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The Librarian

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    Why do Jehovah's Witnesses not celebrate Valentine's Day?

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    Jehovah's Witnesses only formally celebrate the one event that Jesus commanded his followers. The memorial of his death (1 Cor. 11:23-26).

    They also celebrate other events which are referred to favorably in the Scriptures such as marriages, anniversaries, the birth of a baby, graduations and many other happy occasions. But why don't Jehovah's Witnesses celebrate St. Valentine's Day?

    Because Jehovah's Witnesses take their worship very seriously and insist upon keeping their worship of God undefiled (James 1:27), there are two main reasons why Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate St. Valentine's Day:

    1.) Pagan ceremonies honoring pagan gods are mixed in with St. Valentine's Day's origins.

    2.) The Bible makes it clear that there is to be no veneration or adoration of Saints as intercessors with God. Our approach to the Father can only be through Jesus. (John 14:6, 14; 1 Tim. 2:5)

    St. Valentine's Day - It's Pagan Associations

    It would be wrong to incorporate anything used for pagan worship, into our worship or related activities. Holidays, for example, are "Holy Days" and are a part of "worship", by their very name. Notice what the publication How It Started had to say about St. Valentine's Day on pages 46-47: "Ancient Romans placed great stress upon holidays that fell about the middle of the shortest month of the year. Dedicated to the goddess Juno, who was the wife of Jupiter, these festivals stressed love, courtship, and marriage. "That was appropriate since Juno, queen of heaven, was regarded as the special protector of women in `critical times of life.'.... "When Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire by edict of Emperor Constantine, religious leaders immediately started trying to do away with pagan festivals. Many of them had been observed for so many centuries that they resisted all frontal attacks, so there were many efforts to bring about change in a more subtle fashion.

    One of the most effective was a substitution of a Christian[?] observance for a pagan one, with special ceremonies held on or near the date of the long-established holiday. "Since the martyrdom of St. Valentine was celebrated on February 14, it made sense to stresshomage to the man who was said to have been stoned to death on that day in A. D. 269. For that reason the name of a man about whom no written records exist came to be attached to the day formerly dedicated to Juno." And The World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 20, 1973 ed. on page 204 says this: "Valentine's Day comes on the feast of two different Christian martyrs named Valentine. But the customs connected with the day ... probably came from an ancient Roman festival called Lupercaliawhich took place every February 15. The festival honored Juno, the Roman goddess of women and marriage, and Pan, the god of nature." Some would say that it's wrong to pay such homage to dead men, whether "Saints" or not, but certainly it's incredibly wrong to mix in pagan ceremonies honoring pagan gods in the process. "What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? .... `Therefore come out from them and be separate,' says the Lord. `Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you ...' says the Lord Almighty." - 2 Cor. 6:16, 17, NIVSB. [NIVSB f.n.: "agreement...between the temple of God and idols. There can be no reversion to or compromise with the idolatry they have forsaken for the gospel (cf. 1 Th. 1:9)."]

    Additional Reading: What is the origin of Valentine’s Day? (rs p. 176-p. 182; Watchtower Online Library)

    Should We Venerate "Saints as Intercessors" With God?

    Notice what Peter's response was to a certain situation in the account of Acts 10:25, 26, JB: "As Peter reached the house Cornelius went out to meet him, knelt at his feet and prostrated himself. But Peter helped him up. `Stand up,' he said `I am only a man after all!'" Peter did not approve of such adoration when he was personally present. He understood what Jesus clearly stated in John 14:6, 14 that our approach to the Father can be only through Jesus and that our requests are to be made in Jesus' name: "Jesus said: `I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you ask for anything in my name, I will do it.'" (JB) 1 Tim. 2:5:

    "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." (NASB) Note what Martin Luther wrote concerning the reverence of Roman Catholic Saints: "The pity is that we are so blind that we do not leave the devil alone to play his tricks in his own way; rather, we support him and multiply them. I wish people would leave the saints in peace, and not mislead humble folk. What spirit was it that gave the pope authority to canonize saints? Who tells him whether they are holy or not? .... God is just in judging us with His wrath and in allowing the devil to lead us hither and thither, to institute pilgrimages, ... to set about canonizing saints and other foolish things." - p. 458, Martin Luther, Selections From His Writings, Dr. John Dillenberger, Anchor Books, Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1961.

    by Elijah 

    2006 Watchtower Publications

    in Topics

    Posted

    “We must obey God as ruler rather than men” (Ac 5:29)
    Albert Schroeder of the Governing Body died this year.
    yb06-E * Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses
    w-E * The Watchtower
    g-E * Awake! (monthly with more emphasis on Bible, January 2006)
    yb-06E * Yearbook
    ca06 * Calendar
    km * Our Kingdom Ministry's
    How Do I View Blood Fractions and Medical Procedures Involving My Own Blood? - KM 11.06
    bi12 * New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures
    jd * Live With JehovahÂ’s Day in Mind
    re * Revelation - Its Grand Climax At Hand!
    Jehovah's Witnesses - Organized to Share the Good News (DVD)
    Theocratic Ministry School Schedule
    Spirits of the Dead. Can They Help You or Harm You? Do They Really Exist?
    Children's Identity Card - Australia - for JW's
    District Convention Drama
    District Convention Drama - To Whose Authority Do You Submit?
     

