Are birthdays now a "conscience matter" for JWs? (page 2)

Es

ok so really there is no written proof saying its a conscience matter. bugger

es

Brymichmom

Brymichmom....Are you from the Yahoo! ex-JW discussion group? If so, hi!

Yes, I'm the very same one!

CH

Even if the Watchtower came right out and said that birthdays are a matter of conscience, never forget that the Jehovah of the Watchtower Society wears a very, very, very big disapproving frown - especially when he contemplates the gross sinfulness of children blowing out birthday candles and opening presents.

freedom96

There is absolutely no question that if someone celebrated their own or someone else's birthday in the congregations I have attended, that it would be the end of them. DF'd in a second.

My in-laws, still very active witnesses, will send my wife a generic card around the time of her birthday, and make a comment about how she remembers the day she was born, and how special she is to her.

Cygnus

When I was a kid my grandmothers always sent me, my brothers, and my sister a card on our birthdays with a 10 or 20 dollar bill. They were JWs. I'd challenge anyone to find something in writiing that condemns a simple acknowledgement and gift on the day. You just can't spread the word around.

Bonnie_Clyde

I bought my mother a cake for her birthday and had the bakery put "Happy Birthday Mom" on it. Mother was in a wheelchair and I wanted to do something special for her. I had never done it before. It didn't seem to bother my father, an elder, but my adult daughter reported it to the elders and I was reported to the elders. Wasn't DF'd because I appeared to be repentent.

Rayvin

From the way my mother reacts its not a conscience matter. If we tell her that on a certain (b-date) day we have plans. She asks " it isn't for a .. birthday .. is it?"

I agree w/ the person that suggested not specifically writing in bold print on the pkg.. ITS FOR YOUR B-DAY!!!

She should get the jist of the gift and what its intended for. My mother even would slyly suggest that you do things on the day before or the day after so its not TECHNICALLY celebrating the b-day. How silly!

undercover

As a matter of doctrine, birthdays are still out. The new book released at the convention this summer indicates that worldly holidays, including birthdays, are not for "christians".

That being said however, the articles on the pinata and on windchimes pretty much shoots down the reasoning behind why birthdays aren't allowed. But that still doesn't mean that it's a conscience matter either. With the WTS it's pretty much "do as we say and don't try to verify it". And since the latest book lists birthdays along with Xmas and Easter, it is still considered wrong.

But, over the last generation or two of JWs I have seen a "wink wink, nod nod" attitude toward birthdays. They don't "celebrate" them with parties and revelry but they do "observe" them by acknowledging them and joking about them. When a friend of ours turned 30, the first of our KHs young crowd to do so, we sent him gag gifts and cards. We rationalized it as not celebrating, but making fun of his getting "old".

If you want to send her a gift, just send it without any connotations to her birthday. Her parents will be more apt to let her accpet it and maybe in some small way, they'll see that you're not so evil as JWs tend to think of when it comes to DA'd and DF'd people.

defd

Awake!" ;responds: Christians refrain from any celebrations or customs that continue to involve false religious beliefs or activities that violate Bible principles. For example, the Bible definitely puts birthday celebrations in a bad light. (Genesis 40:20; Matthew 14:6-10) However, if it is very obvious that a custom has no current false religious significance and involves no violation of Bible principles, each Christian must make a personal decision as to whether he will follow such a custom.

Thank you for that article. As an active witness, I had a problem with the Celebrating of birthdays. I never really saw the problem with doing it as long as no bible principles were violated

TheListener

The latest publication, "What the Bible Really Teaches" on page 159 subheading: DO ORIGINS REALLY MATTER?, paragraph 12 says: "Maybe you feel that the origins of holidays have little to do with how they are celebrated today. Do origins really matter? Yes! To illustrate: Suppose you saw a piece of candy lying in the gutter. Would you pick up that candy and eat it? Of course not! That candy is unclean. Like that candy, holidays may seem sweet, but they have been picked up from unclean places. To take a stand for true worship, we need to have a viewpoint like that of the prophet Isaiah, who told true worshippers: "Touch nothing unclean."-Isaiah 52:11"

Also page 223 of the same book under the appendix article entitled "Should We Celebrate Holidays?" says "Other holidays. It is not possible to discuss all teh observances held throughout the world. However, holidays that exalt humans or human organizations are not acceptable to Jehovah. (Jeremiah 17:5-7; Acts 10:25,26) Keep in mind too, that the origin of religious celebrations has a bearing on whether they please God or not. (Isaiah 52:11; Revelation 18:4) The bible principles mentioned in Chapter 16 of this book will help you determine how God views participation in holidays of a secular nature." ((((I quoted chapter 16 above))))

I didn't find that birthdays were directly commented on in the new publication. Still I don't know one witness who celebrates a birthday. As they say in the Awake response "the Bible definitely puts birthday celebrations in a bad light." Since birthdays aren't a religious holiday but a secular one it appears that the information on page 223 condemns the practice of celebrating birthdays if for no other reason that it exalts a human.

Are birthdays now a "conscience matter" for JWs?

Es