JW Insider

Absolutely true. I had just thought I'd start in with the first of many factual problems with the quote, but decided I could leave that up to others. We can compare Memorial notes later.

I never claimed that I wouldn't be judged for it, but I'm not worried. That was my point in the first place, that we so often judge others harshly when so much of what they do is merely ignorance but often with the right motivation. A zeal sometimes, but without knowledge. For example, a couple of years back someone showed on these same forums (jw-archive, actually), a picture of the aftermath of a burnt Christmas tree and burnt presents, a lot of fire damage, and who knows, maybe even a melted nativity scene among the burnt wreckage. At least one poster was positively gleeful that they got what they deserved. (After all, Babylon the Great will be burnt with fire.) Yet, this doesn't mean that the idea of celebrating Jesus birth is a bad thing, or even unscriptural. Did you never read the scripture that says: (Luke 1:14, 15) 14 You will have joy and great gladness, and many will rejoice over his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of Jehovah. . . This means that many people would rejoice over, or celebrate the birth of the lesser, forerunner to Jesus, who was much greater, and would bring much more rejoicing and celebration. Also, note that this joy over his birth would be after he was older, after he becomes someone known to be great in the sight of Jehovah. But something else that often goes unnoticed is that this word for "rejoice" is the exact same word as the one translated as "celebrate" here, in the NWT: (Revelation 11:10) 10 And those dwelling on the earth rejoice over them and celebrate, and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those dwelling on the earth. Although there is a range of meaning, as with most words, wherever the context is about exceeding joy or active rejoicing, the Greek word is properly translated "celebrate" in many English translations. That would mean that celebrate is also a good translation for these other verses: (John 3:29) . . .But the friend of the bridegroom, when he stands and hears him, has a great deal of joy [celebrates] on account of the voice of the bridegroom. So my joy has been made complete. (John 14:28) You heard that I said to you, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice [celebrate] that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I am. [note the idea of "celebrating" Jesus' resurrection and ascension.] (John 16:22) So you also, now you have grief; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, [celebrate] and no one will take away your joy. Many more verses could be used, but the overall point is this: (Matthew 11:16-19) 16 “With whom will I compare this generation? It is like young children sitting in the marketplaces who call out to their playmates, 17 saying: ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance; we wailed, but you did not beat yourselves in grief.’ 18 Likewise, John came neither eating nor drinking, but people say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of man did come eating and drinking, but people say, ‘Look! A man who is a glutton and is given to drinking wine, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ All the same, wisdom is proved righteous by its works.” (Philippians 4:4) 4 Always rejoice [celebrate] in the Lord. Again I will say, Rejoice! [Celebrate!] (1 Thessalonians 5:16-19) 16 Always be rejoicing. [celebrating] 17 Pray constantly. 18 Give thanks for everything. This is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not put out the fire of the spirit. For the sake of completeness, I should probably point out that there is one verse where the NWT uses the word "celebrate" when the Greek word just means "make" or "do" or in the following sense "keep." (Matthew 26:18) . . ., ‘The Teacher says: “My appointed time is near; I will celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your home.”’” In this case, the term "celebrate" is not so appropriate. It's the exact same common word as used here: (Matthew 8:8, 9) . . .. 9 For I too am a man under authority, having soldiers under me, and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘ Do this!’ and he does it.” (Matthew 5:32) 32 However, I say to you that everyone divorcing his wife, except on account of sexual immorality, makes her a subject for adultery In some senses, there is nothing wrong with "celebrating" the Lord's Evening Meal, but clearly 1 Corinthians 11 and other verses show that it is really only in the sense of "keeping" the institution, not your typical kind of joyful celebration, which was the sense with which the Bible refers to the disciple's attitude about Jesus' resurrection, ascension. But we rejoice in all the blessings that come about because of his death, and through his resurrection.

Absolutely. Also, these days a lot more flights get cancelled, delayed and/or turn into stop-over nightmares. And, the various airlines no longer honor each other's tickets, so you are stuck with the schedule of a single airline. Plus, they book the smallest planes possible from every hub, meaning that there are fewer flexible passengers to choose from.

I don't know. But every single Easter Sermon that I have read, from modern times going back to the 1700's --and I've read about 20-- appears to revolve around this exact idea. And so did the separate lessons for children. Of course, in the 1600's through the early 1800's a majority of Protestants in this country also thought that celebrating Christmas was wrong.

"Omelette" you have that one. It spoils it for me too. Although during the Memorial season, I still celebrate Easter in the sense that with the family, I have always tried to get them to meditate on the events over the following weekend to imagine what probably happened on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and then Sunday. And Sunday is a day to reflect on the awe and wonder and celebratory mood that Jesus' first followers must have had. When Memorial lands earlier in the week this is a perfect opportunity to extend the event into a "teachable moment" that lasts for several more days.

