The Jehovah's witness holidays are wedding anniversaries and remembrance of the death of Jesus. Why Do Jehovah's Witnesses not celebrate holidays? Jehovah's witnesses don't celebrate Easter because they believe that Easter is rooted in pagan worship, and there is no evidence in the scripture that Jesus resurrected on Easter. Also, Jehovah's Witnesses argue that Jesus commanded people to celebrate His death as opposed to His resurrection. Moreover, Jehovah's witnesses refrain from celebrating the Fourth of July holiday since they believe that the event is done to honor individuals who are not Jesus. Jehovah's witnesses refrain from honoring national holidays, for instance, Memorial Day, because they believe that these holidays represent the worldly kingdom that Jesus urged Christians to be separated from.
Jehovah's witnesses don't permit joining of armed forces and owing allegiances to national flags since they believe they should only owe allegiance to God alone. They believe that God runs a real government in heaven. These followers believe that their religious doctrine postulates that religion is a portion of any culture or nation. Hence, they should not owe allegiance to a single nation.
Jehovah's witnesses' religion dictates that premarital sex is not allowed since the followers should live a healthy and clean life by keeping their minds and body pure. The other rule is that suicide and pregnancy termination are serious sins that should be avoided. Therefore, these acts are considered murder. Jehovah's witnesses should not participate in blood transfusion practices because they believe that transfusions violate the decree of God, as illustrated in the Bible. Any follower who receives blood is expelled from the religion.
Jehovah's Witnesses also practice shunning and disfellowshipping practices among Jehovah's witnesses. The practice of shunning is also termed disfellowship, a punishment instilled by a group of elders to reject a follower emotionally and socially. In this instance, shunning is a mechanism that isolates individuals and prevents them from influencing other individuals until they seek appropriate forgiveness. Therefore, shunning is applied in the church as behavior modification.
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Charles Russell initiated Jehovah's Witnesses as a Bible Student Movement in the 1870s in the United States. Later after the death of Charles, Jehovah's Witnesses broke into various groups. Rutherford headed the group that retained the control of Watch Tower. Watch Tower is employed as a symbol within the kingdom halls, and it contains none of the significant meanings. Kingdom halls are worship centers for the Jehovah's witnesses. Also, these witnesses worship God by the name Jehovah's and dismiss the Holy Trinity's existence. Furthermore, Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate the regular holidays as other Christians, and they only celebrate the Memorial of Christ's death and wedding anniversaries. They memorialize the holiday of Christ's death because they believe Christ himself took part in it; hence it is not a pagan holiday. Jehovah's Witness refrains from celebrating Christmas since the witnesses argue that Jesus never informed Christians to commemorate his birthday.
Jehovah's Witnesses refrain from celebrating holidays since they believe that holidays break the biblical guidelines. In addition, Jehovah's witnesses do not celebrate due to various, for instance, the belief that holidays are based on the belief of other gods. Jehovah's witnesses refrain from celebrating since they believe that the event displeases God. Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate national holidays like Veterans Day since they believe that holidays are a worldly kingdom other than a heavenly kingdom. Furthermore, Jehovah's witnesses refrain from owing allegiances to any nation or flag since they do not believe their religion is based within just one culture or nation. Moreover, Jehovah's Witness rules discourage various practices such as pre-marital sex, suicide, and pregnancy terminations since they are great sins that the followers must avoid. Shunning and disfellowship practices are used in the church to discipline the members who misbehave; this helps to isolate them and prevent them from influencing others.
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Video Transcript
Who Are Jehovah's Witnesses?
The Jehovah's Witnesses are a growing religion with nearly 8.3 million members, as of reporting in 2016. They began in the late nineteenth century and were originally known as the Bible Student Movement, adopting the name Jehovah's Witness in 1931. Based in Warwick, New York, they're a hierarchical church, with doctrine and positions determined by elders.
They share their beliefs and doctrines through ''The Watchtower,'' a magazine that was begun in 1879 by Jehovah's Witness founder Charles Taze Russell. It's used as a study tool for the faithful and to distribute information about the practices and beliefs of the church. A second periodical, a magazine titled ''Awake!'' which made its debut in 1919, is used mainly to educate non-believers.
From the beginning, the Jehovah's Witnesses have followed doctrines that separate them from most other Christian faiths. These are reflected in their practices and rituals, including holidays, rules, and worship.
