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Multicultural families

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Original poster

Jehova Witnesses

42 replies

Dodsey · 27/10/2005 23:39

DS1 has just started school & had a birthday party today with some of his new(& old!) friends.One Mum phoned to say that as they were J.W.'s they didn't celebrate birthdays & he couldn't come. Now my response was( & still is ), no problem we'll arrange a play date at a later time. But now I'm curious. If DS1 had been invited to a classmates religious festival eg. holi or diwali, I would have had no problem sending him to learn & experience something new. Why is this situation different.Are birthdays sinful in some way? I'm just really curious & I can't ask the other Mum as I don't want to upset or offend her, she's really lovely & I do think we'll get on well when our boys play together. Can someone enlighten me without shooting me down in flames. I'm just really curious about this.

OP posts:
spooklymieow · 27/10/2005 23:55

JW belive taht bdays are a pagan thing. If you ask her she will explain it to you, she won't be offended.

spookylucy · 27/10/2005 23:58

Perhaps bump this one tommorrow, there is at least one Jehovas Witness on mumsnet.

hunkerpumpkin · 28/10/2005 00:03

Why is pagan bad for JWs?

Have rephrased that numerous times and hope that's not offensive.

I went to school with a girl who wasn't allowed to come to birthday parties, have people round to play or attend assemblies because she was a JW - I know what I want to ask but can't think of a way that isn't likely to offend - basically, the question is do they mind other ways of doing things?

spooklymieow · 28/10/2005 00:10

They believe that bdays, easter, chistmas and halloween etc, are all things made up by man, and they believe that they shouldn't celebrate them. They believe that jesus wasn't born at christmas, halloween is eveil because it celebrates the devil and his beliefs. I will try and found out exactly why they don't celebrate bdays (was brought up as a JW but have forgotten lots.)

hunkerpumpkin · 28/10/2005 00:12

Thanks, SM - have always found it a hard to understand religion (also went to school with a boy who was hideously teased because he had incredibly buck teeth and his mother wouldn't allow him to have a brace, which I just couldn't understand).

Always felt very sorry for my friend who wasn't allowed to have people over to play too - that can't be to do with made-up celebrations though?

skinnycow · 28/10/2005 00:12

arent weddings man made too though?

spooklymieow · 28/10/2005 00:16

This is from the JW offical website

  1. Birthdays: The only two birthday celebrations spoken of in the Bible were held by persons who did not worship Jehovah. (Genesis 40:20-22; Mark 6:21, 22, 24-27) The early Christians did not celebrate birthdays. The custom of celebrating birthdays comes from ancient false religions. True Christians give gifts and have good times together at other times during the year.

Yes SC I suppose weddings are man made, but they are incordard (SP??)with the bible, one man, one woman for life.

spooklymieow · 28/10/2005 00:19

HP Some of the witnesses take the regilion too far IMHO. The reason that your friend wouldn't have been allowed people to play would have been be because of 'worldly assocation' meaning that anyone who wasn't a witness is bad I was lucky that my parents never took the regilion to that level. I was allow friends to play and stay over. I had to abide by the rules of the regilion, but my parents knew we had to live too.

hunkerpumpkin · 28/10/2005 00:22

She was allowed to go to other people's houses occasionally, and I did once go and see her tortoises(!) but other than that, nothing

I guess any religion can be taken way too far - but when I was younger, this was the only one I had experience of which stated things that actually affected day to day life to any great extent.

alux · 28/10/2005 00:26

a bit of a hijack here. the JW came knocking today and had dd in her carseat ready to go out so did not have to beg off thinking 'they must know that I am making this up.' JW believe other things that many mainstream religions don't like that only 144,000 people will be judged worthy of getting into heaven. Can't see how that coincides with the biblical teaching that 'there are many rooms in my Father's house.'

As I was locking the door I thought 'one day I will invite them in for the crack.' Eventhough I don't believe in proselytising.

An American friend who is a Methodist minister said to me that mainstream Christian denominations consider JW a cult. I asked why and he said that one reason is because JW are not allowed to read the Bible themselves. They can only read the excepts printed in the 'WatchTower' booklets.

Any JW's out there, if what I have said is downright silly and ignorant, let me know. I don't mind listening.

spooklymieow · 28/10/2005 00:27

This the the JW website There is lots of info on it about their reglion and it explains a lot. This is the actual site that JWs use.
Like I said I was brought up as a JW, not one now, but I still have a good knowledge of the relgion.

spooklymieow · 28/10/2005 00:29

They are allowed to read the bible!!! they are encouraged to read it daily!!! They all have their own bible that goes everywhere with them. That is not true!!

alux · 28/10/2005 00:31

glad to hear that. otherwise i would consider it censorship and on its way to being a cult.

spooklymieow · 28/10/2005 00:31

Also the 144000 thing, that is the number of people who have been choosen to sit at god's right side in heaven. All the other people will live in a pradise earth.

alux · 28/10/2005 00:32

so how do JW describe God's right side? vs paradise earth. and why must there be a difference?

spooklymieow · 28/10/2005 00:33

The bible is actually the mainframe of their regilion. The Watchtower magazine is a booklet they use to help people understand the regilion without the depth of the bible IYKWIM, the watchtower also uses many many quotes from the bible.

spooklymieow · 28/10/2005 00:34

I don't know about that one Alux, maybe a witness will come on tomorrow and explain that one.

alux · 28/10/2005 00:34

I also wonder about these instances of JW parents refusing to give their children blood transfusions. I guess I shouldn't as so many people are opposed to MMR but I know their arguements. I don't know the JW's arguements against transfusions.

spooklymieow · 28/10/2005 00:35

As far as I understand it, 144000 will sit on gods' right side in heaven, the others will all be on earth.

spooklymieow · 28/10/2005 00:35

It is quoted in the bible that blood is unclean.

spooklymieow · 28/10/2005 00:41

this is also from their website

He again referred to blood when he gave the Law code to ancient Israel. While many people respect the wisdom and ethics in that code, few are aware of its serious laws on blood. For instance: "If anyone of the house of Israel or of the strangers who reside among them partakes of any blood, I will set My face against the person who partakes of the blood, and I will cut him off from among his kin. For the life of the flesh is in the blood." (Leviticus 17:10, 11, Tanakh) God then explained what a hunter was to do with a dead animal: "He shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth. . . . You shall not partake of the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Anyone who partakes of it shall be cut off."?Leviticus 17:13, 14, Ta.

MarsLady · 28/10/2005 00:41

sorry... totally off topic but why on multicultural families?

They don't celebrate Christmas either. Can't remember the reason for not celebrating birthdays. My cousins are JW. They wouldn't come to my wedding cos it was in a different church to their own.

hana · 28/10/2005 01:04

my grandfather is a jw
he didn't attend my father's wedding
never acknowledged any special events in our lives growing up (bithday school concerts, etc or the birth of any great grandchildren - he has 6) )
didnt' attend any of our weddings,
has recently told dad that he regrets not knowing his grandchildren or being part of our lives but he's a stranger to me

misdee · 28/10/2005 07:53

one of the 1st birthday parties, didnt some woman want Johns head on a plate as a gift? or is it too early.

alicemama · 28/10/2005 08:19

All of what sparklymieow had said is spot on. I am a Jw and have been all of my life. Any jw would much prefer to be asked what they believe rather than eople jump to wrong conclusions, so just ask her.

I do appreciate that some JW's can seem a little extreme to people but the majority of us are just like you, we have families, we have jobs, we live in the real world the same as everybody else. I have family that are not JW and spend just as much time with them as I do with the rest of my family.....its all a question of balance.

hth