In a sense, YES. Originally the Watchtower tied it more strictly to the Jewish calendar, and under Russell and Rutherford, it only landed near Easter Sunday on those particular times when the Jewish calendar coincided with the "catholic" method of defining Easter on the calendar. After Rutherford, the calendar choice the Watchtower has assigned ALWAYS coincides with the "catholic" method of defining Easter, so that we are always celebrating Memorial within a week of Easter, and therefore in the same season. This makes it much easier to explain "the reason for the season" to interested persons. For several years, under Rutherford, interested persons were not invited. Not even the "great crowd" was invited. It was only attended by those who claimed to be part of the 144,000.

That's what happens when you don't "volunteer" to give up a seat on an overbooked flight. They randomly pick someone to get literally pulled off the plane. Yet, the airlines overbook on purpose, knowing that they almost never get 100% to show up, at which point they can usually accommodate a few stand-by travelers to fill up the plane. I have been on many planes where an attendant asked for volunteers to get off the plane for the next flight home (often the next day), and it usually comes with an offer for a local hotel, a couple of meal vouchers, and a free round-trip flight to be used later in the year. Traveling alone for business, I often took them up on it, since I was always reimbursed anyway and didn't have to give the extra ticket back to the company. If the flight is having trouble finding volunteers, the usual way is to just up the offer, like $100 plus all of the above, then $200 plus all of the above. Someone always volunteers. It's cheaper than losing your brand reputation!

Good point. When the activity of the first few years after Jesus' death included people of many nations (beginning at Pentecost) this must have answered the question for them. Technically, they could have reasoned that Jesus' command in Matthew 28 would be fulfilled if at least one person from every nation became a disciple. Yet, they saw that quick spread among all the [known] nations of the Roman Empire and realized that the "world" was being turned up-side-down by their teaching. Technically, even Matthew 24 didn't require that those nations be thoroughly preached in, only that the good news be preached there. Recall that the method Jesus had recommended for Israel was not to go from house to house, but only to stay with people in a city that would invite you. If they didn't, just kick the dust off your feet and move on to another place. As you say they could hardly have imagined the scope and detail possible in our time. I forgot to mention in previous comments that the Watchtower in 1995 had also made the same claim that Matthew 24:14 had already been fulfilled, but the larger context was that the work should keep going as urgently as ever: *** w95 9/1 pp. 17-18 pars. 16-17 Christian Witnesses for Divine Sovereignty *** Paul showed that he understood this well. By the year 61 C.E., he could say that the good news was “bearing fruit and increasing in all the world.” The good news was not limited to just one nation . . . Rather, it was openly “preached in all creation that is under heaven.” (Colossians 1:6, 23; 2:13, 14, 16-18) Thus, the Israel of God in the first century fulfilled its commission to “‘declare abroad the excellencies’ of the one that called [them] out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 17 Still, that first-century preaching work was merely a foretaste of what would be accomplished during the last days. Looking forward especially to our time, Jesus said: “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14; Mark 13:10) Has this prophecy been fulfilled? Indeed, it has. In saying that the good news had been preached, back around 61, Paul never implied that the work was done. But he was more likely rejoicing in the extent to which the work had been blessed. That is implied in the conclusion of the same article: *** w95 9/1 p. 18 par. 19 Christian Witnesses for Divine Sovereignty *** No wonder the apostle Paul was moved to say: “Woe is me if I did not declare the good news!” (1 Corinthians 9:16) Christians today feel the same way. . . . The work that had a small beginning in 1919 has now reached astounding proportions. Almost five million Christians are witnessing for divine sovereignty . . . What a joy it is to have a part in this work of sanctifying Jehovah’s name! As we enter the 1996 service year, let us be determined not to slow down. Rather, we will more than ever heed Paul’s words to Timothy: “Preach the word, be at it urgently.” (2 Timothy 4:2) As we do so, we pray with all our hearts that Jehovah will continue to bless our efforts.

I think it was the main talk at the 2006 Special Assembly Day called "Be Intensely Occupied With God's Inspired Word." Rumor has it that the brother who gave it was "demoted" from his "district convention" speaking assignments for going off-script. The 2007 "district convention" had a talk called "Do Not Follow After False Stories" where this same talk was alluded to.

True. It's a bit of a stretch. Besides, the same people who might have made the decision about inviting students may not have known what was going to be discussed last Wednesday. The article just needed a new angle and this one wasn't much in the way of getting to the real reasons behind what they reported.

