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The
Watchtower Christmas Dilemma
by Andy Sjostrom
The Jehovah's Witnesses do not participate in Christmas celebrations. They
point at its pagan origins, that Jesus was not born in December, that the Bible
does not teach that we should celebrate the birth of Jesus, that we shall not
worship anyone else than Jehovah God and the negative aspects of Christmas
related materialism. The most serious consequence of Christmas celebrations is
however, according to the Watchtower, that we risk losing our "good standing"
before Jehovah God. This serious risk comes from that they believe that
Christmas encourages idolatry, worship of Jesus Christ. Jesus is, according to
the Watchtower, a created being (Michael the Archangel) and not God and
therefore we must not worship Jesus. Read an article from
Watchtower 1984 (Dec 15) about this!
Why do we
celebrate Christmas?
As Christians we celebrate Christmas to remind each other about the birth of
our Savior. We know that Jesus most likely was born some time in the fall and
that pagan, non-Christian, celebrations were held at the end of December many
years ago. This pagan background has, however, nothing to do with our current
Christmas celebrations. Do we consider the fact that our calendar is full of
names and terms that have pagan origin, for example the names of the week days?
When we celebrate Christmas today, our hearts are set at rejoicing and
celebrating that Jesus was born. The Bible does not teach us to annually
celebrate the birth of Jesus but it does not teach the opposite either. What we
can understand when we read the Bible about the birth of Jesus Christ is that
both men and angels rejoiced, celebrated, and sang!
“To the Lord”
Paul writes in his letter to the Romans (Romans
14) that no one must judge another based on what days
are celebrated or what days are considered more sacred than others. He means
that as long as we do it to the Lord we may eat what we want and consider what
ever days we wish as more special than others. We celebrate Christmas to the
Lord and when we honor the Son, we honor the Father (John
5:23).
The Watchtower encouraged Christmas celebrations
In the beginning of the history of the organization even Jehovah's Witnesses
celebrated Christmas. Watchtower 1903 (Dec 1), 1904 (Dec 1) and 1919 (Jan 15)
means that it is appropriate to celebrate Christmas, that we should celebrate
Christmas to show our respect for Jesus and that it is a good thing to give and
receive Christmas gifts. In the Watchtower of 1919 (Jan 15) president Rutherford
exclaims his gratitude for the numerous Christmas gifts that he and his
associates received. Read these Watchtower issues here:
The Watchtower 1903, Dec 1 (3290)
The Watchtower 1904, Dec 1 (364)
The Watchtower 1919, Jan 15 (6381)
The Watchtower 1919, Jan 15 (6393)
Based on these articles and the article from 1984 that sharply condemns
Christmas celebrations as idolatry we can identify some critical questions that
define the Watchtower Christmas Dilemma. The key perspective in these questions
is not whether or not men in history have made any mistakes or whether we have
new light today. The key perspective is whether or not God has changed His
opinion. Read on to learn about these questions!
The Watchtower
Christmas Dilemma Questions
1.
Does Jehovah God change His views on what is right and wrong with regards to
important issues such as idolatry? (The Jehovah's Witness will reply: "No!")
2. Has the "faithful and discreet servant" faithfully taught and lead God's
organization since 1919? (The Jehovah's Witness will reply: "Yes!")
3. Do those that belonged to this slave class in 1919 belong in heaven with
Jehovah God, among the anointed 144 000? (The Jehovah's Witness will reply:
"Yes!")
4. Jehovah God must then have approved of their life decisions and beliefs? (The
Jehovah's Witness will reply: "Yes!")
5. When Jesus came back invisibly in 1914, did He find that those who were the
Watchtower Bible & Tract Society faithful and wise? (The Jehovah's Witness will
reply: "Yes!")
6. The Watchtower 1903 Dec 15, 1904 Dec 1 and 1919 Jan 15 say that it is
appropriate to celebrate Christmas, that we should celebrate Christmas to show
our respect to Jesus, and that it is a good thing to give and receive Christmas
gifts. In the Watchtower 1919 Jan 15 president Rutherford exclaims his gratitude
for the numerous Christmas gifts that he and his associates received. I wonder:
were these men faithful and wise?
7. Did Jehovah God approve of their Christmas celebrations, that according to
the organization encourage idolatry, and if He did not approve how can the slave
then have been faithful since 1919 and do they belong in heaven?
8. If I celebrate Christmas just as the faithful and discreet servant (approved
by Jehovah God and belonging in heaven), how can I then risk being
disfellowshipped if I do the same thing that the anointed that are in heaven
did?
9. Is it Jehovah God or men that have changed views in this matter? If it is not
Jehovah God that has changed views; is it so that the servant was not faithful
nor wise and do not belong in heaven or is it ok for me to celebrate Christmas?
10. The Jehovah's Witness might bring out
Proverbs 4:18 and start talking about "new light". The
question is then whether or not this "new light" also relates to Russell's
article on the same passage in which he states that old light can not be
replaced by new light. New light can only add to old light, not make a truth a
lie.
Read the article here!
11. Finally: if I accept the consequences of current Watchtower views and
believe that Jehovah God does not approve of Christmas celebrations, may I still
be a member if I really believe that Jehovah God has NOT changed His view on
this matter and that the those who did celebrate Christmas in the beginning of
this organization's history were not anointed and do not belong among the 144
000?
Conclusion
A Jehovah's Witness who has given up heart, brains and mind to the
organisation will most likely not even attempt answering the six last questions.
A member who has started to think "independent" thought or have started to
question the organization might gain more fuel in "the way out". This is the
purpose of this article: to help Jehovah's Witness to see the mismatching
teachings and to help people in their surroundings to ask the questions.
This article contains lines of reasoning originally found in:
http://biblicalanswers.net/stepby.html
http://www.jwinfoline.com/Documents/Christmas/Is_Christmas_pagan.htm
http://www.letusreason.org/JW10.htm
_________________
Andy Sjostrom
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