Birthdays—Simple Deconstruction of the JW Rationale

by AuldSoul 56 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  AuldSoul

  This is most useful for any non-JW who has JWs as friends or relatives. This group has the peculiar position of never having been JWs and, because of this, JWs are much more willing to discuss such things with them. The more educated we can make this group of the population the better equipped they will be to help JWs who call.

  It is potentially also useful for people in situations similar to my brother's; my niece is planning to get baptized but has agreed to talk with him first before deciding for sure. It would also be useful for people who are trying to reason with relatives/friends who are not yet JWs.

  This is something JWs really believe they are knowledgable about, but the Bible can be used to very quickly remove every point of reasoning they have on the issue of celebrating birthdays. The point that Romans was written to both former Jews and former pagan Gentiles removes the need to argue over whether a certain celebration has pagan origins. Romans 14:1-18 says not to judge people about the observance of days and the instruction was given to former Jews and former pagans.

  I agree that no hardened JW would even discuss the issue with anyone who has been a JW. In my opinion, most JWs are not hardened JWs. There are some who post here whose family still talks with them even though the rules say not to do that.

  —AuldSoul
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  moshe

  JW's are quick to tell the story of how John the Baptist had his head cut off at a birthday party and that proves we shouldn't celebrate them. I always ask a JW, "so then, if it had been a wedding party instead of a birthday, would JW's be against weddings, too?" They never have a comeback for that one. It just goes to show that JW's never think through the logic of WT dogmas- they just obey them.
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  shopaholic

  It just goes to show that JW's never think through the logic of WT dogmas- they just obey them.

  This is very true. At a pioneer meeting I attended several years ago, the CO said that witnesses (the rank and file) were trying to be too clever and find better ways to do things. He then mentioned that it wasn't up to us to determine how things were to done because we had the FDS for that. He then said, and I quote, "The organization doesn't need clever people, it only needs obedient people." I was very put off by that. For a while, all I heard people in our circuit say is that you never question the Society and just do as you're told even if you think its not right and Jah will correct it in his own time. When I think back on some of this stuff I wonder just how gullible I am. I've heard a number of witnesses ask about the difference between anniversaries and birthdays. There was even a Question from the Readers on it a few years back which didn't answer the question and I still have yet to get a satisfactory answer.

  Thanks for the detailed explanation AuldSoul. To be honest, in all my years of pioneering I never felt comfortable explaining why JWs didn't celebrate birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Thanksgiving and the most difficult...explaining to a black person why black witnesses don't acknowledge Martin Luther King Day.
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  OUTLAW

  Welcome Home AuldSoul...OUTLAW
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  sspo

  If the Jw's started celebrating birthdays and buying gifts for one another then there would be less money for the Governing Body.

  Money badly needed to pay for those pedophile lawsuits.
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  steve2

  I have never heard a JW directly answer the following question:

  How are a birthday and an anniversary different?
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  TheListener

  Welcome back AuldSoul. yipeee!

  Now, here is what I have said to many people who asked me what was different between birthdays and anniversaries:

  "an anniversary celebration is a celebration of the marriage arrangement. Birthdays are a celebration of the individual - as if he/she accomplished something. It is inappropriate to bring honor to an individual for something God accomplished - his birth."

  -ok that answer is crap but no one ever challenged me on it. That's because they didn't really want to discuss the matter with me. I sounded crazy and cult-like and they just wanted to get away. Little did I know that one day I'd be here on the other side of the fence.

  My simple question now is:

  At an anniversary party - who gets the gifts? the couple or God?

  At a baby shower - who gets the gifts? the couple/baby or God?
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  Arthur

  He then said, and I quote, "The organization doesn't need clever people, it only needs obedient people."

  The reality of the matter is that cults need obedient people. The biggest threat to any cultic group is critical thinking skills and skills of discernement. Overseers like this have been so completely mentally castrated by Watchtower indoctrination that they have lost all reason. Only a person who believes that Christianity should comprise a unified formation of robots would utter such infantile, moronic stupidity.
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  quietlyleaving

  fantastic points audsoul - funnily enough I've last week had the subject of birthdays come up. I 'openly' decided to go to my nephew's swimming pool birthday party cos they needed swimming supervisors.

  So hopefully and tactfully I'll be able to use those points to explain. Thanks
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  PoppyR

  One of the best lines of reasoning I've ever seen was on this board, and it was about dogs..lol

  Every time a dog is mentioned in the bible it is in a derogatory sense, they are seen as disgusting flesh eaters.

  Yes are we forbidden to keep them as pets?

  by the same reasoning the fact that the only time the bible mentions birthdays is in a bad light has no reasoning power whatsoever.

  Are we forbidden from wearing white dresses and having cake on our wedding day? These are clearly pagan.

  I NEVER understood the birthday thing! And now I am so glad I dont have to, I've had two so far, and LOVE my birthday, what could possibly be harmful.

  Poppy (one person who doens't mind her birthday coming round!)