Sweetest Day???? And, HOW did wedding anniversaries get to be OK and not birthdays??? ARGHHH! Sorry, I have not looked at a school brochure in 20 yrs, slept or zoned during any child or parent oriented meeting and have no idea on this. Thank you much!!!
What the heck do JWs find wrong with Mother's Day, Father's Day,
by White Waves 44 Replies latest jw friends
-
-
IW
White Waves,
The Watchtower loves to strain out the gnat and swallow the camel. They are obsessed with everything worldly but not everything hypocritical or shady.
IW
-
Ariel84
I think for the Mother's Day thing they say it's associated with some ancient pagan ritual of goddess worship
-
Forscher
Jesus attended a wedding and performed his first miracle at the wedding feast. So the anniversaries are kosher. As for the other stuff, it is more an obsession with being different from the rest of the world. It is part of a classic cult method of disconnecting their converts from society at large and isolating them.
Usually, they will make some sort of "pagan" association with the festival etc. as the justification for not keeping it. Here is the reason in their own words:
*** g74 2/8 pp. 27-28 Are They Harmless Observances? ***
What Is the Bible’s View?
Are They Harmless Observances?
VALENTINE’S Day, May Day and Mother’s Day are among observances that most people would view as “harmless.” Few have ever wondered as to whether there would be any objection to a Christian’s commemorating them. But does the Bible have anything to say about this?
The Bible does not mention any of these observances by name. But it contains guiding principles that enable one to determine whether celebrations of this nature are all right for Christians. One such principle is the Bible teaching of complete separation from customs that are contrary to true worship.
In his law to the nation of Israel, Jehovah God declared: “You must not mention the name of other gods. It should not be heard upon your mouth.” (Ex. 23:13) This meant that the Israelites were not to refer to false gods with feelings of awe or in a way that would credit them with any existence or power. They were to regard such false gods with contempt, as valueless, shameful, detestable and disgusting.—Ps. 96:5; Jer. 11:13; Ezek. 16:36; 37:23.
As for any of the religious appendages associated with the false worship of the Canaanites, the Israelites were instructed: “Their altars you should pull down, and their sacred pillars you should break down, and their sacred poles you should cut down, and their graven images you should burn with fire. For you are a holy people to Jehovah your God.”—Deut. 7:5, 6.
In view of such commands, Israelites who wanted to be faithful to God would obviously never have adopted the religious festivals of the Canaanites and begun celebrating them under new names. That would have meant losing their “holy,” clean or pure standing before their God, Jehovah. Just as people today would not consider a shirt with a noticeable spot as clean and appropriate for formal attire, so Jehovah God does not view as suitable the practice of anything contaminated by false worship. He insists on exclusive devotion. (Ezek. 5:13) To the Israelites he declared: “I Jehovah your God am a God exacting exclusive devotion.”—Ex. 20:5.
That Jehovah God tolerates no mixing of idolatrous practices with true worship is obvious from his dealings with the Israelites. Take the case of the golden calf in the wilderness. When the Israelites had Aaron make it for them, they did not do so with the thought of taking up the worship of an Egyptian deity. They were simply taking over an Egyptian religious practice that prominently associated deities with cows, bulls and other animals. This is evident from the fact that the religious festival held in connection with the golden calf was not intended to honor an Egyptian god but was called a “festival to Jehovah.” (Ex. 32:5) But this did not make it right. Jehovah God severely punished the Israelites for unfaithfulness.—Ex. 32:28-35.
The unchangeable God, Jehovah, is no more tolerant of idolatrous practices today than he was in the past. (Mal. 3:5, 6) The Christian apostle Paul reminded fellow believers: “What fellowship do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what sharing does light have with darkness? Further, what harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what portion does a faithful person have with an unbeliever? And what agreement does God’s temple have with idols? For we are a temple of a living God; just as God said: ‘I shall reside among them and walk among them, and I shall be their God, and they will be my people.’ ‘“Therefore get out from among them, and separate yourselves,” says Jehovah, “and quit touching the unclean thing.”’”—2 Cor. 6:14-17.
