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Do Members of Jehovah's Witness Celebrate the US Independence Day?
- Thread starter Skwim
- Start date
Care to supply evidence of that statement? I've never heard of it before. Maybe I'm doing atheism wrong! But then again we don't have a pledge of allegiance to the flag, we pledge loyalty to Australia and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Earthling
David Henson
The American pledge of allegiance includes a pledge of loyalty to God. Americans are somewhat arrogant if you hadn't noticed.
You said flag which is what I was commenting on. If they won't pledge allegiance to a god then that is understandable. I'm married to an American and don't find them any more or less arrogant than the people from other countries.
Subduction Zone
Veteran Member
Wow! Amazing projection. The "Under God" phrase was not originally in the Pledge. It was added during the Cold War.
Why do some Christians think that people objecting to them attempting to impose their religion on others is "arrogance"?
Earthling
David Henson
Your point being?
The arrogance I was referring to was the concept that God was on our side, so, in that regard the arrogance would be the attempt to impose their religion on others.
Earthling
David Henson
I mean America as a nation. Imposing their will, dominating, meddling creating the United Nations. That sort of thing.
Subduction Zone
Veteran Member
I could have sworn that you had "atheists" in there and not Americans in that post. If there was no quick edit I do apologize for misreading your post.
Earthling
David Henson
No quick edit. I originally said Americans were arrogant, not atheists.
Now . . . American atheists . . .
Subduction Zone
Veteran Member
I never read anything wrong . . . Well except for the occasional title. Recently I have been seeing "Autism and Ann Rand" instead of "Altruism and Ann Rand".No quick edit. I originally said Americans were arrogant, not atheists.
Now . . . American atheists . . .
Old age lol
I know several atheists, and there are probably more, that recite the original pledge without the 'under God'
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siti
Well-Known Member
Maybe your reading skills "Ayn't" what they used to be!
siti
Well-Known Member
Do they get to choose one or the other?
Subduction Zone
Veteran Member
Oh noes!! I knew that I was screwing that up, but I only checked the last name.
I am undone
Earthling
David Henson
Huh?
Patriotism and nationalism are two of the driving forces that make war possible. It is IMO, a competing, almost 'religious' response to any perceived threat, eliciting the same same strong emotional response in people.....that hand on the heart.....my country right or wrong.....I will salute the flag of my nation and kill to protect what it stands for....that isn't the standard by which JW's live. Some churches are very patriotic, but we never saw Jesus promoting that. (Acts 10:34-35) How do you love your enemies and at the same time support bloodshed?
We support our nation by paying our taxes and not filling up the jails with murderers, thieves and drug dealers. No government ever has to worry about JW's ever trying to oppose them with weapons, because that is not what Christ instructed us to do. No person ever has to worry about getting shot by a JW because we don't carry weapons.
If Christ told us to love God, to love our neighbor and to love even our enemies...then that is what we should be doing. Christians do not have a nationality if they are citizens of God's Kingdom. They serve as ambassadors for that kingdom, which means having no part in the world's political activities.
The only thing we celebrate is what Jesus commanded us to....the memorial of his death....and it doesn't cost us anything. No hype, no rampant commercialism, no hypocrisy. We are simple people with a simple form of worship....like the one Jesus taught when he was here.
We pledge allegiance to one government, but it isn't on this earth. (John 18:36) We live by its rules and we try to be model citizens in whatever nation we reside in, because that's what it means to be a Christian.....a footstep follower of Christ.
Was Jesus a political figure? Did he meddle in the political system of his day, even when it was oppressing his own people? Did he recommend joining the military to fight for Jewish freedom? Would he approve of celebrating a day when there was mass bloodshed attached to that event? Was the bloodshed in any political war justified in God's eyes?
To my knowledge, God hasn't sanctioned a war for thousands of years.
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I think the reference is to the question of 'Free Will' and being able to choose to be one of the 144,000 and those who will live in the New World on earth, and of course is it fore ordained out of the trillions of souls who makes the cut.
In other words do they have a choice.