don't even have the story right when the put the 3 astrologers from the east in the manger with jesus the night he was born .
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  NKyGuy

  I might buy into the whole "pagan origins" thing, if not for the fact that they recently put information in the Awake about Pinatas and that they know it USED to have pagan origins, but it doesn't really mean that now. How can they use that reasoning in one place, but not another??
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  iiz2cool

  There's nothing wrong with Thanksgiving. The Watchtower just wants to prevent people from doing anything that might distract them from peddling their cheap-ass magazines.
  
  Walter
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  Redneckgurl

  Well, I recall that the reasoning for us not being able to celebrate Thanksgiving is because it was considered a "nationalistic" holiday. In other words, it was being loyal to the US by celebrating it. Being thankful for Columbus discovering the Americas and making friends with the Indians, and now we have this great country to live in. (but it isn't any more special than anywhere else in the world so why be thankful for it?) I just took that explaination and never went farther with it. ............until now............

  I know now that there is much more to it. I am going to make a "Thanksgiving Tree" for my kids this year. Next week, starting on Monday, I will have them write down something that they are thankful for on a piece of craft foam cut into a leaf, and hang it on the little tree, then on Thursday, Thanksgiving day, we will go over all these things and talk about them.

  Unfortunately, we have NO family to celebrate this holiday with, just my husband and the kids, (3 of them) so I am thinking about doing something different this year. When I was a kid, we had family over, and would devour all the food on the table, it brings me very warm thoughts, but last year, when I made our Thanksgiving Turkey and all the yummy stuff to go with it, it was hardly touched. I am thinking about spending the day in the City here, in Houston, going to the Parade downtown and then to a Lighting Festival later in the afternoon instead of staying home and cooking a ton of food that won't be eaten, with bored kids who don't want to just sit at home and watch movies. We will go see the Polar Express on that day, too. Maybe we will start out own Thanksgiving day traditions.