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How Can Jehova's Witnesses Pronounce the Word Thursday?

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
Hmn.

I'm not sure the lists don't work however you define 'hump,' but I'm a religiously conservative American.To me, 'hump' means either the bump on the back of a camel, or the thing in the road you have to slow down to get over without losing your undercarriage or getting high-centered.

Means the same in the uk, but there is also the slang term which, unless specifically talking about the standard dictionary definitions can leave the mind racing.
 

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
Why what?

"I too look forward to the time when there will be one God and one religion....the same ones they had in the Garden of Eden."

Why? Suppose I don't want to worship your way or your idea of God?
 

Hockeycowboy

Witness for Jehovah
Premium Member
Are you saying all Christians need to believe the same things,
Well, again, "according to Paul"...1 Corinthians 1:10.
Are you sure maybe the lens you are reading through is the same lens Paul was when he made that statement in Romans?

He made all those statements. How are they reconciled? By recognizing what is required, and what isn't,

It's pretty clear to me what he says contradicts what you seem to be suggesting, that we should obey the laws of days and meat observances

No, those aren't requirements for Christians. But we do need to keep our worship "pure and undefiled" James 1:27
 

nPeace

Veteran Member
Which is fine if you have little to do with the world. Try making an appointment using that system. :confused: We live in the world, but try not to be part of the awful bits of it.

Jesus didn't confine himself away from others but offered his truth to all. His apostles didn't either. They went out to the Gentiles to preach.
Good point.
I was thinking of what Jesus said.
Mark 12:13-17
13 Next they sent to him some of the Pharisees and of the party followers of Herod in order to catch him in his speech. 14 On arriving, these said to him: “Teacher, we know you are truthful and you do not seek anyone’s favor, for you do not look at the outward appearance of people, but you teach the way of God in line with truth. Is it lawful to pay head tax to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay, or should we not pay?” Detecting their hypocrisy, he said to them: “Why do you put me to the test? Bring me a denarius to look at.” 16 They brought one, and he said to them: “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to him: “Caesar’s.” 17Jesus then said: “Pay back Caesar’s things to Caesar, but God’s things to God.” And they were amazed at him.
Matthew 17:24-27

Interestingly, those questioning him were looking to find fault with him.
He was clear too, about how to keep clean from the world.
John 17:15-19
15 “I do not request that you take them out of the world, but that you watch over them because of the wicked one. 16They are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world. 17Sanctify them by means of the truth; your word is truth. 18 Just as you sent me into the world, I also sent them into the world. 19 And I am sanctifying myself in their behalf, so that they also may be sanctified by means of truth.

What about Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah who were given names after gods, Shadrach (possibly “Command of Aku.” -the name of a Sumerian god), Meshach (possibly, Mi·sha·aku - "Who Is What Aku Is"), and Abednego (probably meaning “Servant of Nego.” - a variant of “Nebo,” the name of a deity after which a number of Babylonian rulers were also named).

What if we meet Aja... How should we respond to her? :( Hi A.
Or what if we meet Nambi? :( Um, Hi Nam.

@Hockeycowboy, I guess I have to agree with you. We'll just have to continue sinning, because I 'm sure I met scores of people with names that should not be on my lips.
Guess we are no different to those who have no choice but to celebrate pagan holidays. :eek:
 
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Hockeycowboy

Witness for Jehovah
Premium Member
What about Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah who were given names after gods, Shadrach (possibly “Command of Aku.” -the name of a Sumerian god), Meshach (possibly, Mi·sha·aku - "Who Is What Aku Is"), and Abednego (probably meaning “Servant of Nego.” - a variant of “Nebo,” the name of a deity after which a number of Babylonian rulers were also named).

That's a very good point! I didn't even think of that. Good job!
 

Hockeycowboy

Witness for Jehovah
Premium Member
That would be invoking. The OP is not asking whether you invoke Thor. Its just asking why you use Thor's name all the time.
Well, I don't say "Thor".... I say "Thur"....

And it's not all the time...only one day a week.

(You are being facetious, right?)
 

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
' K. Shalom. (I mean Sh'l'm).

When transliterating Semitic languages into English we use vowels. In Hebrew, Arabic, Ancient Egyptian and other Semitic languages, vowels are indicated by diacritics.
 

