For Jehovah's Witnesses an honest curious question I have about birthdays?

Question

I will use the New World Translation bible as that is the version that Jehovah's Witnesses use.
Job 1:4 "And his sons went and 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"

'his own day' refers to their day of birth which becomes clear when in Job 3:1-3 it says "It was after this that Job opened his mouth and began to call down evil upon 'his day'. Job now answered and said: 'Let the day perish on which I came to be born...."

Then in Lukes gospel: Luke 1:14 "And you will have joy and great gladness, and many will rejoice over his birth" Referring to the birth of John the Baptist as an occasion of rejoicing.

Now a Watchtower quote "Since no men of faith are recorded in the bible as having celebrated their birthdays, but only wicked men........."

So according to what Watchtower says, do you believe that Job had wicked sons, and that Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, were wicked men

Answer 1

No we do not believe Jobs sons or Zechariah were wicked.
Job 1:4-5 says:And his sons went and 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.  And it would occur that when the banquet days had gone round the circuit, Job would send and sanctify them; and he got up early in the morning and offered up burnt sacrifices according to the number of all of them; for, said Job, “maybe my sons have sinned and have cursed God in their heart.” That is the way Job would do always. Apparently Job's sons took turns having banquets. There is no mention that 'his own day' refers to thier birthdays. If this were so wouln't the sisters also have her own day? Verse 5 states:And it would occur that when the banquet days had gone round the circuit, Job would send and sanctify them; and he got up early in the morning and offered up burnt sacrifices according to the number of all of them; for, said Job, “maybe my sons have sinned and have cursed God in their heart.” That is the way Job would do always. Again the vese say nothing about the sons birthdays but "banquet days" Job, a righteous man, would then make a sacrifice to Jehovah on behalf of his sons, just in case, they had sinned during this time.
The birth of John the Baptist was indeed an occasion for rejoicing as the angel said to Zechariah, as John would prepare people for the Messiah. Again the angel was not suggesting to Zechariah or anyone else that that they from year to year celebrate John's birth.

Answer 2

Notice that the first chapter of Job seems to discuss a weeklong family festival, with one feast on each of several successive days. It would be an amazing coincidence for several siblings to have been born on immediately sequential dates, even if the years were different.

Perhaps more notably, the Hebrew word used for "day" at Job 1:4 is "yome" (יום). According to Strong's, this word means:
[quote]"a day (as the warm hours), whether literally (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next)."[unquote]

But this word for "day" is different from the Hebrew word for "birthday", and there seems no reason that Job would not have used the more accurate word if it was appropriate. Note this verse from Genesis, which includes both Hebrew words (for "day" and for "birthday"):

(Genesis 40:20) And it came to pass the third day ["yome"], which was Pharaoh's birthday [יוםילד or "yaw-lad yome"]


Jehovah's Witnesses have never suggested that parents and friends cannot rejoice at the birth of a newborn, which is what the bible approvingly reports Zechariah did when John (the future Baptist) was born. It is the annual commemoration of one's date of birth which has ungodly pagan connotations.


Regarding birthday celebrations, bible students are encouraged to consider:
: 0% of faithful biblical Jews celebrated birthdays
: 0% of first century Christians celebrated birthdays
: 100% of birthdays celebrated in the bible were by debauched enemies of God (See Mark 6:17-29; Gen 40:19-22)

Bible historians (M'Clintock, Strong, and others) have noted that faithful Jews of the bible did not celebrate birthdays, and that ancient pagan birthday celebrations were at least partially intended to honor the patron gods of the particular day.

By comparison with such paganisms, the bible does not even tell us the birthdates of Jesus or ANY of his apostles!

