I sent this letter by e-mail to my jaydubeeya relatives. I plagiarized some of the material but what the hey. whadda ya think ? The watchtower societys argument against celebrating birthdays is: There are only 2 birthdays celebrations mentioned in the bible, both of them had deadly results. Only pagans celebrate birthdays. Birthdays celebrations tend to give excessive importance to the individual. This evidence proves that Jehovah considers birthday celebrations to be evil.
Herod's birthday:
Herod was not a pagan, but a nominal bad Jew. The Jews were God's chosen people and practiced the true religon on earth at that time. Remember, John the Baptist critised Herod for his immorality, why would John do that if Herod was a pagan. Herod being worried about his reputation with his fellow Jews, threw John in prison to silence him. Herod's birthday is not condemned in the bible, his rash oath, bowing to peer pressure, his wickedness even though he was a Jew, and the execution of John are what is condemned (Matt. 14:19)
Pharoah's birthday:
Pharoah is the only pagan who had a birthday celebration that is mentioned in the bible. The bible doesn't criticize the birthday celebration, nor does it state that Pharaoh did anything wrong by executing the chief of the bakers. We simply don't know why he was put to death, or whether he deserved it or not. My theory on these imprisonments is; someone tried to poison Pharoah's food so Pharoah threw the two men in charge of his food in jail. After a long time the baker was found guilty the cup bearer was found not guilty .
Result of Pharoah's birthday;
By God's power, two dreams were fulfilled. The baker lost his life and the cupbearer was restored to his original position, perfectly fulfilling what God prophesied. Because the chief of the cupbearers was restored, he remebered Joseph when Pharoah needed a dream interpreted. Pharoah appointed Joseph as his co-regent over all but the throne of Ra itself. It was unheard of for an Egyptian ruler to elevate an outsider, not to mention above even his own heir. Joseph was made the lawgiver in place of (or at least alongside) Pharaoh. (Genesis 41) Just imagine, Joseph a Jehovahs Witness married to a pagan daughter of the priest of On and the second most powerful man on earth at that time all because of Pharoahs birthday.This fulfillment of prophecy on Pharoah's birthday led directly to Joseph later being used to preserve Jacob (Israel) and his descendants, they being brought into the land of Goshen where they were spared from the famine that was raviging the earth, thus preserving the lineage of Jesus.Why do Jehovah's Witnesses only remember the baker who was finally executed for some act that he commited against Pharoah ?Gen 40: 1,2 "the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt. Pharoah was furious with his two officials, the chief of the cupbearers and the chief of the bakers."
This Pharoah was good.
Gen 45:16-24 "Pharoah was pleased Josephs brothers had come","I will give you the best of the land in Egypt and you can enjoy the fat of the land.","Never mind about your belongings, because the best of all Egypt will be yours." Pharoah gave them carts, new clothing,
money, donkeys, grain and bread everything they needed and more.
Gen. 47:10 "Then Jacob blessed Pharoah and went out from his presence."
imagine, Jacob a Jehovah Witness,
blessing Pharoah a pagan, a ruler who believed he was God incarnate on earth. In chapter 50 It is clear that Pharaoh is not adverse to Joseph or his family.Regarding this whole story Joseph said it best
"It was not you (his brothers) who sent me here, but God" Gen. 45:7.8
Jesus's birthday:
Though the WT only admits to two birthdays being mentioned in the Bible, there are actually three that were celebrated. There was the birthday of Pharaoh (Gen. 40:20), Herod (Matt. 14:6), and also the birth of Christ, celebrated by the angels in song and much glory:
And the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord". . . . And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on the earth peace among men with whom he is pleased." (Luke 2:10,11,13,14)
Isn't it wonderful how Jehovah provided the Magi who then brought birthday gifts to Jesus. No doubt the wealth from these gifts enabled Joseph Mary and Jesus to buy passage to Egypt, (they were very poor) thus preserving our Lords life.
The society left this very positive and important birthday celebration out of their consideration, for it destroys their point in saying that all birthdays in the Bible are negative.
Concerning special days;
the Bible clearly states that we should not judge anyone with regards to the keeping of days that are special to them:There is nothing explicit in the Bible that that commands us to celebrate or not to celebrate birthdays. Rather, the Bible has given us a general guide on this issue when it says that we should each be convinced in our own minds (Rom. 14:5) as to the importance or non-importance of a particular day, and that it should be a matter for the conscience of the individual, between them and God, as to whether we celebrate that day or not.
"One indeed judges a day above another day; and another one judges every day alike. Let each one be fully assured in his own mind. The one minding the day, he minds it to the Lord. And the one not minding the day, he does not mind it to the Lord. The one eating, he eats to the Lord; for he gives thanks to God. And the one not eating, he does not eat to the Lord, and gives thanks to God." (Rom 14:5-6)
All the Jewish holidays were national religious holidays, which they were allowed to observe even after the coming of Christ and the abolition of the law. (Col. 2:16,17) The WT should consider Paul an apostate, for he said that observing or not observing special days was up to the individual (Rom. 14:5,6), and even continued in certain practices of the Law though it had passed away! (Acts 13:14,15; 21:20-26)
Birthdays - Disapproved by Jehovah?
