However, both of those events are presented in a bad light.- Genesis 40:20-22 Mark 6:21-29. The reason is that these holidays, too, are connected with non-Christian worship in fact, certain features of such worship often dominate the celebrations. This is not simply an oversight, for it does record two birthday celebrations by those not serving God. Jehovah’s Witnesses take the same position of total nonparticipation in other religious or semireligious holidays that occur during the school year. The Bible never refers to a servant of God celebrating a birthday. ( Luke 22:17-20) This should not be surprising, for the Bible says that “the day of death is better than the day of birth.” ( Ecclesiastes 7:1) By the end of his life on earth, Jesus had made a good name with God, making the day of his death more important than the day of his birth.- Hebrews 1:4. The only commemoration that Christians are required to keep involves, not a birth, but a death-that of Jesus. The World Book Encyclopedia says that “they considered the celebration of anyone’s birth to be a pagan custom.” The Bible shows that the apostles and others who were taught directly by Jesus established a pattern that all Christians should follow.- 2 Thessalonians 3:6. The early Christians did not celebrate birthdays. ( Isaiah 47:11-15) Jehovah’s Witnesses are not preoccupied with the roots of every custom yet when the Scriptures give such pointed indications, we do not ignore them. The Bible, however, condemns the use of magic, divination, spiritism, or “anything like this.” ( Deuteronomy 18:14 Galatians 5:19-21) In fact, one reason why God condemned the ancient city of Babylon was that its inhabitants practiced astrology, which is a form of divination. According to Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Legend, these celebrations originated from the belief that on a person’s birthday, “evil spirits and influences have the opportunity to attack the celebrants” and that “the presence of friends and the expression of good wishes help to protect the celebrant.” The book The Lore of Birthdays says that in ancient times, birthday records were “essential for the casting of a horoscope” based on “the mystic science of astrology.” This book adds that “birthday candles, in folk belief, are endowed with special magic for granting wishes.” Consider four of these aspects and related Bible principles.īirthday celebrations have pagan roots. Although the Bible does not explicitly forbid celebrating birthdays, it does help us to reason on key features of these events and understand God’s view of them. A Christian sect, which was founded in the U.S. They affirm the deity of God the Father, and specifically deny the deity of Jesus Christ. They believe that Jesus can be called a deity or a god, but only in the sense that an angel can be thus called. Jehovah’s Witnesses do not celebrate birthdays because we believe that such celebrations displease God. Jehovah’s Witnesses, on the other hand, explicitly deny the deity of Christ.
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