I understand that rejecting paganism is a form of accepting the ONE true God. (I won't even bring up the fact that JW's say that Jesus is a lesser god.)
However, there are SO MANY traditions that are still existing today that have pagan roots. But people don't practice these traditions for the same reasons as the pagans. (Unless you are actually a pagan.)
For example, the Watchtower article http://www.watchtower.org/library/g/2002/2/8/diagram_01.htm clearly talks about both flowers and rings during a wedding. Both of those things in a wedding have pagan roots.
I have already seen the rebuttal that Jews used wedding rings...so that makes it nonpagan?? And what about the flowers? The pupose of the flowers at wedding ceremonies is to ask the pagan gods to bless the couple with fertility!!!
If they are going to reject things with pagan roots, shouldn't they reject ALL things with pagan roots????
2007-03-25 11:21:16 · 19 answers · asked by ~♥Anna♥~ 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Good point about the white gown.....I haven't researched it, but I'm sure the veil and train can probably be traced back as well....
I know an aisle runner is pagan, I know that throwing the rice is pagan, I know that throwing the bouquet/garter is pagan, and of course a toast is pagan, in fact, much of a wedding ceremony is pagan.....
2007-03-25 12:03:32 · update #1
Need to know....... My husband is no longer a witness because of the fact that he found many inconsistencies in their teachings....from paganisms to Jesus, to the watchtower belonging to the United Nations...he was less than satisfied with the lies and deception that are encouraged by the "truth"..... so I assure you that if I were to ask him this question, he would say that the JWs are inconsistent about every thing. This is just one of them.
2007-03-25 12:39:39 · update #2
Thank you... I had never heard that the word "Amen" also has pagan ties...
Does anyone have any other examples??
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2007-03-25 12:54:34 · update #3
Ishvarlen... you've never seen rings and flowers at a JW wedding??? I sure have!!!
2007-03-26 09:40:35 · update #4
Yes you are right, the JWs cannot pick and choose what is pagan or what has or hasn't got pagan roots. The JWs ban the throwing of rice at weddings because of its origins being of pagan roots, but like you say, they ignore the flowers and rings that have pagan origins. They also allow the bride to wear white wedding dresses, again this practise has pagan roots. The ancient goddess Brid wore white and so at a wedding the bride represented this goddess for the day and the bridegroom which means servant of the bride or servant of the goddess Brid, also for the day and was also pagan in origin. So yes if they are going to reject things with pagan roots they should reject ALL things with pagan roots.
2007-03-25 11:58:51 · answer #1 · answered by claret 4 · 4⤊ 4⤋
If you study religion hard core you will learn that all religion is based on pagan/ druid ways. In fact its thought that a High Priest converted to Roman Catholic ways and helped develop that religion (Discovery Channel Show on Stone Henge (they like rebuild it and stuff). And if you notice....Ostara fell around/ on the same time as Easter....that is just one example. Also, most religions have documents of some form to prove this that and the other thing. Pagans didn't document much if at all therefore its easy to say that they weren't around long before all these other religion came into play. Stone Henge tells another story and the people who studied it were NOT pagan/ druid so they didn't "play it up" with biased opinions.
As for "if they are going to reject..." Logically, yes. But not everyone looks at the whole picture therefore they may not see that they are infact just twisting something that already exists because of how many generations it's been since the birth of that religion. These latter generations might have no idea of the true history of their religion or how it actually came to be.
But thats just an opinion....doen't mean its right.
2007-03-25 18:36:41 · answer #2 · answered by Kate J 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Dear Anna,
That is an excellent question but it seems as though the Watchtower did not think this one through to its logical conclusion.
Pagans walk in the sunlight so how long will it be before we see jws refusing to walk in the sunlight because pagans do? Oh wait a minute, pagans walk in the darkness as well ... And if you think about it pagans walk, therefore ... There are just some things that all human beings do no matter whether they have accepted Jesus Christ as their LORD and Savior or not.
Regarding Jake7874's answer, wouldn't it be sugar-free, gluten-free and NOW Pagan-free?
2007-03-25 18:49:49 · answer #3 · answered by JOYfilled - Romans 8:28 7 · 1⤊ 4⤋
Just for the record, the tradition of flowers in a wedding came from the time when people bathed yearly. They were to hide the smell of the bride.
It would be hard to reject everything that has pagan origins. There is some evidence to state that even the word "amen" has pagan origins.
We must do all in the spirit of love that comes with knowing Christ, and that is how we should decided on what is permissable and what is not.
2007-03-25 18:25:59 · answer #4 · answered by Laura H 5 · 2⤊ 5⤋
You are very right that we can ALL do more to make our lives more harmonious with Jehovah's will.
I kinda scanned towards the end but most of the things you list about weddings as pagan have never happened at ANY of the Witness weddings I attended.
2007-03-26 13:57:52 · answer #5 · answered by Ish Var Lan Salinger 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Good point, but it just shows that there are many attractive, positive things about pagan religions, to make so many other religions borrow from them! Let's face it: the main reasons that more dominant religions have wanted to eradicate paganism for thousands of yrs. is that the people who practice(d) it are/were less likely to bow before the new theocracy!
2007-03-25 18:26:50 · answer #6 · answered by Gwynneth Of Olwen 6 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Father Abraham, the patriarch of the Jews, Muslims, and Christians (spiritually anyway) was originally a pagan.
2007-03-26 00:49:04 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
Jehovah's Witnesses are by far the most solid I have ever seen in knowing the True God... I am a student learning and have much to learn... I do know that over the years, even in the Truth many things have come to light and adjustments are made... Just as the scripture says the light gets brighter, it truly does... We are all growing and learning... Why pick apart people who try to do so much good with their own valuable time? They are not getting paid to knock on your door. And not all give money to make the kingdom halls grow... If your husband was a Witness at one time, go to him to find out the answer to this question... He is the head of your house. And I am sure there are many willing Witnesses he knows that would greatly come study this with you.
2007-03-25 18:47:09 · answer #8 · answered by Need to know 1 · 4⤊ 5⤋
If all Christians rejected everything in their religion of Pagan roots, there wouldn't be anything left!
The entire Jesus concept comes from much older Pagan religions. All Jewish beliefs are somehow rooted in Pagansim in one form or another. It is like saying that your Grandma isn't really your Grandma. You can't reject your own DNA.
2007-03-25 18:24:53 · answer #9 · answered by Huddy 6 · 2⤊ 4⤋
I don't believe in wedding rings either. And because of the pagan roots.
However, the ring slows drastically the hit-ons my wife is always contending with, so she wears it.
2007-03-25 18:27:44 · answer #10 · answered by rangedog 7 · 0⤊ 3⤋