Brickjectivity

Turned to Stone. Now I stretch daily.
Staff member
Premium Member
When transliterating Semitic languages into English we use vowels. In Hebrew, Arabic, Ancient Egyptian and other Semitic languages, vowels are indicated by diacritics.
The scripture verse says not only not to invoke but not to let the names of gods be found on the lips. Aka -- it doesn't matter how they are translated and whether they are being invoked. They are through silence to become unused words. In a church system which forbids Christmas trees it seems the pagan names for days of the week ought to be on the chopping block, too. Why aren't they? Think about how a Christmas tree -- a harmless decoration -- is forbidden for the reason that it could be somehow distantly related to an Asherah pole, but saying Wednesday and Thursday that's Ok despite the scripture quoted and the obvious connection between them and the gods Woden and Thor. This seems odd.
 

nPeace

Veteran Member
Ahm, you know Tuesday is named for the Anglo-Saxon war god Tiw?
Wednesday is named for the god Woden / Wotan / Odin?
Thursday is named for the god Thor?
Friday is named for the goddess Friga / Freya?
Saturday is named for the Roman god Saturn?
All the other planets are strictly out of bounds?
And that raised-edge metal plate thing in the kitchen with a handle is a Pan?

But actually, I don't understand the reason for the command. If I'm the only real god, then the other gods are necessarily fictional ─ there's no important difference between mentioning Marduk and Aphrodite and Horus, and mentioning Superman and Catwoman and Donald Duck.
Very good point.
So if we understood it to mean not to mention the name of those gods in a particular way - with any esteem - since throughout the Bible, the prophets did mention these names, it would make sense right?
For example, say Elijah gave this command, "Seize the prophets of :nomouth:! Do not let a single one of them escape!"
You could automatically see the response, ":confused:".

What about when Jehu wanted to determine who worshiped Baal.
Just imagine the scene.
2 Kings 10:18, 19
18 Further, Jehu collected all the people together and said to them: “Ahab worshipped :nomouth: a little, but Jeʹhu will worship him much more. 19 So summon all the prophets of :nomouth:, all his worshippers, and all his priests to me. Do not let a single one be absent, because I have a great sacrifice for :nomouth:. Anyone who is absent will not live.” But Jehu was acting with cunning to destroy the worshippers of :nomouth:.
o_O

It makes sense for us to be careful that we study what the scriptures are saying, so that we appreciate the harmony, and so avoid the mistake of taking them out of context.
However, the scriptures say, this is only possible if one recognizes
“Who really is the faithful and discreet slave whom his master appointed over his domestics, to give them their food at the proper time? (Matthew 24:45), and are fed by them, since we need holy spirit, to be in line with truth.

Take this scripture for example...
Ephesians 5:3, 4
3 Let sexual immorality and every sort of uncleanness or greediness not even be mentioned among you, just as is proper for holy people; 4 neither shameful conduct nor foolish talking nor obscene jesting — things that are not befitting — but rather the giving of thanks.

Is Paul saying, 'Look, don't even mention sexual intercourse. If you get raped and the police or anyone ask you what happened, don't mention the act. Just say, "He did wrong to me."'
Sounds ridiculous right?
 
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Oeste

Well-Known Member
I need to spend more time looking into American history with this wave of startup religions that occurred during the period following the Great Disappointment in the mid 1800s up particular through the early 1900s. There were lots of these groups popping up, each trying to differentiate themselves from each other as having the "restored truth", a "revelation", or some other interpretation of the Bible to make themselves the holders of the real truth, and all others are lost and deceived by the evil one.

Yes, the post-Millerite movement was a fascinating time in religious history, giving rise to the Bible Students, Jehovah Witnesses, Adventist, Holy Rollers and Pentecostal movements that would later sweep America. Most of them accentuated either end-times eschatology or faith based, charismatic healing. I’ve done some study on the subject but it just scratches the surface.

Some groups like the Adventists learned from their mistakes. Others, like the JW’s continued to set more dates, like 1914, 1925, 1940 and 1975 while lambasting Christian churches for failing to preach an "end is nigh" eschatology while criticizing other churches who did (Harold Camping).

