Q:
I am a
Witness and want you to know that I appreciate your website. I look up the
Scriptures you use and often do additional research to satisfy myself that
they agree with other scriptures on the subject. It has helped me in
clearing up a number of things that I had difficulty explaining before,
while it also has confirmed some things that I already knew. But there is
one thing I have not been able to explain to myself scripturally, and I
haven't seen discussed on your site and that is, why don't we celebrate birthdays?
I recently went to a party of a relative of mine, which turned out to be on
his birthday, and which an elder counseled me about later when he found out
I had been there. (I don't know how he found out.) I told him that when I
went I was not aware that it was a birthday party and asked him why it is
wrong to celebrate birthdays anyways. I must admit that even if I had known
I probably would have gone anyways. This relative recently moved to our
state and last year I went to his 10th wedding anniversary. I asked the
elder why it is ok to celebrate wedding anniversaries but not birthdays. He
gave me the usual reply that the Society gives, which I already know, but no
Scriptures.
_________________________
A:
The question you ask was
explained by the Society in the issue of The Watchtower, October 15,
1998, Questions
From
Readers: "Many of Jehovah’s
Witnesses observe wedding anniversaries. A birthday is an anniversary of when
you were born. So why celebrate wedding anniversaries and not birthday
anniversaries?"—w98
10/15 pp. 30-31
You can look up for yourself the lengthy reply that followed, which I am not
going to post here, as we are concerned with what Jehovah tells us in his Word,
rather than the Society's view which carries no weight when they are not in
harmony with the Scriptures. But I will provide their short summary on that
question which appeared a couple of months later, in the December 15th issue of
The Watchtower, under the heading "Do
You Remember?"—
Why
do Christians celebrate wedding anniversaries
but not birthdays? It said: "The Bible does not put
marriage in a bad light. It is entirely a private matter whether Christians
choose to take note of a wedding anniversary, reflecting on the joyfulness of
that event and on their resolve to work for success as a couple. However, the
only birthday celebrations of Biblical record are those of pagans, and such were
linked to instances of cruelty.—10/15, pages 30, 31." (End of quote)
If it is, as they say, "a private matter whether Christians choose to
take note of a wedding anniversary," why can the same not also be said when it
comes to birthdays? If a wedding anniversary is acceptable because "the Bible
does not put marriage in a bad light," and is a time for "reflecting on the
joyfulness of that event," is that not also true of one's birth, which the Bible
likewise does not put in a bad light? When Eve gave birth to her first son, she
exclaimed: "I have produced a man with the aid of Jehovah." (Gen. 4:1) And
Insight on the Scriptures acknowledges: "For
parents, the day their baby is born is usually one of great rejoicing." (it-1
p. 318 Birth) The anniversary of the birth can also be a time for "reflecting
on the joyfulness of that event," both, for the parents and for the child. The
other argument, that the only birthday celebrations mentioned in the Bible are
those of two pagan rulers, Pharaoh of Egypt and king Herod, does not make
birthdays a pagan celebration. We are not celebrating their day of birth, but
rather our own.
Job was a man who "proved to be blameless and upright, and fearing God and
turning aside from bad." In fact, Jehovah said that "there
is no one like him in the earth." (Job 1:1; 2:8) Job had seven sons who "held a banquet at the house of each one on his own day;
and they sent and invited their three sisters to eat and drink with them." (Job
1:4, 13) What was that about? Did Job's sons celebrate their birthdays? The Society
claims that that could not be for the word "birthday" is not used there. This is
how they address that question: "Did
Job’s children observe birthdays? No, they did not. The original-language words
for 'day' and 'birthday' are different, each having its own meaning. (Genesis
40:20) At Job 1:4, the word 'day' is used, denoting an interval of time from
sunrise to sunset. The seven sons of Job apparently held a seven-day family
gathering once a year. As they made the circuit, each son was the host of the
banquet held at his house on 'his own day.'
