jediliz:
That’s not what I meant, Jaded. I meant restrictions on celebrating a birthday. For example, school children who bring treats for birthdays…the JW children have to sit out because its pagan ritual to celebrate a birthday.
That doesn’t seem fair. How can eating a cupcake or a a cookie be satanic?
It’s not satanic.It’s pagan in origin and agianst bible teachings. Therefore we protect our chidlren from worldly and pagan influences.
I was never left out of things. I got presents and candy and love all year long. It didn’t have to be christmas for me to get a gift. I loved that.
Here are the explanations you asked for:
Birthdays:
Genesis 40:20-22 and Matthew 14:6-10 both give bad examples of birthday parties. According to 2nd Timothy everything in the Bible is there for a reason. It is an example to show us how to live our lives. Therefore JWs do not celebrate birthdays as they are not condoned in the bible. That and another reason I have had explained to me is that focusing on yourself SO MUCH each year isn’t something that should be encouraged. It’s materialistic for one. I find it very odd when my fiancée freaks out because he forgot to get his dad a present for his birthday. Hello, he’s over 50! I’m pretty sure he doesn’t need a shiny new toy.
Mother’s and Father’s day – you should honor your father and your mother every day. Most people do not respect their parents at all. They think giving them a nice card one day a year makes them good children. It does not. There is no need to set aside one day to focus on how great your parents are. Treat them with respect and love every day.
Christmas – there is sooooo much info on this I cannot possibly type it in one post. I’ll give you the highlights. The encyclopedia Americana says: the reason for establishing December 25th as xmas is somewhat obscure, but it is usually held that the day was chosen to correspond to pagan festivals that took place around the time of the winter solstice. . .
Right there in non-JW literature it says that it’s not even Jesus’ birthday. It was picked to correspond to pagan festivals. This along with not celebrating ANY birthdays should be enough. But there’s more.
Matthew 2:1,11,16-note that the bible account does not say that they found Jesus in a manger, as it’s usually represented in Christmas art. When the astrologers arrived (magi to you guys), Jesus and his parents were living in a house.
I like this point particularly as I never want to lie to my children. Make all the excuses you want, but it is lying. Plain and simple:
Depending on where they live, children are told that gifts are brought by santa, st. nick, father Christmas, etc. of course none of these stories is true. Does the telling of such stories build in children a respect for truth, and does such a practice honor Jesus Christ, who taught that God must be worshipped with truth? John 4:23, 24
I’ve already refuted the higher education thing. I went to college, so did my parents, so did many many people my age. It’s simply untrue.
And lastly – blood:
Blood is unclean, as stated in the bible.
Acts 15:29 says to abastain from it. There are many alternatives to blood transfusions. Many many many.
I have a personal experience with a friend who had triplets. The doctors swore up and down one would die without a transfusion. They took the parents to court over it. The parents won and the child is perfectly fine. Often transfusions cause more harm than good. With aids running so rampant in the world I definitely wouldn’t want someone else’s blood in me. We should view that as God would – disgusting to even think about. Oftentimes it is just the easiest way to get someone’s volume up, not necessarily the best.
I have no interest in refuting these as they are facts. You asked, I answered. I’m leaving it at that. I have no wish to argue with any of you. It does nothing to bring you closer to the truth and it simply annoys me. I’m off to enjoy my meeting this evening. Best of luck to you all.
God Bless,