That being the case, first-century Christians certainly could not have shared in festivities honoring false gods and goddesses. The facts of history prove that they did not do so.
This gives rise to the question, Would the early Christians have shunned the observance of Valentine’s Day, May Day or Mother’s Day, or would they have regarded such observances as harmless? Well, what is the origin of these special days?
Concerning Valentine’s Day, The World Book Encyclopedia (1973 edition) notes:
“Valentine’s Day comes on the feast day of two different Christian martyrs named Valentine. But the customs connected with the day have nothing to do with the lives of the saints. They probably come from an ancient Roman festival called Lupercalia which took place every February 15. The festival honored Juno, the Roman goddess of women and marriage, and Pan, the god of nature.”
But how did a festival in honor of false deities become a so-called Christian observance? The same reference work continues:
“After the spread of Christianity, churchmen tried to give Christian meaning to the pagan festival. In 496, Pope Gelasius changed the Lupercalia festival of February 15 to Saint Valentine’s Day on February 14. But the sentimental meaning of the old festival has remained to the present time.”
Of May Day, this Encyclopedia observes: “The English and other peoples whom the Romans conquered developed their May Day festivals from the Floralia.” And whom did that festival honor? It was held in honor of Flora, the goddess of flowers.
But what of Mother’s Day? ‘Surely it does not have roots in ancient paganism,’ someone may say. ‘Does not the Bible command children to “honor their father and mother”?’ Yes, the Bible does command children to honor, obey and respect their parents. (Eph. 6:1, 2) But nowhere does it advocate the commemoration of a special ‘Mother’s Day.’ On the origin of such observance, the Encyclopædia Britannica (1959 edition) states:
“A festival derived from the custom of mother worship in ancient Greece. Formal mother worship, with ceremonies to Cybele, or Rhea, the Great Mother of the Gods, were performed on the Ides of March throughout Asia Minor.”
Regarding the adoption of Mother’s Day in the United States, the New York Times of May 10, 1953, reported:
“In spite of the popularity of Cybele, . . . and sporadic occasions honoring mothers during the Middle Ages, it was not until 1914 that the proper combination of sentimentality, idealistic promotion and hard business sense impelled the United States Congress to designate the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.”
In view of the false religious background of Valentine’s Day, May Day and Mother’s Day, is it not clear that Christians in the first century would not have commemorated these days? So, then, is it not right to shun such observances today and thus obey the Bible’s command to “quit touching the unclean thing”?
“Whether you are eating or drinking or doing anything else, do all things for God’s glory.”—1 Cor. 10:31.
Forscher -
Atlantis
[School And Jehovah's Witnesses, p.21]
-
blondie
http://www.strictlygenteel.co.uk/vindication1/vindication1_2.html
Vindication I (pages 158-60)
Let it always be kept in mind that the policy of Satan is to turn the people away from the Creator, and to accomplish his purposes he uses divers and numerous schemes, many of which on the face of them seem to be entirely right and proper. God commands: "Honour thy father and thy mother." (Ex. 20:12) He did not command, however, that the father should be excluded. The father represents Jehovah, from whom comes every good thing, while the mother represents God's organization, used for his good purposes and to his glory. (Isa. 54: 5; 66: 8; Ps. 50: 20) Satan would turn the people away from this beautiful symbol, and therefore from God, and cause them to disregard the Word of the Lord. This he does in a very subtle way by organizing what in England and in America, the chief countries of Christendom, is called "Mother's Day". This day began to be observed in England, in 1913. That same year the United States Congress, by resolution, made the second Sunday in May of each year a national holiday, "dedicated to the memory of the best mother in the world, your mother." That sounds nice, and on the face of it looks nice; but is it sincere? and what is the real purpose thereof? Do the men of England and America love their mothers better since 1914 than they did before? Certainly not. Is it true that every man's mother is the "best mother in the world"? Everyone knows that is not true.
