Candles and JWs

by badboy 25 Replies latest jw friends

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  blondie

  Actually, there are certain regulations regarding candles in public buildings because of fire laws and insurance requirements.

  After cigarettes/lighters, unattended candles are the most common cause of fires.

  My experience with JWs shows that decorative candles at home are common. I'm sure many of Bill Bowen's customers were JWs.

  There might be some bizarre Pharisaical JWs in some congregations who feel candles at home are demonic, etc. But I just feel it is their sad little way of getting attention or feeling special.

  I have seen candles on dining room tables, on coffee tables and entryways, and a new way is to use a large candelabra with candles by the fireplace.

  Just remember, the most dangerous aspect of using candles is to light them and then walk out of the room or worst yet, leave home forgetting to extinguish them.
• 

  SpiceItUp

  *slaps as many deluded JW's she can find*

  I feel much better now!

  Spice
• 

  BluesBrother

  Lets get real here.

  At K Halls I was attattached to we always had some candles in case of light failure. I recall during power cut, a brother manfully attempting a Bible reading by candlelight and a penlight torch . (Fire regulations be damned)

  We have always had them at home . No doubt it was the ceremonial use of candles in worship, as on an alter that was not permitted.

  Now I can say that such restiction may be over the top. But it would have made sense in the rule bound world of dub land
• 

  orangefatcat

  S ome one should tell that elder so and so that candles have existed since the beginning of time. That elder must have been on some sort of power trip. My mother and sisters who are staunch JW.s they have their homes loadedd with candles and I have always too and no one has the right to infringe their so-called well meaning narrow-minded shit at anyone else. That elder was rude and mean to ruin that dear girls wedding. What nerve . I would have turned around and put them all back out again, just to spite him. I am seeing red.!!

  Their is that mind control thing again.
• 

  amac

  I don't think this particular topic has anything to do with mind control as I know ZERO JWs with an aversion to candles and I do not recall any warnings about using candles. I would assume that any experience otherwise, for instance, the elder at the wedding, is a result of some Pharisaical JW, as Blondie pointed out. Some people view having a strict conscience as an attestment to spirituality, so they are always quick to find something to be offended about that the average witness would never notice.

  amac
• 

  singsongboi

  i am with amac & orangefatcat--

  in near 40 years association i naver heard of candles being seen as demonic -- and as has been pointed out - candles were once (for many people) the only source of illumination in their homes..

  association with demonic worship (which is just a matter of where you are looking from) could only be through the same function..

  However, I also believe those of you who point out that some in dub city have a problem with candles.. which only goes to prove that they are NOT SO BRIGHT --- SORRY!!! LOL
• 

  NeonMadman

  My JW ex-wife (who saw demons behind every rock) was a little paranoid about candles. They were ok to keep around in case the electricity went out, or even occasionally for a candlelight dinner. But if you liked candles and burned them all the time (like my daughter did as a teen - and still does), that was a bit suspicious. And you could never burn black candles! That meant without doubt that you were summoning up demons!
• 

  lovsinner

  Actually, my dad ( an elder) has always hated incense. Looked very perturbed when he would visit and smell it in my home. Then again, one time he thought brothers who bought life insurance had no faith that the end was near..lmao
• 

  Kenneson

  Candles are not mentioned in most modern Bibles, for the simple fact that they were not used in the East. Small earthen lamps, with a wick floating in the oil, gave a feeble light. The older Bible versions that contain candle and candlestick are now known to be a common English mistranslation of "lamp", "lampstand" (menorah). See Exodus 25:31-40 and Rev. 1:12. It is known, however, that candles, as we know them, were used by the Etruscans and Romans. But why should that make them taboo? From earliest times, Christians used candles for evening prayer. The lighting of candles symbolized Christ as the Light of the world. Christians, in turn, were to also let their light shine See John 8:12 and Matt. 4:14-16.
• 

  FriendlyFellaAL

  Count me among those who have never run across a JW with a candle aversion (hmmm...candle aversion therapy anyone?). I can't imagine how anyone would automatically equate candles with devil worship or summoning demons.

  lovsinner - I do have to agree with your dad on the incense thing. It's not that I have any superstitious notions about it, I just can't stand the smell of it. I've hated it for as long as I can remember. But hey, I'm weird! LOL!

  Brian