Since such celebrations are not required in true worship, and can easily become a distraction, so Jehovah's Witnesses focus their attention elsewhere. In particular, they are focussed on the preaching work which *IS* a requirement for Christians:

(Luke 10:1-17) [Jesus] the Lord designated seventy others and sent them forth by twos in advance of him into every city and place to which he himself was going to come. 2 Then he began to say to them: “The harvest, indeed, is great, but the workers are few. Therefore beg the Master of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/20050101a/article_01.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/rq/index.htm?article=article_11.htm

Answer 3

Although considered to be a harmless secular custom today, birthday celebrations are actually rooted in paganism. This is our reason for not celebrating birthdays, plus in the Bible, only 2 birthdays are mentioned, at one party a man was put to death by hanging, the second party John the Baptist got his head cut off.

Ecclesiastes 7:1 ¶A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth.


Not surprisingly then, we read in The World Book Encyclopedia: “The early Christians did not celebrate His [Christ’s] birth because they considered the celebration of anyone’s birth to be a pagan custom.”

With the introduction of Christianity the viewpoint toward birthday celebrations did not change. Jesus inaugurated a binding Memorial, not of his birth, but of his death, saying: “Keep doing this in remembrance of me.” (Lu 22:19) If early Christians did not celebrate or memorialize the birthday of their Savior, much less would they celebrate their own day of birth. Historian Augustus Neander writes: “The notion of a birthday festival was far from the ideas of the Christians of this period.” (The History of the Christian Religion and Church, During the Three First Centuries,) “Origen [a writer of the third century C.E.] . . . insists that ‘of all the holy people in the Scriptures, no one is recorded to have kept a feast or held a great banquet on his birthday. It is only sinners (like Pharaoh and Herod) who make great rejoicings over the day on which they were born into this world below.’”

Clearly, then, the festive celebration of birthdays does not find its origin in either the Hebrew or the Greek Scriptures. Additionally, M’Clintock and Strong’s Cyclopaedia says the Jews “regarded birthday celebrations as parts of idolatrous worship . . . , and this probably on account of the idolatrous rites with which they were observed in honor of those who were regarded as the patron gods of the day on which the party was born.”

True Christians today are not preoccupied with the roots and possible ancient religious connections of every practice or custom, but neither are they inclined to ignore pointed indications that do exist in God’s Word. This includes that the only birthday celebrations of Biblical record are of pagans and linked to instances of cruelty. Hence, the Scriptures clearly place birthday celebrations in a negative light, a fact that sincere Christians do not disregard.

Answer 4

You took it out of context, as usual.

You left out where Job had to Sanctify (purify) them, offering up burnt sacrifices after they had done this, saying "maybe my sons have sinned and have cursed God in their heart.”

Yes, I know they anti-witness crowd would automatically take your word for it and not look it up, which I imagine you were expecting.

So, do you also curse God in your heart by following the examples of the sons?

Answer 5

tit for tat
you ridicule everything.
The creator is to be honored not the creation.

Why get bogged down in trivialities?
Why bicker and humiliate those that strive to follow the bible in their everyday lives?
What do you care if we believe what we believe to be the truth?
Who says you are right?
Jesus went to hell and so did Lazarus....Job begged to go to Sheol.
it is the grave.

In the bible birthdays ended in death...
In the bible homosexuality ended in death, as did murder, lying, stealing, coveting, etc.

You have a tolerance for the wrong things.

We are commanded to preach from door to door...Do you?
We are commanded to love one another...Do you?
We are commanded to teach our children at every stage of life all day long about serving God...Do you?
We are commanded to meet together..Do you?

Jesus told us it's the end of a man is better than his beginning.
He told us to commemorate his death...Keep doing this in remembrance of me. He celebrated the passover once a year.

There are so many ways to please God yet you choose to sit there and degrade Gods children.

Be careful not to get blotted out of the Book of Life.

Answer 6

That is both Jumping to Conclusions,
& taking Scripture out of context.