Since the Society disallows baptism for those that are currently celebrating birthdays, it is considered an important matter. Does the Bible actually support this position? Following are several lines of reasoning, and why those lines of reasoning are in question. If it can be shown that birthday celebrations are not condemned by the Bible, would it not be ‘going beyond what is written’ to forbid them? (1 Cor. 4:6)
- There are only 2 birthday celebrations mentioned in the Bible. Both were for wicked people, and murder took place at both of them. (Gen 40:20; Mark 6:21; Matt 14:6)
- Jezebel and apostate Israel (both guilty of murder) are the only individuals in the Bible said to use eye paint, making themselves beautiful. (2Kings 9:30; Jer 4:30) The same reasoning that forbids birthdays should also forbid eye makeup, but it doesn’t.
- It can’t be reasonably argued that their use of ‘eye paint’ was excessive, since God’s own word admits they were ‘beautiful’ after so adorning themselves.
- There is no record that the Jews or 1 st century Christians celebrated their birthdays
- There is also no record that they held bridal showers, baby showers, or called their houses of worship "Kingdom Halls". The fact that they did not perform a certain act doesn’t in itself preclude our doing so.
- The date of Jesus birth is not recorded in the Bible. If we were expected to celebrate birthdays, surely this would be the most important birthday of all.
- As shown in point 2, the Jews did not celebrate birthdays, so it is not surprising that Jesus continued that custom. But the point is not to establish whether we "should" celebrate birthdays ("Is it a command?") but to determine if we should not do so ("Is it forbidden?") There is no record that Mary received a baby shower for Jesus or any of her other children, but that has not caused the Society to forbid us from hosting such events.
- Birthdays are of Pagan origin, rooted in astrology and showing undue prominence to ruling monarchs. (See
- Many things originated with people that did not serve Jehovah. This is to be expected, since down through history most people have not followed the path of true worship of God. Is it necessary to reject all things that did not originate with Jehovah’s people?
- The use of eye makeup is tied to false beliefs about evil spirits. Should it be forbidden? (see http://www.thehistoryof.net/the-history-of-cosmetics.html/t_blank)
- The practice of dressing the bride and brides maids and the groom and his attendants in similar clothing has pagan origins. Should it be forbidden? Honeymoon are of Pagan origin but Jehovah's witnesses don't mind newlyweds practicing this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeymoon
- The practice of cremating a body rather than burying it has pagan roots. Is this practice disapproved by God? (see http://www.triumphpro.com/cremation____pagan.htm)
- Also consider the pagan origins of the calendar, the names of the planets, wedding rings, wedding veils, and the use of perfume. None of these are forbidden, despite their pagan origins.
- Some have mentioned that they felt the rule for determining if a custom with pagan origins was still acceptable was if the custom was accepted by the world in general (such as the names of the days of the week) and if continuing in the custom did not violate any of Jehovah’s laws from the Bible. By that measure, makeup, cremation, and birthdays would all be acceptable.
- Jeremiah 10:1-3 warns us not to ‘adopt the customs of the heathens’
- The fact that another nation did something does not in and of itself make it wrong. The context of these verses (and similar ones throughout the Bible) make it clear that it is the unclean, scripturally disapproved customs that are in question. As an example, the heathens may have known of a certain construction technique that worked well with the raw materials at hand in the land of Canaan. The Israelites would not have thought it improper to adopt those building methods, since they did not conflict with Jehovah’s laws.
- Birthdays direct undue prominence to one person, elevating that one improperly
- A wedding feast, such as the one attended by Jesus, would have the same elevating effect on the newly married couple. A baby shower puts the new mother and her child in the spotlight. Even a simple announcement at the Kingdom Hall that a certain individual is pioneering that month tends to draw prominence to that one. But this is not considered wrong under any of these other circumstances. Why single out birthdays?
- Solomon warned at Ecclesiastes 7:1-4 that ‘the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth’, presumably because at death the individual has run the course of faith successfully and has established his name. The celebrating of one’s birth runs counter to this admonishment.
- Solomon said a name is better than good oil, but this does not forbid the accumulating of oil. He said being sad is better than being happy, but this doesn’t forbid being happy. The entire run of verses makes the point that there is a need to spend some time seriously working on one’s character, becoming a genuinely good person. A life spent in sheer frivolity would not result in a good name, but enduring the pain and sadness, along with the comforts and joys, leads to a full life. Solomon was not expressing an opinion about birthday celebrations any more than he was forbidding obtaining good oil, or laughing.
- Baby showers are held to celebrate the birth of a baby. Would these not also violate any supposed "rule" of Solomon? While it may be true that the shower provides items for the family, the fact is that the reason the shower is held is because a child was born.
- We have no need to celebrate birthdays. We can give gifts all year long, there is no need to wait for a certain day.
- While that’s true, the point is to determine if such celebrations are displeasing to God. For instance, there is no real need to drink caffeinated drinks such as coffee or tea, but it isn’t forbidden. We wouldn’t use that same logic to try to forbid any other unnecessary aspects of our lives (pet ownership, home decorating, drinking alcohol), so why would we single out birthdays?
conclusion :
People do not worship their friends or children on their birthdays. What is wrong with doing something special for somebody on a certain day, or even in considering someone as special for a day? There is quite a difference between considering someone special and worshiping or idolizing them. Witnesses usually celebrate their wedding anniversaries, which is a celebration of the birth of their marriage. Really we only have one birthday the day we were born, each year after that it is an anniversary of the birthday.
I don't know about you but I am always happy to be alive for another year !!
Happy anniversary of your birthday all !!