No. Not even a Governing Body "Helper." Don't know anything about his current assignments. Here is the list of current Governing Body "Helpers:" Helpers to Governing Body Committees Coordinators’ Committee John Ekrann Robert Wallen Personnel Committee Gerald Grizzle Patrick LaFranca Daniel Molchan Ralph Walls Publishing Committee Don Adams Robert Butler Harold Corkern Donald Gordon Robert Luccioni Alex Reinmueller David Sinclair Service Committee Gary Breaux Joel Dellinger Seth Hyatt Christopher Mavor Baltasar Perla, Jr. William Turner, Jr. Robert Wallen Leon Weaver, Jr. Teaching Committee Ronald Curzan Kenneth Flodin William Malenfant Mark Noumair David Schafer Writing Committee Robert Ciranko James Mantz Izak Marais Gene Smalley John Wischuk

Bro. Rayford. 10 years ago. Nothing to see here. An article in the 2006 Watchtower had just come out that said that Matthew 24:14 had already been fulfilled in Paul's day, and the end had already come, too: *** w06 2/1 p. 24 pars. 11-12 “A Witness to All the Nations” *** 11 Jehovah richly blessed the efforts of those and other zealous workers. Less than 30 years after Jesus foretold that there would be a witness to all the nations, Paul wrote that the “good news” had been “preached in all creation that is under heaven.” (Colossians 1:23) Did the end then come? In a sense, yes. It came upon the Jewish system of things in the year 70 C.E. when Roman armies destroyed Jerusalem along with the temple. Yet, Jehovah had determined that a far greater witness would be given before he would bring an end to Satan’s global system of things. But there was no difference in the way that article spoke of the nearness of the fulfillment in our day, nothing about a complete fulfillment yet. If I had to guess, Brother James Rayford is extrapolating from some comments that are heard from time to time by members of the Governing Body. The question comes up about whether Armageddon must wait until all nations have had a thorough witness. The answer is always, NO. And sometimes the verse in Colossians or another in Romans is used as a way of showing that 100% saturation is not necessary for the next items in the anticipated agenda to also be fulfilled. The point is that we can't wait and say that the end can't come yet, when Jesus said it could come any time. It's easy to misinterpret this somewhat if one wants to drive home a point about the closeness of the end.

Could just be an interpretation or two on top of a mix-up, but it seemed quite possible to me that the idea was to show that JWs are corrupting the youth. This is a really old-school technique, since it was used on Socrates. The article said that much of the day was spent discussing the JW view of blood transfusions. This argument has more negative effect when people view how the doctrine affects young people.

https://themoscowtimes.com/articles/russian-students-framed-as-jehovahs-witnesses-in-field-trip-to-crowd-courtroom-57684 Russia’s Phony Jehovah’s Witnesses How state television framed a bunch of university students to make this Christian group seem extra scary. April 10, 2017 — 18:47 — Update: 18:46 By Daria Litvinova and Katie Davies

*** it-1 p. 253 Baptism *** The passage at 1 Corinthians 15:29 is variously rendered by translators: “What shall they do which are baptized for the dead?” (KJ); “on behalf of their dead?” (AT); “on behalf of the dead?” (NE); “for the purpose of being dead ones?” (NW) I think the Mormons wait until the person is dead, no? Isn't this why they are so interested in genealogies?

(Philippians 2:8-11) . . .. 9 For this very reason, God exalted him to a superior position and kindly gave him the name that is above every other name, 10 so that in the name of Jesus every knee should bend—of those in heaven and those on earth and those under the ground— 11 and every tongue should openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Not all sentient life can speak. Earthworms for example, not that you needed an example. Yet earthworms are under the ground. I think we should limit it to those with tongues and with the ability to openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, and make a request for a good conscience. (1 Peter 3:21, 22) 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, is also now saving you (not by the removing of the filth of the flesh, but by the request to God for a good conscience), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 22 He is at God’s right hand, for he went to heaven, and angels and authorities and powers were made subject to him. Of course, there might be issues. What if we need to baptize them in mercury or liquid sulphur because they are not the kind of carbon based life form that manages well when water is applied to them? Or if they are mostly made of bone, and the bone is mostly a pumice material, then we might have to drop them from extreme heights to make sure they get fully immersed. (After the talk we meet at the bungee bridge for the baptism.) That leads to another question. What if, instead of we discovering them, they discover us? I hope they know to baptize humans in water and not, say, liquid nitrogen, or sulphuric acid.