Jehovah's Witness Holidays
Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate holidays that they believe do not fit true Christianity. These include Christmas, Easter, and even birthdays. The Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Christ did not command his birth - or any birth - to be celebrated; he just wanted his death to be remembered. They believe that Christmas and Easter worship are the customs of pagans, and true Christians would not celebrate such things.
Their major annual holiday is the Memorial of Christ's Death, which is celebrated at the time of the Jewish Passover. It is believed to be acceptable because Jesus himself took part in the Passover and asked his disciples to remember his death. The Memorial of Christ's Death is the only time during the year that the Lord's Supper (communion) is celebrated, and in recent years, as many as 20 million people have attended this service.
Jehovah's Witness Rules
Jehovah's Witnesses aim to live a clean and healthy life, keeping their bodies and minds pure according to their beliefs. Sex outside of marriage is not allowed; however, if a person seeks forgiveness then he/she may remain in the church. They also find being gay or bi-sexual and same-sex marriage to be great sins. They also consider abortion and suicide to be equally unforgivable because both are considered murder.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe they should remove themselves from the worldly influences of nonbelievers. Gambling, drinking, drugs, and tobacco are forbidden by the church. They also show their separation from nonbelievers by adhering to strict rules of modest dress and grooming.
Their family power structure places the father and husband at the head. The husband makes the choices and leads the family, although men are encouraged to take advice from their wives and even find out how the kids feel about a subject before making their choices.
Another belief is that their religion is not based in a nation or culture, but unifies everybody into a brotherhood regardless of world boundaries. When it comes to pledging allegiance to a flag or singing a national anthem, they will not participate. They will not serve in the military or in a field of work that associates itself with the military in any way. In some countries, this can lead to serious legal charges and even jail time for Witnesses.
Their distinctive beliefs and rules extend to the medical world, in the form of blood transfusions. Jehovah's Witnesses refuse transfusions because they believe it to violate a decree that God made, based on their own translation of the scriptures. A Witness who receives blood and doesn't seek forgiveness, can be expelled from the religion even if the situation was life-threatening. However, they're allowed to use a non-blood alternative, and the church publishes literature informing people of this option. Another major rule, one of the most widely known, forbids the eating of food that contains blood. These are meats that are raw or rare, or things that contain blood in the ingredients.
Discipline
Leading senior members of each congregation are responsible for giving out discipline. If a member who is in good standing with the church does something serious, the most common form of punishment is shunning, what the church would call ''disfellowshipping.'' It means that the offender cannot have interaction or contact with those of the faith. The only exceptions are for family members living in the same home, for business associates, and for the elders of the congregation whose job is to mentor and guide the offender into possible reinstatement if forgiveness is granted.
This form of isolation is taught to the baptized members of the church from the start. They are taught that the isolation allows the church to limit any form of negative influence that may be immoral or corrupting, at least until the offender can be guided back and find forgiveness.
Jehovah's Witness Worship
All of the places of worship for Jehovah's Witnesses are referred to as Kingdom Hall. The meeting place is simple and unadorned, only meeting the bare minimum for their worship requirements. During a normal week, two meetings would be held, as well as two additional meetings during the weekends. The most common activities at these meetings are study of ''The Watchtower'' and study of the Bible and its message to the church.
Lesson Summary
Let's take a couple of moments to review what we've learned. The Jehovah's Witnesses are a global religion with more than 8 million members, with Charles Taze Russell having acted as the founder of the religion in 1879. They're a Christian religion but with many distinctive beliefs and practices. These include the belief that holidays including Christmas, Easter, and birthdays are ''pagan'' and should not be celebrated. They do celebrate one unique holiday called the Memorial of Christ's Death, which is celebrated during the Jewish Passover and is the only time during the year that the Lord's Supper (communion) is celebrated.
Jehovah's Witnesses adhere to rules based on their interpretations of the Bible, many of which are designed to encourage clean living and separation from nonbelievers and worldly things. They believe in the worldwide unity of their faith and forbid expressions of national patriotism and participation in the military. They also forbid blood transfusions and eating foods that include blood. Violations of the rules are punished by something called ''disfellowshipping,'' which means the offender can't have interaction or contact with those of the faith.
Their worship is focused on study of the Bible and their publication, ''The Watchtower.'' And, all of the places of worship for Jehovah's Witnesses are referred to as Kingdom Hall.
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