Holiday Viewpoints and Former Jehovah's Witnesses

by The wanderer 28 Replies latest jw friends

  • jaguarbass
    jaguarbass

  • When you left the organization how did you deal with
    the issue of celebrating the holidays?

  • Did you feel any sort of guilt or feel as if "something
    was wrong" when confronted with the issue of cele-
    brating the holidays?

  • In general how do you deal with the holidays

    • I've been out 23 years the first 10 I didnt celebrate anything, Then my wife left the organization and she puts up a xmas tree and decorates and we celebrate birthdays, she decorates for halloween. I dont feel any guilt.As part of my healing process, I realized the society is full of poop and the bible is a book of contradictions. I dont allow either to influence me. If it feels good I do it as long as it doesnt hurt anyone else. By hurt I mean physically not phycologically.

  • AlmostAtheist
    AlmostAtheist
    During the course of my personal research there were
    a number of web sites and books that agreed with this
    position regarding the holidays

    It's certainly true that certain holiday traditions have pagan origins. But the real question isn't whether or not they do, the question is whether or not that matters.

    The Watchtower states the rule "pagan origins = bad", then spend all their time chasing down the pagan origins of various holiday trappings. What goes relatively unquestioned is whether god would CARE about these origins.

    Make-up apparently originated in a pagan religious context, yet Job's daughter was named after a make-up container. And few Christian women today avoid its use for religious reasons. Who doesn't wear a wedding ring, dress overly-formally for their wedding, and follow other pagan-originated traditions?

    The various religious ceremonies that the Israelites were given could find cousins in pagan worship. But God didn't mind co-opting them for himself.

    Be careful not to start at the Watchtower's baseline "pagan origin = bad" when deciding if something is truly bad.

    Dave

  • Warlock
    Warlock

    Before I became a J.W., I celebrated all of them. I don't think I will ever celebrate any of them again.

    Warlock

  • whyizit
    whyizit

    col.3:16-17

  • whyizit
    whyizit

    col.3:16-17

  • whyizit
    whyizit

    col.3:16-17

  • whyizit
    whyizit

    col.3:16-17

  • whyizit
    whyizit

    col.3:16-17

  • whyizit
    whyizit

    col.3:16-17

  • done4good
    done4good

    I don't let them bother me anymore. True, many holidays have origins other than their supposed "Christian" application, but even Judaism and Christianity have origins in polytheistic religion. Bottom line: holidays just don't matter. Celebrate them if you want, don't celebrate them if you don't want to. Just don't not celebrate them strictly for their "pagan" origin, because almost anything has similar origins when looked at closely enough.

    j

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