The so-called "Mother's Day" was observed in America first in 1914, the very year that Satan's 159
world ended and when he knew his time was short to get ready for the great battle of Armageddon. To induce the people to bestow special honor and worship upon mothers would be one step towards turning the people away from the worship of God; and this is one of his means of preparing for Armageddon. In all the churches today much is made over "Mother's Day", but in not a single one of them are the people ever told that God is the Father, and that the "mother" is his organization, and that all honor and worship is due to Jehovah God. On the contrary, the men of Christendom are taught to pay their honor to creatures, and not to the Creator; and this by the clergymen, whose duty and obligation is to teach the people the truth of God's Word.
On the face of it the arrangement of "Mother's Day" seems harmless and calculated to do good. But the people are in ignorance of Satan's subtle hand in the matter, and that he is back of the movement, to turn the people away from God. The slogan is: "The best mother who ever lived"; the purpose being to establish creature worship, or at least to divert the attention of man from the proper worship of God. There have been many good mothers of men, and many bad ones. Not every man has the best mother that ever lived; and therefore the slogan is false. The woman that dishonors Jehovah God and blasphemes his name is not a good woman, regardless of how many children she may bear; whereas some of her children may be faithful servants of God. The good mother is the one who serves and honors Jehovah and teaches her children to do likewise, and who renders her proper motherly duties in the home. Real men have great 160
respect and great love for such mothers, but their worship is given to Jehovah God.
Neither the man nor the woman should be worshiped for doing right, because such doing of right is their duty. Creature worship of any kind is wrong and an abomination in the sight of God. — Luke 16:15.
In Christendom men have formed the habit of quoting their mothers as authority for their course of action and of utterly ignoring God's Word. In Christendom the women teach and preach and prophesy in the churches, and predict and prophesy in the affairs of state concerning peace and war. The women are seducing and misleading men, cause them to mix politics and religion, and often compromise their duty toward God in order to comply with the rules of this unrighteous world. Such is "fornication" in the Scriptural meaning of that term. "Notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols." (Rev. 2:20) Such is contrary to God's rule. "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence." — 1 Tim. 2:12.
The purpose of here mentioning women is not to ridicule or to speak unkindly of them. There are good women wholly devoted to God and who are rendering good and faithful service unto him. Likewise there are men wholly devoted to God and serving him. But neither the man nor the woman is to be honored and worshiped for such. The husband should love and treat kindly his wife and mother, and the woman should 161
love and respect her husband, and the mother her children. But if all are devoted to the Lord and follow the Lord's advice, they will dwell together in peace and do good and honor God. When men and women follow the Devil's subtle scheme, they turn away from God; and the farther they go, the more trouble they get into. The purpose of calling attention to these matters here, and to the practices in Christendom, is to show that such is a fulfilment of God's prophecy, and that the people might understand why Christendom is blaspheming Jehovah God and why she has turned wholly to Satan.
Blondie (just reporting not supporting)
-
Forscher
Not bad Blondie. That has to be the start of it all!
Forscher -
Virgochik
1914, the year that Satan's world ended....Mother's Day was observed. Yes, I see it clearly now. Mother = Satan!
On the same token, since the WT had it's origins in spiritism, should we not shun it today, even though it has evolved from it's original form?? That's the line of reasoning they use to condemn the celebration of most holidays!
-
beautifulisfree
Mother's Day is BAD because Moms don't deserve to be worshiped!! They don't deserve a day set aside to let them know how wonderful it is to have someone who loves and cares for you.
-
Check_Your_Premises
same problem as any of the holidays. They want a way to keep jw's from spending time with their non-jw relatives. Make up a bogus rule about it being a sin to get together with your relatives on the only days that EVERYBODY has off work. Bam, problem solved.
Now the individual jw is kept more isolated from free thought and reality.
CYP