    NON-WATCHTOWER PUBLICATION
    Knocking Video - 2006 Open Door Production
    Unbroken Will - The Story of Leopold Engleitner

     

    Part of the:

     

    1927 Watchtower Publications

    in Topics

    Posted

    “O Lord, how manifold are thy works !” Psalm 104:24
    Regular house-to-house work on Sundays was organized.
    An International Assembly is held in Toronto, Ont. Canada, July 20-6. Resolution: "To the People of Christendom" is adopted. See re pgs. 149, & 173.
    w-E * The Watch Tower / Link # 2
    g-E * Golden Age / Link # 2
    yb-27E * Year Book International Bible Students Association
    Creation - J.F. Rutherford
    Deliverance Question book - J.F. Rutherford
    Questions on Deliverance - J.F. Rutherford
    Restoration: - J.F. Rutherford
    The Messenger: - J.F. Rutherford
    Freedom for the People (J.F. Rutherford)
    Where Are The Dead - Bible's Answer (J.F. Rutherford)

     

     

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    If you see a book unlinked above please add it below. Thank you.

    1955 Watchtower Publications

    in Topics

    Posted

    “He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: His heart is fixed, trusting in Jehovah.” (Ps. 112:7 ASV)
    "Triumphant Kingdom" Assemblies held in the United States of America, islands of the Caribbean, France, Germany, Italy, Liberia, Nigeria, South Africa, and Zambia. [525,924 publishers with 161 countries reporting in 1954, 12% increase over the 1953 service year, 14,531 congregations.] see w55 vol., pgs. 27-29.
    Rare video of the Assembly in Nuremberg, Germany
    1955 Watchtower
    g-E * Awake or g-E * Awake
    yb-55E * Yearbook of JehovahÂ’s Witnesses
    INFORMANT
    bi5 * New World Translation of the Hebrew Scriptures II: 1 Samuel – Esther
    cy * Christendom or Christianity - Which One Is “the Light of the World”?
    dh * What Do the Scriptures Say About “Survival After Death”?
    gk * World Conquest Soon - By GodÂ’s Kingdom
    qm55 * Qualified to Be Ministers
    Preaching Together in Unity
    You May Survive Armageddon into God's New World

     

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    See a publication not linked above? Please add it below. Thank you.

    Man accused of murdering Jehovah's Witness is moved to mental health unit

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    Posted

    A paranoid man who believed he was being persecuted by Jehovah’s Witnesses killed a member of the group in a random attack at a Kingdom Hall.

    Keith Beviss went to the hall in Honiton armed with a knife and attacked a complete stranger who happened to be carrying out electrical work there.

    Victim Philip Ryan, aged 55, ran a business in Westward Ho!, North Devon, but was a Jehovah’s Witness and had travelled to Honiton to carry out the job. 

    He was killed by four stab wounds including one to the heart and two to the throat.

    The attack was so violent the knife broke and Beviss left its blade lodged in Mr Ryan’s neck. 

    The killing was the result of Beviss’s totally false belief the Jehovah’s Witnesses were spying on him and spreading false rumours about his sex life on the internet. 

    He was convinced the government and ‘the system’ were conspiring against him and thought his GP was part of the plot when he recommended treatment for his paranoid delusions. 

    Beviss claimed that Christian groups had told him he was wicked, evil and would go to hell and just before the killing he confronted a Jehovah’s Witness elder and told him ‘It’s all satanic’. 

    He was caught on CCTV as he drove his camper van to a car park near the hall in Honiton and walked to and from it while carrying a white carrier bag. 

    The bag contained the knife before the attack but was empty when he returned and was found with Mr Ryan’s blood on it. 

    He handed himself in to police and said: “They have been humiliating me for months. I had to do it. I’m done for but it had to be done.”

    He said the Jehovah’s Witnesses had been saying things on the internet about him behaving in a sexually inappropriate way.

    Beviss, aged 55, of Woodhayes Drive, Honiton, admitted manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility and was made subject of a hospital order by Judge Graham Cottle at Exeter Crown Court. 

    It means he will be detained at Fromeside Hospital in Bristol until he is deemed to be safe to release by doctors and the Ministry of Justice. 

    The judge told him: “This was a dreadful attack with a knife and he sustained a number of stab wounds from which he died at the scene. 

    “You had developed a belief you were being persecuted by Jehovah’s Witnesses. This offence was inextricably linked to your mental disorder. I have to consider the best was to manage the risk you pose.” 

    Beviss shouted at the judge from the dock and said he wanted to go to jail rather than a hospital.

    He said: “Give me 50 years, that way I’ll never come out. I will go on hunger strike. I will die.” 

    Mr Simon Laws, QC, prosecuting, said Beviss stabbed Mr Ryan to death at the Kingdom Hall in Dowell Street, Honiton, on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 6. 

    He said: “The medical evidence shows that for some time he had been labouring under a delusion he was being persecuted by the Jehovah’s Witnesses. He was not. 

    “While in the grip of the delusion he chose physical confrontation. He took a knife to the hall and attacked Mr Ryan.” 

    He said Mr Ryan’s wife Sandra had made a victim impact statement.

    He said: “She described in moving terms how each day the family suffer the pain and anguish of his loss. 

    “He was shortly to have celebrated 30 years with his wife. She speaks of a remarkable man who was very much loved and admired. He cared deeply for others and was always available to offer help. 

    “He was a patient, reliable, hard working, totally devoted husband.” 

    Mr Laws said Beviss had ridden his motorcycle to the hall the Sunday before the killing and revved it up to blow exhaust fumes inside. 

    On the day of the attack he confronted an elder who was manning a leaflet stall in another part of Honiton before going to the hall and killing Mr Ryan. 

    He then walked to the police station to hand himself in but it was closed and he used the outside phone to dial 999, confessing to a woman police officer when they arrived. 

    Psychiatrists Dr Victoria Thom and John Sandford said Beviss was suffering from a delusional disorder at the time which reduced his responsibility for his actions greatly. 

    Mr Richard Smith, QC, defending, said: “It is clear from the medical evidence that his culpability was very low.”

    http://www.midweekherald.co.uk/news/honiton-man-who-fatally-stabbed-jehovah-s-witness-given-hospital-order-1-5389525

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