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Topic: A question for JW's --- Holidays (hypocritical?)


Topic Posted by: My cousin wants to become a JW
Date Posted: Tue Nov 10 23:33:01 2009
Additional Comments:

My cousin has not been happy with the last religion she joined and so she answered the door when the JW's knocked. 

She meets with them for their weekly bible study and attends the meetings at Kingdom Hall.   So far they have only taught her about a few of their doctrinal beliefs such as not having transfusions several other small things telling her that they remain in their grave until the Rapture.

She has now been told that they DO CELEBRATE the HOLIDAYS including Birthdays and even Halloween but they are not allowed to celebrate it on the actual date.  I find this to be very hypocriticaland would like to know if there are any JW's here that can set the record straight.  All others are invited to join in this discussion. 

 





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Posted by: sunflowergirl
Date posted: Thu Nov 12 13:33:30 2009
Message:
I work with a JW and she is very open about talking abour her religion when someone has a question on what they believe.  There is no doubt she lives and breathes the church and their beliefs but she doesn't push it on her coworkers.  I know that anniversaries are a big deal with their church and are really celebrated.  They don't celebrate Christmas, Birthdays and other holidays.  I know that they don't give gifts for Chrstimas, but I do know they go out in the days after Christmas for shopping.  They still get their gifts, it's just not "Christmas" gifts. 

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Posted by: C.C.
Date posted: Wed Nov 11 16:31:02 2009
Message:

I used to work with a young woman who was known for being superstitious.  She went into a severe panic attack when a JW missionary told her that it she did not join their religion then something bad would happen to her husband or children.

I am since read that the JW's are not near a forceful as they used to be.  I hope that this is true. 

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  • x
  • I know that there are what I call religious nuts everywhere such as those who get things way off their track. I hope this type of JW missionary is not the norm of how things should be done.

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    Posted by: Cassies grandma
    Date posted: Wed Nov 11 16:03:54 2009
    Message:
    http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/2001/06/What-Jehovahs-Witnesses-Believe.aspx
    Here is what I came up with Google. Of course there are many many sites you can check out. Wiki has a pretty good article on them.

    http://www.bible.ca/jw.htm
    And this one seems very anti-JW.

    My sister in law's sister was a JW. I know it really concerned my sis and she prayed over it daily.

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  • Thaks CG for the sites. I really do think that these people are in need of our prayers. So many of our television programing today was for our people who serve our county and knowing that the JW's get out of doing so since we should not kill makes me ill. I have heard before that they do not consider themselves to be a member of a country but if this is true then they certainly do take advantage of all of our wonderful things in the U.S.A.
  • Did your grandfather tell you that in WWII, many of them were killed by the Nazis in the same concentration camps as the Jews? Does that make you feel better?......CleoJ
  • you are right Cleo I had forgotten that. Jews Catholics JW and gays the mentally ill and retarded were all targets of the Nazi's. eom CG

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    Posted by: Ginger G
    Date posted: Wed Nov 11 15:51:21 2009
    Message:

    I don’t wish to offend anyone, but the whole deal about them refusing a potentially life-saving blood transfusion really irritates the crap out of me.  A doctor I know, who is a really good, caring doctor, was sued a few years by a patient that he gave a transfusion to that SAVED THE GUY’S LIFE!  What kind of world do we live in where someone gets sued for saving your life? 

    Also, we recently had a situation with a JW employee who needed open heart surgery.  Due to this  religion's beliefs regarding blood transfusions, he had to stay in the hospital about a week prior to his surgery to ensure he got through it without needing a transfusion.  I’m not exactly sure why, maybe he was anemic or something?  Anyway, basically this religious belief cost our company A LOT of extra $$ in medical bills (our insurance plan is self-funded).  My boss had the same exact surgery a few months before that and his medical costs were about $100,000 less.

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  • This must be so hard for those who work in the medical profession. Did the medical professionals lose the lawsui?. I know a man who nearly died on the operating table because he would not commit the SIN of having a blood transfusion. His family felt really bad about his beliefs but had to watch as they thought he was dying.
  • He settled...not sure for how much but the guy got his life saved and a nice chunk of change I'm sure. GG

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    Posted by: Elaine
    Date posted: Wed Nov 11 14:00:30 2009
    Message:

    I know a few JW's and they are just the nicest people anybody could meet.  I always feel I can 'go with the flow' and enjoy church services in any denomination for the most part.  I've gone to Mass with my Catholic hubby...not much different from my Lutheran service except more mentioning of Mary and the Saints.  No big deal....

    That being said, there are 2 religions I don't think I'd feel comfortable with...JW's and Mormons. They say they're following scripture when they refuse blood transfusions but if they follow that OT doctrine, how come they don't keep Kosher kitchens?  Isn't that an OT rule?  I sure don't think God will rebuke me for celebrating my birthday or my hubby's birthday...we're glad each other were born and like to celebrate that fact.  The Mormons, can't get my brain around Joseph Smith and the golden tablets etc.  So that's my 2 cents...I'm not the most religious person myself but I believe in my Lutheran upbringing even tho I don't go to church that often.

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  • This is very interesting because my cousin was a Mormon before becoming interested in the JW religion. I wish I knew why she seem to be attracted to cults. Joseph Smith was well known for his talltales long before the Golden Plates story. I have been told that the JW's religion was started as a college experment just to see how many Russel could get to believe these things but I do not know it this is true,

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    Posted by: ingyandbert
    Date posted: Wed Nov 11 11:16:14 2009
    Message:

    I have a dear friend who is a lifelong JW.  They do not celebrate birthdays or holidays, I don't know why that person would have said they do.  My friend has many non-JW friends and has never pushed her views on me in any way. She's always respected my non-belief and I've always respected her beliefs. She does witness and give out literature but only to those who are interested. She's no more interested in wasting her time on people who are not receptive than others are in hearing about a religion they are not interested in.  She's not one of those who will push, argue, or try to tell anyone else how to live.