You have the 7th day adventists, the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Pentecostals, and even the Mormons, as well as scads of other growing up in that fertile ground of the disenfranchised religious. Each had something special to claim that others didn't, like restoring the truth sabbath day, or rejecting the Trinity, or gifts of the spirit, and so forth. All of this of course is just sales and marketing for religion. All of it is to attract followers. It's kind of a commodified package for consumption, and typically have very little if any spiritual value to its consumers. It appeals to the "us vs them", "chosen people" mentality for the sake of group belongingness. "Come out from those heathen and join us! It exploits spiritual naivete.

Exactly...it was like they were looking for something "different" and there were plenty of folk to oblige.

I'll add one quick thought as a placeholder. Considering these are founded on this sort of divisiveness, I do not think as a system it could ever truly rise above that to the level a maturty that Paul is talking about in Romans, which I quoted. That's not to say a member couldn't rise above that, but the system could not help facilitate that for them, since it's foundation is based on differentiating themselves from others as the "true followers". The system is broken from day one.

This is spot on.


I really would like to line these all up on a timeline somewhere and create a map of common traits and themes. Hell, even my great grandfather fell into one of these Utopian visions some Prophet of God from Scotland sold them, starting an entire city in the 1900's from scratch, all with streets named after cities found in the Bible. It still stands today, but has been absorbed as bedroom community of Chicago. Fascinating history, both personal and historical. Here's the sort of thing going on back in the days when groups like the JW's and Mormons were being born.

A timeline with a map of common traits and themes would be awesome as I don’t recall anyone putting something like that together before. But I notice your grandfather (Elijah the Restorer) not only set up a city (Zion, Illinois) but there is actually a Muslim sect that claims he had a prayer duel with their leader, Hazrat Ahmad, the reincarnated Jesus Christ. My goodness, that’s what I call a “rich family history”!

I would encourage others here to read about the Great Disappointment, John Alexander Dowie, and the prayer duel (covered a few years ago in the Chicago Tribune)
 

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
The scripture verse says not only not to invoke but not to let the names of gods be found on the lips. Aka -- it doesn't matter how they are translated and whether they are being invoked. They are through silence to become unused words. In a church system which forbids Christmas trees it seems the pagan names for days of the week ought to be on the chopping block, too. Why aren't they? Think about how a Christmas tree -- a harmless decoration -- is forbidden for the reason that it could be somehow distantly related to an Asherah pole, but saying Wednesday and Thursday that's Ok despite the scripture quoted and the obvious connection between them and the gods Woden and Thor. This seems odd.

I agree. I was saying that just because you use a different vowel it doesn't negate that biblical injunction or change what the word represents. Whether it's Thor, Thar, Thur, or Thr, it is still based on the name of the god.

The Christmas tree issue comes under the heading of "The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose" as far as the Roman Church. I don't know much about JW's and LDS's but the Roman Church used pagan symbols and beliefs to draw converts in, coax them. So that was OK. And if any Christian church is going to cling to Lev. 18, they should cling to ALL the injunctions.
 

blü 2

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Very good point.
So if we understood it to mean not to mention the name of those gods in a particular way - with any esteem - since throughout the Bible, the prophets did mention these names, it would make sense right?
The OP asserts that the rule is applied literally. In 2019 that's silly, so it's good to have fun with it.

Also I was quite genuine when I said that if I were the only real god, it would be a matter of indifference to me for my followers to mention the names of imaginary gods.

The bible, of course, is expressly henotheistic throughout the Torah and up to the Babylonian Captivity. Only then does monotheism emerge. But if there's one real god and no others, that datum won't change anything for God (except, perhaps, [his] PR team).
 

Oeste

Well-Known Member
How do you think we are 'celebrating' Thursdays? Are we setting up trees, or anything else, to honor it?

If someone believes Christians set up trees to honor the pagan god Saturn on Christmas then they probably believe Jehovah Witnesses set up podiums on Thursdays to honor the pagan god Thor.

How was your vacation, “with about 20 of them”, “very pleasant”?

We had a great time in a relaxing setting and I got to see some friends and family members that I hadn't seen in awhile.

How could you stand all that ‘religion-bashing’?

How can you stand someone slamming a door in your face? I suppose we both do it the same way.

You imply that you are repulsed by our supposed ‘behavior’.

"Repulsed"?:confused: I had a pleasant time and I'm certainly not repulsed by pleasant times. :) I think JW's have their good and bad points, just like the rest of us.

You present a dichotomy.

Thank you, as do you.
 
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