Posts by yesidid

59

2008 study WT will be confiscated from non-publishers

by mac n cheese in

the literature servant told me that their instructions are to only give one study wt per publisher starting with the january 1st, 2008 issue.

under no circumstances are they to provide any other copies (if lost or whatever, much like kms are provided now).

any guests attending the wt study will be provided a copy, but then the servant who gave them the copy must confiscate it after the meeting.

yesidid

Haven't been to the hall for five years, but still get the mags.

Guess what!!!!

Our Feb 15 came today.

19

How many Australians do we have here?

by jefferywhat in

jw
friends

1.

yesidid

Aussies may know of, or remember Max Lloyd.

He was seconded to Brooklyn, where his chief responsibliity has been to give marching orders

to those no longer required.

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Just finished C of C last night

by dogisgod in

it took me a while to get thru this book and some of the print was really unclear to make out.

what struck me was the absolute mean spiritedness of the borg toward these brothers who gave their whole lives to the borg.

it also reinforces my experience that once they "make a decision" they will not be disuaded by biblical facts.

yesidid

When these brother's were dfd were their wives included in the package

I think Ray mantions somewhere that Cynthia was not dfd.

Betty Dunlap (Ed's wife) told me that Ed made them promise not to df Betty, and they didn't.

yesidid

46

Is There Anybody That You KNOW That You Can Implicitly Trust?

by minimus in

jw
friends

is there a person or persons that you can trust 100%?

?

yesidid

I trust my husband (of fifty years), totally, completely, absolutely, utterly. He would die for me, as I would for him.

There are two siblings I would trust, one Witness friend and five non witness friends.

Thank you for this thread. I didn't realize how privileged I was.

I should be a lot more appreciative.

yesidid

13

When did the "birthday" ban start?

by Doug Mason in

when did the ban on "birthday" celebrations begin?

on 5 november 1944, gustaw baumert, a member of the international bible students association, prisoner 81994 at auschwitz wrote a letter to his family.

the following is a translation of part of his letter: .

yesidid

The quote and a picture of the original letter is on page 126 of an amazing book from Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. It is in English, and is called "Imprisoned for their Faith: Jehovah's Witnesses in KL Auschwitz", by Teresa Wontor-Cichy (ISBN 83-60210-24-1). (KL translates as "concentration camp".)

Thank you Doug, that was a great find.

yesidid

13

When did the "birthday" ban start?

by Doug Mason in

when did the ban on "birthday" celebrations begin?

on 5 november 1944, gustaw baumert, a member of the international bible students association, prisoner 81994 at auschwitz wrote a letter to his family.

the following is a translation of part of his letter: .

yesidid

In the Proclaimers Book it says this which seems to indicate that they stopped celebrating birthdays when they were still called Bible Students which would have been prior to 1931 when Rutherford renamed them "Jehovah's Witnesses."

This is another porky from the WBTS as evidenced by the letter from a faithful Witness in Germany in 1944, and my own experience of faithful Witnesses still celebrating birthdays until 1951.

BTW Doug, from where did you get that quote?

yesidid

13

When did the "birthday" ban start?

by Doug Mason in

when did the ban on "birthday" celebrations begin?

on 5 november 1944, gustaw baumert, a member of the international bible students association, prisoner 81994 at auschwitz wrote a letter to his family.

the following is a translation of part of his letter: .

yesidid

In time honoured fashion they did it in a question from readers.

I remember it well. I was preteen and my birthday was due in a few days. My faithful mother broke the sad news that I would not be having a party or presents because the latest Watchtower had forbidden it as pagan. I still remember the disappointment.

I know it wasn't before because my parents were srtict in obeying their earthly masters every command.

***

w5110/1p.607QuestionsFromReaders***

?

Isitpropertohaveorattendcelebrationsofbirthdayanniversaries?—F.K.,Nevada.

Such celebrations have their roots in pagan religions, and not Scriptural grounds. Some Bible commentators suggest that birthday celebrations may have had their origin in the "notion of the immortality of the soul". Astrologers and stargazers laid great stress on offering sacrifices to the gods each year when the stars and planets were in the same position as when one was born. In Egyptian mythology the "birthdays of the gods" were celebrated on certain days, and in Chinese mythology individuals offered special sacrifices on their birthdays to Shou Hsing, the god of longevity. The ancient Anglo-Saxons celebrated the birthday of the "Lord Moon", spoken of as meni at Isaiah 65:11 (margin), by making cakes "called Nur-Cakes, or Birthcakes"; and candles also are of pagan origin.—See Hislop’s TwoBabylons, pages 95, 191-196.

After telling us that December 25 was the traditional birthday of Nimrod, and not of Jesus, the new book WhatHasReligionDoneforMankind? states: "The inspired Scriptures do not give the birth date of Jesus, and it does not matter, for neither Jesus nor God his Father nor the inspired apostles instructed us to celebrate Jesus’ birthday. The only birthday celebrations that the Holy Scriptures mention are those of pagans, those of Egypt’s Pharaoh and of Herod Antipas who marked his birthday by having John the Baptist’s head chopped off. (Gen. 40:20; Matt. 14:6; Mark 6:21) Christ’s disciples of the first century shunned birthday celebrations as being pagan, unchristian!"

Doubtless many things practiced by Christians today were also practiced by pagans; but when these practices are steeped in false worship contrary to Bible principle they become objectionable. The celebration of birthday anniversaries centers the mind on the creature and exalts the creature, giving him and his birth undue importance. Romans 1:25 (NW) warns of those who "venerated and rendered sacred service to the creation rather than the One who created". Birthday celebrations could tend to take on this objectionable quality. If Christians wish to come together occasionally for profitable fellowship and relaxation, they do not have to await a day reminiscent of pagan religion. If they wish to present a brother with a gift, they do not have to await the anniversary of the day of his entry into the world, as though that were such a memorable occasion. If the precise day of Jesus’ birth and its remembrance were of no such noteworthiness, whose are?

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