"And his sons went and 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

When the sons of Job “held *a* banquet at the house of each one on his own day”, the Bible does not indicate that they were celebrating their birthdays. The word “day” in Job 1:4 translates the Hebrew word yohm, refering to a period of time from sunrise to sunset. The word for “birthday” is a compound of the two Hebrew words yohm (day) & hul·le′dheth. The distinction between “day” and one’s birthday is shown in Genesis 40:20, where both expressions are found: “Now on the third day [yohm] it turned out to be Pharaoh’s birthday [literally, “the day (yohm) of the birth (hul·le′dheth) of Pharaoh”].” This makes it certain that Job 1:4 does not refer to a birthday, as is unquestionably the case at Genesis 40:20. It seems that Job’s 7 sons held a family gathering --which quite possibly was a spring or harvest festival-- & as their feasting made the week-long circuit, each son hosted the banquet in his own house “on his own day.”
It was one, 7-day long banquet. (How many families are there whose 7 sons were all born within one week, & on different days of that week?)

"Now on the third day it turned out to be Phar′aoh’s birthday, and he proceeded to make a feast for all his servants and to lift up the head of the chief of the cupbearers and the head of the chief of the bakers in the midst of his servants." --Genesis 40:20

"But a convenient day came along when Herod spread an evening meal on his birthday for his top-ranking men and the military commanders and the foremost ones of Gal′i·lee. And the daughter of this very He·ro′di·as came in and danced and pleased Herod and those reclining with him. The king said to the maiden: “Ask me for whatever you want, and I will give it to you.” Yes, he swore to her: “Whatever you ask me for, I will give it to you, up to half my kingdom.” And she went out and said to her mother: “What should I ask for?” She said: “The head of John the baptizer.” Immediately she went in with haste to the king and made her request, saying: “I want you to give me right away on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” Although he became deeply grieved, yet the king did not want to disregard her, in view of the oaths and those reclining at the table. So the king immediately dispatched a body guardsman and commanded him to bring his head. And he went off and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a platter, and he gave it to the maiden, and the maiden gave it to her mother." --Mark 6:21-28;

"At that particular time Herod, the district ruler, heard the report about Jesus and said to his servants: “This is John the Baptist. He was raised up from the dead, and this is why the powerful works are operating in him.” For Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him away in prison on account of He·ro′di·as the wife of Philip his brother. For John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to be having her.” However, although he wanted to kill him, he feared the crowd, because they took him for a prophet. But when Herod’s birthday was being celebrated the daughter of He·ro′di·as danced at it and pleased Herod so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. Then she, under her mother’s coaching, said: “Give me here upon a platter the head of John the Baptist.” Grieved though he was, the king out of regard for his oaths and for those reclining with him commanded it to be given; and he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. And his head was brought on a platter and given to the maiden, and she brought it to her mother." --Matthew 14:1-11

In the Bible, when something is said or alluded to 3 times, it is for emphasis. The only mention of actual birthday celebrations in the Bible are those listed above.
When someone rejoices at the actual birth of a healthy child, this is not a birthday celebration as such. It is only natural to be joyous that the birth turned out well for all concerned. The one born was not being viewed as greater than the newborn baby that they presently were. And --in certain cases such as John the Baptist-- his parents knew in advance that he had a special assignment from God that would help in bringing blessings to all humanity.
http://watchtower.org/e/rq/article_09.htm

PS:

Job 1:4 & 3:1-3 are separated by 2 full chapters, yet you
speak of them as though they are both in the same paragraph. Very Misleading ...

Answer 7

Don't forget the JW's NWT also implies that God is not displeased by birthdays! Job celebrates birthdays, and yet was blameless and turned from bad!!!!!!!!!

Job1:8 And Jehovah went on to say to Satan: “Have you set your heart upon my servant Job, that there is no one like him in the earth, a man blameless and upright, fearing God and turning aside from bad?”
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I'm sorry, I just read Horsense's "That is both Jumping to Conclusions, & taking Scripture out of context."
The only thing that takes scripture out of context is the watchtowers publications.

Answer 8

You can take their perverted version of the bible and prove many of their teachings to be in error.

Wanzanna. I asked them that question, they said the 144,000 will be in heaven as rulers, the rest will be on a new earth.