Oh Walter, that is sad
A religion with nothing to Celebrate
by eyeslice 92 Replies latest jw friends
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Bubbamar
GO BLONDIE!! Enjoy your tree. I think it really adds a lot of warmth to a home!
Garybuss:
A society is measured by how it benefits it's people. If the Witness movement was a government with their own country, they would be viewed by the rational world as one of the worst on the planet. They are identified by mental illnesses, broken families, a depressed economy, submission to a dictatorship called a theocracy, they have irrational, delusional goals, and wealthy leaders living in opulent communes.
An environment that confines space, controls associations, limits information, and where all activities focus on achieving the goals of the leaders to the detriment of the people is not a society, it's a prison. And people plot ways to break out of prisons.Well said! That is profound!
My family always celebrated my parents anniversary. We all gave each other presents and enjoyed a fancy meal together. It was so obviously a loophole....something we "could" celebrate - so we did. I don't understand why it's okay to celebrate the birth of a relationship (that caused so much pain to all people involved) but not okay to celebrate the birth of a God-given life.
Just more evidence of their inability to think or reason.
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Gretchen956
Good thread and a lot of excellent comments have been made here! I can say that as a child I did feel left out of the celebrations. Having to leave and go wait in the hallway or the principal's office was humiliating. I used to HATE the holidays because I could not participate and hated the fact that others could. Now I glory in them. I'm reliving my childhood!
Sherry
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BluesBrother
great stuff here...
As a lad brought up 'in the truth' i had no real understanding of the worldly celebrations... It was not until I mentally got out and could discuss things with workmate friends that I came to appreciate:-
Christmas , not for everybody is it just a p.... up and cynical collection of the gifts... I now understand how it keeps distant relatives in touch, how it draws together the ties of differing generations , and that for many it really is a celebration of the birth of Christ
Christenings, not a meaningless ritual but a thanksgiving to god for a new life. and the undertaking by godparents to look out for the child if anything should befall the parents
All celebrations are a part of the social fabric of a community , but of course the dubs reject that community .
The word 'party' is not used , although one can have a 'get together' , if it is carefully planned and supervised.. That is why weddings are so much looked forward to, no other chance to celebrate (in a theocratic fashion of course)
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garybuss
The Watch Tower Corporation has a dedication (party) for the use of one of their new buildings but frown on parties to celebrate the dedication of a person. Maybe the person does not translate into money the way a building does.
The people the Witnesses say they copy, the Hebrew people, had parties (festivals) and family gatherings that came ahead of everything by law. The Witnesses don't really follow Jewish manners or customs and they never will because with the Hebrew people the family comes first. With the Witness people, family and people in general are dispensable. Buildings and company facade is all important. -
Scully
garybuss writes:
The people the Witnesses say they copy, the Hebrew people, had parties (festivals) and family gatherings that came ahead of everything by law. The Witnesses don't really follow Jewish manners or customs and they never will because with the Hebrew people the family comes first.
One thing that I could never understand as a JW, if we were supposed to be followers of JESUS, why could we not observe the same festivals and celebrations that he did as a Jewish person. JWs seem to forget that Jesus - as a Jew - observed Passover, Hannukah, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Purim, Sukkot and observed the Sabbath. He celebrated the births of children and the naming ceremonies of newborns in the community, he celebrated marriages and experienced grieving at funerals. What do the JWs really think happened during those 30-odd years of Jesus' life that are not "recorded" in the Bible? They act as though absolutely nothing happened during those years.
So much for JWs being "footstep followers" of Christ.
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XQsThaiPoes
I don't know I see JWs as the penultimate religion for jaded teenagers and awkward ungainly young adults. You never have to worry about what to wear, speaking with people, learning a friends likes or dislikes, trusting anyone but your self, or what to do or say at ANY party. Your life or the life of others don't really matter because we are all gonna die and stop existing, or be destoryied in some horrible manner. If you actually do live an okay life you can look forward to eternity in a paramilitary dictatorship where every misgiving is punishable by instant death. It is like the fat goth chick of religion.
If the WTS wanted more young people they should just tell it like it is. I am sure the seattle area could instantly reap another 1 or 2 million new jws from this alone and if they get to santa cruz dear lord! But wait jaded teenagers don't have alot of money, and tend to be skeptical of authority. Oh thats why they don't push that angle.
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eyeslice
Christmas , not for everybody is it just a p.... up and cynical collection of the gifts... I now understand how it keeps distant relatives in touch, how it draws together the ties of differing generations , and that for many it really is a celebration of the birth of Christ Christenings, not a meaningless ritual but a thanksgiving to god for a new life. and the undertaking by godparents to look out for the child if anything should befall the parents All celebrations are a part of the social fabric of a community , but of course the dubs reject that community .
Bluesbrother - you've exactly summed the point of this thread. Mankind since time in memorial has used rituals and celebrations as milestones in life. Missing out on these has been one of my deeepest regrets about being 'in the truth'. Which is why I let my kids join in school activites including sports and proms, etc. I feel i missed out on a lot personally.
Eyeslice
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AlanF
I think that the JWs suffer from the extreme somberness of their 19th-century Victorian roots, as well as a desire to be different from "the world" even if being different makes no sense.
From sometime in the 1920s, I believe, until after Rutherford died in the early 1940s, the Society prohibited singing at meetings. Singing at religious gatherings has always been fundamental to nearly all religions. That the JWs are basically dead in their souls is shown by how most JWs sing today at their meetings -- no soul, no life, just a deadpan mouthing of the written words accompanied by uninspiring music. I went to an evangelical church some months ago, and the enthusiasm with which they sang their songs to Jesus was such a contrast with the soullessness of the JWs.
AlanF
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Mary
We all must be on the same wave, cause I was thinking of this earlier today: Witnesses have NOTHING to celebrate, and we gotta be the only ones on the planet that don't:
Virtually all Christian Churches celebrate Christmas, Easter, birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day, and, Thanksgiving. The Jews also have numerous celebrations throughout the year: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kipper, Passover and a dozen other celebrations, just like the Isrealites had. Hell, even the Muslims celebrate Rahmadah (not sure if that's the correct spelling) and have birthday celebrations too.
Wanna hear a real irony? Charles Russell of course, knew that Jesus was not born on December 25th, but he realized that all the ancient"pagan" aspects of the holiday didn't apply to the people of the early 20th century and therefore, saw no problem with Christians celebrating this holiday and said so publically. So did his celebrating Christmas condemn him in the Lord's eyes? Apparently not, seeing as he's (supposedly) ruling in heaven along side of Jesus Christ as we write this. So if Jesus didn't cast him out for celebrating His birth on December 25th, why can Witnesses today, a hundred years later, be disfellowshipped for doing the exact same thing?? You can't even say it was "new light", because CR knew beforehand, that it wasa false date.......I'd love to ask a Witness this and watch their heads spin around!!