Is celebrating a birthday, unscriptural?

“The Bible never refers to a servant of God celebrating a birthday. This is not simply an oversight, for it does record two birthday celebrations by those not serving God. However, both of those events are presented in a bad light.” (JW web site)*

According to the Bible, Job’s sons celebrated the anniversary of their births.

Genesis 40:20 - “Now the third day was Pharaoh’s birthday......”

Job 1:4 - “Each of his sons would hold a banquet at his house on his own set day.....”

Job 3:1 - “It was after this that Job began to speak and to curse the day of his birth.”

Jer. 20:14 - “Cursed be the day I was born!”

In all four verses, the same Hebrew word (yowm) meaning “day of one’s birth” is used.

* To be consistent, the same reasoning should be applied to two scriptures which discuss women wearing eye-makeup:

(2 Kings 9:30) ....Jezebel heard of it. So she painted her eyes with black paint....

(Ezekiel 23:40) ....you washed yourself and painted your eyes......

Both of these events are presented in a bad light, therefore “proving” that eye-makeup for women is pagan and should be rejected by all Jehovah’s Witnesses, just as birthdays are.

Must the “two witness rule” be strictly applied by elders whenever someone is accused of sexually abusing a child?

If there are not two witnesses - or no confession is made - elders are instructed that nothing can be done to the accused. However, the organization is keen to abandon the “two witness rule” on two other occasions:

a) If two people see a member of the opposite sex entering another person’s home and then leaving the following morning, an assumption is made that sexual intercourse has taken place, and both parties will be subjected to a Judicial Committee hearing based upon that assumption - not upon eyewitness testimony.

b) Also, elders can accept the testimony of one witness to a serious sin, if another witness can be found to a similar but separate sin by the same accused person.

There is also the scriptural principle at Deuteronomy 22:23-27 where no one hears the woman screaming or sees her being raped then only the man bears the punishment, but not the woman.

Who Are the “Other Sheep?”

At John 10:16 Jesus said, “And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; those also I must bring, and they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock, one shepherd.”

How can these ‘other sheep’ be identified? We only have have to examine the Scriptures.

Jesus had previously given his disciples this order, at Matthew 10:5,6, “Do not go off into the road of the nations, and do not enter into a Samaritan city; but, instead, go continually to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and also stated at Matthew 15:24, “I was not sent forth to any but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

On both of these occasions, Jesus identifies the only group of people to whom he was to preach - the Jews! This fulfilled Daniel’s prophecy (Daniel 9:25-27) about the old covenant being kept operative for the Jews for 42 months after Jesus’ death. Only after that time period had elapsed would the Gentiles be called in.

Paul said at Romans 1:16 - “For I am not ashamed of the good news; it is, in fact, God’s power for salvation to everyone having faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Gentiles) He repeated this truth: Romans 2:10 - “for the Jew first and also for the Greek”.

The Insight Book very concisely summarises the identity of the ‘other sheep’: “Jesus’ sacrificial death on the torture stake also provided the basis for canceling the Mosaic Law, which divided the Jews from the non-Jews. Therefore, upon becoming Christians, both peoples could be at peace with God and with one another. The apostle Paul wrote: “[Jesus] is our peace, he who made the two parties one and destroyed the wall in between that fenced them off. By means of his flesh he abolished the enmity, the Law of commandments consisting in decrees, that he might create the two peoples in union with himself into one new man and make peace; and that he might fully reconcile both peoples in one body to God through the torture stake”. (it-2 p. 592 Peace)

Therefore, Jesus’ ‘other sheep’ (non-Jews) would unite with Jews as one flock, under one shepherd. (John 10:16)

By stating that they would become “one flock, one shepherd,” Jesus showed there would be no distinctions or classes amongst his sheep. He said, “All you are brothers”. (Matt. 23:8)

The true context of Jesus’ words at John 10:16 becomes abundantly clear by reading from John 9:40-10:16.

Jesus was speaking with the Jews and Pharisees who were following him around. He was not having a personal chat with his “little flock” of apostles/disciples. From that verse onwards, Jesus is speaking of all those who could become his sheep, starting with ‘this fold,’ (the Jews) the people to whom he was addressing.

The apostle Paul’s words to the Ephesian congregation expands on the details of Jesus’ “one flock”:

Ephesians 4:4, 5 - ”One body (Christians) there is, and one spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism”.

There wouldn’t be two hopes (heaven & earth) and there wouldn’t be two different baptisms. At their water baptism, all Christians would figuratively “die” to their former sinful ways and spirit, (Romans 6:2,4,6,7,8,10, & 11) and henceforth, be impelled by God’s Holy spirit.

John 3:5 makes it very clear - “Jesus answered: “Most truly I say to you, unless anyone is born from water and spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.”

Will Jesus’ ransom really correspond with what Adam lost?

(Matthew 20:28) Just as the Son of man came, not to be ministered to, but to minister and to give his life as a ransom in exchange for many.” (see also Mark 10:45; Romans 3:24; 8:23; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Colossians 1:13, 14: Ephesians 1:7,14; 4:30; 1 Timothy 2:5, 6; Titus 2:14; Hebrews 9:15) (Luke 19:10) “For the Son of man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

(1 Timothy 2:5,6) “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself a corresponding ransom for all.”

Jesus’ ransom price buys back far, far, more than what Adam lost, because (according to JW’s) 144,000 JW’s will become Melchizedek-type king/priests in heaven!

Can a ransom ever buy back more than what was lost?