(w06 3/15 p. 13 Highlights From the Book of Job; Bold mine) It should be
noted that at Genesis 40:20 in the Hebrew Scriptures it does not say Pharaoh's "birthday,"
but rather "the day of the birth of Pharaoh." The word for "day" here is
the same word that appears in Job 1:4. (You can verify this for yourself in any Interlinear
Hebrew Translation.)
Also, the
account in Job nowhere suggests that the seven sons came together once a year to
party for an entire week. There is no mention of any "seven-day family
gathering," just as the Watchtower says that there is no mention of any "birthday." If,
according to the Society, the main issue in this case is that the
word "day" is used rather than "birthday," then it would appear that like the
sons of Job, it would be acceptable to celebrate "each one on his own day," and
also invite other family members "to eat and drink with [us]," as long
as we avoid calling it a birthday. We might want to call it an "anniversary
of a joyful event." Thus it would become a
"private matter" like any wedding anniversary, as explained in the Watchtower.
What is God's view on birthdays? He has not told us! What others do or don't do
is no argument for or against it, as Paul wrote: "Who are you to judge the house servant of another?
To his own
master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for Jehovah can
make him stand. One [man] judges one day as above another; another [man]
judges one day as all others; let each [man] be fully convinced in his
own mind. He who observes the day observes it to Jehovah. Also, he who eats, eats to
Jehovah, for he gives thanks to God; and he who does not eat does not eat to
Jehovah, and yet gives thanks to God." (Rom. 14:4-6, 13,14; NWT)
There are no Scriptures where Jehovah has forbidden his people to observe in
some personal way the day of their birth, perhaps by celebrating
that joyful occasion while reflecting on how he has lived his life in harmony with
God's will, while "giving thanks to God." Another person might in a
similar way consider the day of his baptism as being special to him. God has not
told us that such things offend him. But on
the other hand, there are numerous Scriptures that condemn those
who place heavy burdens on God's people, enslaving them by means of their own laws,
which they judge as equal to God's laws, as
was the case of the religious leaders in Jesus' day. (Prov. 30:5,6; Matt. 23:1-5; 2 Peter
2:17-19; Rev. 22:18,19) Of course, Jehovah does condemn excessive eating and drinking. Job
offered sacrifices on behalf of his sons in case they had become guilty of that.
(Job 1:5; Deut. 21:20)
Jehovah has not given anyone the authority to "go beyond the things that are
written," by
deviating from what he himself has told us,
not even an angel out of heaven. (1 Cor. 4:6; Gal. 1:8,9) Such a
man becomes guilty of making God's Word invalid, and
consequently his worship becomes futile; which would also be true of anyone who follows him.
(Matt. 15:6-9; 2 Thess. 2:10-12) And
besides, deviating from God's word always causes divisions! This became the situation in the Corinthian
congregation with its "superfine apostles," as Paul called
them, who were dominating their fellow brothers and caused them severe problems. These
"false brothers" opposed Paul, accepting nothing with respect from him, as is also the case
with those today who reject what Paul says on this issue: "For you gladly put up
with the unreasonable persons, seeing you are reasonable. In fact, you put up
with whoever enslaves you, whoever devours [what you have], whoever grabs [what
you have], whoever exalts himself over [you], whoever strikes you in the face."
(1 Cor. 1:10,11; 4:6-8; 2 Cor. 11:19,20, 26; 12:11, 20; Gal. 2:4,5) Just because
Jehovah has tolerated lawlessness within his household does not mean he approves
of it!