    Years ago, I had just moved to a new house and someone knocked on the door.  When I opened it, there stood my friend with her literature in hand.  She and I looked at each other and burst out laughing.  She said, ''I didn't know this was your house!  I'm guessing you're not going to convert anytime soon so I'll just say hello and move on.''   We both got a big kick out of that.  Very funny!

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  • Great Commets. Thanks for sharing them. I am now wondering why this JW missionary is telling my cousin that they do celebraate the holidays after they are over. This is very confusing to me. I have however heard of other people who live in large JW communities do give their kids bikes etc. after Christmas is over. The small kids might have a hard time dealing with the knowledge that their neighborhood friends receive gifts for Christmas. Just a thought ! / eom

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    Posted by: Liz
    Date posted: Wed Nov 11 9:46:41 2009
    Message:
    I know absolutely nothing about the religion but I do know a few Witnesses & the wedding anniversary seems to be a pretty big celebration. The non-witness friends say that's when they give them gifts to kind of cover all the holidays since they don't celebrate any of the other holidays.

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  • Thanks. This is very interesting.

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    Posted by: Cassies grandma
    Date posted: Wed Nov 11 7:40:19 2009
    Message:
    I really can't answer your question but I do find if odd that JW's can celebrate a wedding anniversary but not the anniversary of your birth.

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  • CG ... I did not know until now that they celebrated wedding anniversaries but I am aware about the birthdays. I have never understood why they can not celebrate Christmas and call it a pagan custom because the birth of Christ was certainly celebrated. Christmas can easily be celebrated with only a Nativity Scene without the giving of gifts. Maybe it is because the Wedding was celebrated in the Bible.

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    Posted by: CleoJ
    Date posted: Wed Nov 11 7:34:13 2009
    Message:
    I was raised as a JW and my mother is still a practicing JW or a "nut" as some of you would define her. They do not celebrate Christmas, Halloween, or birthdays in any form or fashion, period. The person who told your cousin that is wrong.

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  • I am now wondering if my cousin misunderstood her comments about the Hollidays / or perhaps she things it is a concept that she is not ready to accept. My cousin was born or Christmas Eve.

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    Posted by: OLDTIMER
    Date posted: Wed Nov 11 3:00:22 2009
    Message:

    I just wanted to say I have a friend I dearly love who is a JW.  I met her 8 years ago when I moved next door to her.  She has never pushed her beliefs on me and has only invited me to meetings twice [which I declined].  It's like we have a mutual respect for each other as human beings and we just enjoy each others company and don't push or bump up against one another's personal spiritual beliefs.  She doesn't celebrate holidays but I always give her a birthday card as do other people.  She's one of the wisest, most loving human beings I've ever known.  The love she has shown me has actually helped me to love myself more.

    On the other hand... I have met some JW's that make my teeth hurt!  Go figure. LOL

     

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  • I do not know what hurting teeth has to do with anything but maybe I just do not understand the expression. I guess that I will have to die before I know what the truth of spiritual matters really mean.
  • It meant that they were spiritually abrasive, annoying. Just my feeble attempt at being humorous. .....OT

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    Posted by: Pronoun
    Date posted: Wed Nov 11 1:20:08 2009
    Message:
    My husband grew up in that religion at least til he was old enough to lock himself in the bathroom so he couldnt be dragged there anymore,lol. No they dont celebrate any holidays at all, they dont pledge allegiance to the flag or anything like that. They practice shunning and all that kind of crap. They arent supposed to associate much with people who arent JW's like them. They believe the end is near and have predicted the date several times.There is a lot more, your cousin should google it or go read some books about them.  They are nuts in my opinion and I'd advise your cousin to run away as fast as she can.  But then I think a lot of religions are nuts.

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  • ''But then I think a lot of religions are nuts.'' .....You got that right Pronoun. [oh my god I sound like Victor! ] LOL ...........OT
  • I have sent her information about them through email but try to keep it on the light side because I do not want to lose my cousin as a friend.

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    Posted by: Cherry
    Date posted: Wed Nov 11 0:34:01 2009
    Message:
    I grew up with a JW, and his family would have parties and give gifts, but not on birthdays and usually not around the same time or in any way acknowledging birth. His parents would get him "big" gifts out of nowhere, things that many kids would get for birthdays, so he still got the same sorts of things. The parties were at random times and no gifts from attendees were necessarily expected, but most brought one, more as a host gift I guess. He never seemed to have a problem with it, he still got parties and all the goodies from mom and dad. He was a very mellow easy going guy, and his family was incredibly loving and generous. With his family, it didn't seem like a restriction so much as it was an expression of a philosophy that they all understood and believed in.

    It seems as though the people at your cousin's church are attempting to sweeten the appeal of the religion to outsiders. People get accustomed to tradition, and hearing that they have to "give up" something they are used to or enjoy might be a deal breaker. I would think the "official" stance would be, it is okay to have parties and give gifts, but not in celebration of Pagan holidays. This is the way my friend explained it to me growing up. Of course that was nearing 20 years ago, so something could've changed! I would agree that saying "you can celebrate it, but not on that day" is hypocritical and something of a technical work-around. Either you're celebrating it or you're not. If you have a Halloween party the week before Halloween, it's still a Halloween party!

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  • I wonder if this is how all of the JW kids feel about not celebrating Christmas, birthday etc. I am sure that there are giving parents and those who are not very giving. Did his parents give him a reason for having parties?

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