A Witness can’t celebrate and give gifts on a birthday EXCEPT on the day they are born. Giving a baby shower is ok as well as gift giving—- but only once!
Soooo dumb!
It’s Stupid That JWs Wont Recognize Birthdays Yet If A Baby Is Born They Will Give Gifts!
by minimus 19 Replies latest jw friends
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lastmanstanding
JWs do celebrate birthdays. Only the first one. Henceforward all others banned.
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jwundubbed
I think this is often more about practicality. Many JWs are freak'n poor and kids cost A LOT of money. Babies cost a lot of money. By the time one kid goes through the gifts, many of those gifts are damaged beyond repair. JWs are supposed to put a glossy image on themselves. You can't have babies in stained and frayed clothes all the time or the outside world might think there is something wrong and start investigating.
Most of me and my siblings clothes growing up were hand-me-downs from other families (gifts in a way) or were sewn by our mother. But somehow in all the pictures, you can't tell that we are living in abject poverty... and we look happy. Nothing to see here folks.
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stuckinarut2
Good observation!
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Incognito
Similar to a wedding day, the "birthday" is the actual day a child is born. That same calendar day each subsequent year marks the anniversary of the child's birth, but most people commonly accept continuing to call it a 'birthday' whereas subsequent recognition of a wedding day is commonly called an 'anniversary'. Why is that?
If JWs wish to recognize and celebrate their or their children's 'birthday', perhaps they should just call it the anniversary of their birth since in JW land, recognition and celebration of an anniversary remains a matter of conscience.
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Amelia Ashton
Job's children celebrated "their day" with "banqueting" (NWT says "set day") Job chapter 1 verse 4 which sounds like an anniversary of their birth to me. I'm not aware of a JW explanation saying it isn't a birthday celebration or what else it could be.
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steve2
JWs are kings and queens of inconsistencies. A wedding anniversary, for example, is a birthday of a wedding. Practically all the arguments opposing birthdays (1st century Christians did not observe them, draws undue attention to the individual when that should go to Jehovah alone, don’t need a special day to show appreciation for a loved one, etc.) could be applied to observing wedding anniversaries. Yet obserbing such an anniversary is a conscience matter - but observing birthdays is not. That’s what happens when men pass rules on what is and what is not okay.
The organization has let the horse bolt from the stables over anniversaries but painted itself into a proud corner over birthday celebrations.
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The Fall Guy
Official WTBTS Dogma:
"The Bible never refers to a servant of God celebrating a birthday. This is not simply an oversight, for it does record two birthday celebrations by those not serving God. However, both of those events are presented in a bad light." (JW.BORG web site)
What the Bible Really Teaches:
Job's sons celebrated the anniversary of their births.
Job 1:4 - "Each of his sons would hold a banquet at his house on his own set day. They would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them."
Job 3:1 - "It was after this that Job began to speak and to curse the day of his birth."
Genesis 40:20 - "Now the third day was Pharʹaoh’s birthday,
Jer. 20:14 - "Cursed be the day I was born!"
In all four verses, the same Hebrew word (yowm) is used to indicate the day of birth.
If we imitate the WTBTS's reasoning, female J.W.'s should heed the following:
"The Bible never refers to a servant of God wearing eye make-up. This is not simply an oversight, for it does record two occasions when eye make-up was worn by those not serving God. However, both of those events are presented in a bad light."
(2 Kings 9:30) When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. So she painted her eyes with black paint....
(Ezekiel 23:40) ....you washed yourself and painted your eyes......
Based on the "faithful slave's" spirit-directed wisdom, eye make-up for women is clearly pagan and should be abhorred just like birthdays.
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Miss Worldly
It’s stupid that JWs won’t recognise birthdays yet if a baby is born they will give gifts!
Yes it is.
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Room 215
What then of Romans 14:5? " One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind."