Idiotic WT reasoning for birthdays

by Batman89 13 Replies latest jw friends

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  Batman89

  “Additionally, birthday celebrations tend to give excessive importance to an individual, no doubt one reason why early Christians shunned them. (Ecclesiastes 7:1) So you will find that Jehovah’s Witnesses do not share in birthday festivities (the parties, singing, gift giving, and so forth).” School and Jehovah's Witnesses p.18

  “… birthdays are unlike other holidays, for they are times “when all the presents and good wishes are for oneself. The birthday cake, splendid with colored icing and shining candles is a personal tribute. Other holidays lift the heart, but birthdays warm the ego.” Is it a good idea for Christians to engage in celebrations that “warm the ego”? Speaking to the proud Pharisees, Jesus warned that “whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”” Awake! 1981 Dec 22 p.14

  So if birthdays are wrong becasuse it basically strokes our ego then shouldn't weddings and wedding receptions definitely be frobidden?? anniversaries? graduation parties?? why are there differnt titles within the organization then??..doesn't that exalt someone??? Does WT understand the degree to which they contadict themselves? lol
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  LostGeneration

  You forgot that murders always happen at birthdays.
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  SonoftheTrinity

  The Bible has nothing good to say about clean-shavenness just as it has nothing good to say about birthdays, therefore I judged the JWs to be practicing the sin of transvestism because they don't grow beards. If your overseer doesn't have a beard his name must be Mitch.
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  Lynnie

  Yeah what about baby showers and wedding showers too? Isn't that bringing undo attention to just one person? My

  uber witness cousin had about 10 wedding showers when she got married and she was going to Bethel to be with her

  husband so it's not like they needed anything since everything is provided for them. Very materialistic for sure. Oh and

  I've seen some quite elaborate wedding anniversaries too which are bringing undo attention to 2 people and is basically a
  birthday of the wedding so WTF????
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  steve2

  As a Witness, I was going to have a quiet birthday party, but I backed down at the last minute because I feared that at some stage during the evening, someone would bring me a platter with an ex-boyfriend's head on it. Boy, I'm glad I put a stop to my selfish plan and the life of a man - unworhty as he was of my mercy - was saved.
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  stuckinarut2

  Yes, the reasoning they use is ssssttttrrreeettttccchhhheeddddd beyond comprehension!

  If the giving of "undue" attention is the point, then why do we know the names of the GB?? (they should be gloriously annonymous hey?)

  Anyway, I just heard of a party thrown for little kids in the congregation (jumping castles, cakes, games etc...all fun). The Main cake came out with the name of the boy who's party it was!

  So what is the difference between that and a birthday party!?

  AND YES, why are anniversay milestone parties ok, eg 25th, 50th etc???
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  Watkins

  Just another case of organisational extremism. No doubt the early Christians noted birthdays in some kind of enjoyable manner - it's a celebration of the blessing of life, right? But they just didn't have week-long elaborate drunken bashes like the rich and famous did.

  My biggest regret of being a witness was missing the non-witness family birthday get-togethers which required that no one got drunk or murderous and did not require presents - just your presence. :/

  Yes, their reasons are idiotic. And extra-biblical. And hypocritical.

  ~watkins

  ps - great points, stuckinarut!
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  leaving_quietly

  You forgot that murders always happen at birthdays.

  Well, at least at one: John the Baptist was murdered because Herodius found "a convenient day" to do so. (Mark 6:21)

  The baker was NOT murdered. He was executed. Remember, the baker and the cupbearer were both in jail with Joseph. Both "sinned against their lord, the king of Egypt." (Gen 40:1). We don't know what the offense was, whether they were both in on one offense together, or whether they each offended Pharaoh separately. All we know is that the cupbearer was released and went back to his duties and the baker was executed. (Gen 40:20,21) It was Pharaoh's birthday, true, but it was not a murder. It was an execution.
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  EndofMysteries

  Birthdays are stretching it in JW reasoning. However, cremation even christian religions, almost all of them, forbid it until almost the 1950's, and some still forbid it I think. Cremation was a pagan practice, a rejection of earthly/bodily resurrection, and belief in immortal soul, etc. It's interesting since WT likes to be extreme, that they weren't extreme with that as well.
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  EndofMysteries

  The only reason I can think that they don't mention anything about that is because a real burial cost money, and then people might give less to contribution boxes and miss a couple of meetings and field service to pay for burial vs cremation.