Celebrating one's wedding anniversary or birthday does not even qualify for
being a matter of conscience, for God's word has not ruled on these things. It
does not involve the worship of demons or the teaching of lies, as do many
worldly holidays such as Christmas, which God does condemn. (1 Cor. 10:21; James
1:27) It does not fall into the category of eating foods that are offered to
idols, which in itself is not wrong, as Paul explained, but could become a
conscience matter as it involves true worship and the consciences of those who
are weak. (Rom. 14:1-3; 1 Cor. 8:4-13) Keep in mind the apostle Paul's warning
that "the inspired utterance says definitely that in later periods of time some
will fall away from the faith, paying attention to misleading inspired
utterances and teachings of demons, by the hypocrisy of men who speak lies," who
forbid all sorts of things that are not wrong in themselves, but merely give "an
appearance of wisdom in a self-imposed form of worship and mock humility." (Col.
2:18-23; 1 Tim. 4:1-3) Whether a person observes the anniversary of his
marriage, or of his birth, or ignores them, is entirely a personal matter. That
is why Paul said, "let each man be fully convinced in his own mind. He who
observes the day observes it to Jehovah."
Paul's counsel is just as applicable today as it was in the first century. And
this does not just concern birthdays and anniversaries, but also anything else
on which God has not expressed his clear opinion. Jehovah never leaves us in
doubt on matters he forbids! (Acts 15:28,29; 21:25) Just because the Bible does
not specifically say that God's people in times past did or did not do
something, does not provide us with any clear guidance as to what we can or
cannot do today. Therefore, the argument that the Bible does not mention the
Israelites celebrating their birthdays—and
that the only two birthdays that are mentioned are cast in a bad light—is
no argument against celebrating our own. With that sort of logic, some elders
might view the owning of dogs as being unscriptural, and forbid the brothers in
their congregations to own them, with the nonsense reasoning that the Bible does
not mention the Israelites keeping dogs as pets; and that dogs are cast in a
negative light, such as when dogs ate the flesh of Jezebel; or Jesus said not to
"give what is holy to dogs"; or Peter comparing a person who leaves the path of
righteousness to a "dog who has returned to its own vomit." Perhaps to someone
all good reasons to keep abstaining from dogs. (2 Kings 9:35,36; Matt. 7:6; 2
Peter 2:21,22) The possibility of this actually happening in some congregations
is not too far fetched.
I have witnessed over the
years many brothers and sisters, in different congregations, who have judged
their fellow brothers and sisters by their own personal views on a lot of
different matters which they believed to be "unscriptural." Is
this a problem because we have been led to believe that the worship of the true God is
restrictive and confining, or because of the
influence of some previous religious affiliation? For example, here is a partial list of
some
32 items that I
had compiled over the years of what some, including some elders in their
congregation, taught at one time (maybe still today) as
being unscriptural, or worldly, and therefore to be avoided by "mature"
Christians: Facial hair, in most cases referring to a beard (although Jesus wore one,
Joseph Rutherford didn't); any sort of
make-up for the sisters,
especially lipstick and eye shadow (makes them look like Jezebel); most jewelry
(except a wedding band); playing chess (it's a war game); playing cards
(it's
associated with gambling);
bowling (the brother claimed its origin as a pagan religious ceremony); a
calendar with pictures of monkeys dressed up and posing as
business men (teaches evolution); reading News magazines, such as Time or Newsweek, or
even Reader's Digest (they are worldly); a bolo tie at the meetings (too
casual); the
use of certain words, such as "lucky" (when I asked this elder what word I
should use instead, he answered "fortunate." I pointed out that they mean
the same); no colored shirt for any brother on the platform allowed (we shouldn't follow
worldly fashions); reading the Society's magazines in the bathroom
(shows disrespect for sacred things); etc. I'm sure many of you have heard of
other restrictions that can be added to my list. Perhaps you might
even have a few of your own "unscriptural" restrictions!
We belong to Jehovah!
We are His servants! Therefore do not let yourselves be "confined again in a
yoke of slavery," from which Christ set us free. "For the kingdom of God does
not mean eating and drinking, but means righteousness and peace and joy with
holy spirit." (Gal. 5:1; Rom. 14:17) Jesus said that his true disciples
are identified by the love they have for one other. Judging our brothers is the
opposite of loving them! (John 13:35; Matt. 7:1-5)
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