If the WT took a softer standpoint on birthdays and called it a "conscience issue", probably only about 10% would think "*hang on a minute*!" the rest would be saying how wonderful it was that the Faithful and Discreet Slave said that and just assuming it was they themselves who must have got it wrong all that time...
Lu'au anyone
by shotgun 12 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Special K
This Lu'au thing made me really want to dig in, shotgun.
So I did some history research yesterday. All afternoon!
This is word for word what I discovered.
"The Lu'au is a Hawaian feast of celebration. A lu'au is held at special beginnings or endings.. a marriage, a child's first birthday, a retirement, a graduation. Festive clothing is worn, flowers are everwhere. Lots of food wand Hawaiin music and dance fellow the feast."
The history of Lu'au:
"Feasts of early Hawaii were a way of communicating between the Hawaiians and their gods. The feasts were more than a ritualistic offering of food to the spirits. It was believed the gods were present throughout the meal, creating a closer relationship between man and the gods."
For a long time there was a law against women eating with the men at the Lu'au.
another history of the Lu'au says that,
"The birth of a child, a victorious battle are all events that called for the honouring of the gods and the sharing of bounty with friends and family"
What I have discovered from my research is that for any exJW disfellowshipped for celebrating a pagan holiday, such as myself, really should not have been disfellowshipped and put through all this "ship" of loosing family and friends.
Instead of disfellowshipping me .. They could have just thrown me a BIG LU'AU!!!
What a crock of "shaving cream"!!!
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mizpah
Years ago when I was still a single JW, I wrote into the Society to question why they allowed wedding anniversaries but not birthday celebrations. I noted in the that in French the term for birthday was "anniversaire de naisance" (anniversary of birth). I received a lengthy reply about how the Bible mentions only two birthdays, both being detrimental to God's servants. It concluded that celebrating wedding anniversaries would be up to the "consciences" of individuals.
Over the years discussions came up about other "pagan practices" such as use of the wedding ring, etc. It seems that the Watchtower was quite arbitrary how one could or could not celebrate various customs and holidays. However, what became more noticable was the way that Jehovah's Witnesses got around the restrictions. Many would exchange gifts around Christmas time but not on the 25th of December. Others would celebrate a "special day" around the time of one's birthday but would not be on the exact date. Some would have large turkey dinners but not on the Thursday of Thanksgiving. It was always rather amusing to see the rationale for such occasions.
I'm convinced now that the Watchtower Society ruled against many of these celebrations because it wanted total control over its members. These occasions allowed for Jehovah's Witnesses to have normal family relationships with others who were not members of the Watchtower Society. This was perceived as a danger to the authority of the leadership. Why didn't the Society leave all decisions up to the "consciences" of each member? Undoubtedly, it was because it knew that the majority of its members would continue to have close association with their families.