@Bible Speaks There is still no evidence that Easter has anything to do with Ishtar. Seriously, it's no more of a link than to claim that Easter came from Queen Esther, or even that eggs contain cholesterol. I'm sure it's true that there was a lot of folklore that claimed there was a "god" of the West, North, South, and, of course, also the East (the dawn), but this is not so different than saying that there is an angel in charge of each of the four corners (directions) of the earth. (Revelation 7:1, 2) . . .After this I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding tight the four winds of the earth, so that no wind could blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. 2 And I saw another angel ascending from the East* [NWT, footnote] There are non-Christian religious commentators that would look at that phrase in Revelation 7:2 and say that Christians have a 'god' or 'goddess' of the sunrise. In fact the current NWT translates the word "east" here as "sunrise" (dawn). An early name of Bible Students who followed the Watchtower was Dawn, Dawners, and Millennial Dawn. If someone came along and said that early followers of the Watchtower were based on pagan religion who worshiped pyramids and a god of the Dawn, we would rightly be upset at being misjudged. Yet this is what we are trying to do others when we 'paint with such a broad brush.' It's true that Eggs and Rabbits are fertility symbols, just like spring flowers, and birds and bees and "dogwood trees" are also fertility symbols. Obviously it makes no sense to add flowers, and rabbits, and eggs and "peeps" (marshmallow baby chicks) to a celebration that should have been about the joy of Christ's resurrection. But this doesn't mean that we need to imply that all persons who want to celebrate Easter are "Babylonish" and wicked. Remember that with the measuring cup we are measuring out, we will be judged in return. The Jews came up with several new special holidays (or fast days) to commemorate the terrible events that befell their capital city, their government, and their Temple at Jerusalem. *** it-1 p. 812 Fast *** Four Annual Fasts of the Jews. The Jews established many fasts, and at one time had four annual ones, evidently to mark the calamitous events associated with Jerusalem’s siege and desolation in the seventh century B.C.E. (Zec 8:19) The four annual fasts were: (1) “The fast of the fourth month” apparently commemorated the breaching of Jerusalem’s walls by the Babylonians on Tammuz 9, 607 B.C.E. (2Ki 25:2-4; Jer 52:5-7) (2) It was in the fifth Jewish month Ab that the temple was destroyed, and evidently “the fast of the fifth month” was held as a reminder of this event. (2Ki 25:8, 9; Jer 52:12, 13) (3) “The fast of the seventh month” was apparently held as a sad remembrance of Gedaliah’s death or of the complete desolation of the land following Gedaliah’s assassination when the remaining Jews, out of fear of the Babylonians, went down into Egypt. (2Ki 25:22-26) (4) “The fast of the tenth month” may have been associated with the exiled Jews already in Babylon receiving the sad news that Jerusalem had fallen (compare Eze 33:21), or it may have commemorated the commencement of Nebuchadnezzar’s successful siege against Jerusalem on the tenth day of that month, in 609 B.C.E. They weren't condemned for setting aside these new holidays that hadn't been commanded as part of the Mosaic Law. It was a natural human thing to want to remember such important occasions. Other occasions, also not in the Mosaic Law, were set aside for feasting and happiness, such as the festival of Purim based on events surrounding Queen Esther. Another was the festival of Hanukkah that the apostle John spoke about. (John 10:22, 23) 22 At that time the festival of Hanukkah* took place in Jerusalem. It was wintertime, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple in the colonnade of Solʹo·mon. [*NWT, footnote] *** Rbi8 John 10:22 *** “The festival of dedication (Hanukkah).” J22(Heb.), chagh ha·chanuk·kahʹ. The point is that Christians, just like the Jews, would be expected to want to commemorate both sad and happy occasions with holidays (holy days). Calling the occasion Paschal or Easter should not condemn it or force us to judge those who want to celebrate something so joyous as the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Choosing Sunday should be no surprise, and choosing the "dawn" should be no surprise: (Matthew 28:1-6) . . .After the Sabbath [Saturday], when it was growing light [dawn] on the first day of the week [Sunday], Mary Magʹda·lene and the other Mary came to view the grave. 2 And look! a great earthquake had taken place, for Jehovah’s angel had descended from heaven and had come and rolled away the stone, and he was sitting on it. . . .. 5 But the angel said to the women: “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was executed on the stake. 6 He is not here, for he was raised up, just as he said.. . . We have every right to point out that such a holiday is being diminished by adding fertility symbols to it, but we have no right to judge anyone on the entire idea of celebrating Easter or "Resurrection Sunday." (Romans 14:5-9) 5 One man judges one day as above another; another judges one day the same as all others; let each one be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 The one who observes the day observes it to Jehovah. Also, the one who eats, eats to Jehovah, for he gives thanks to God; and the one who does not eat does not eat to Jehovah, and yet gives thanks to God. 7 Not one of us, in fact, lives with regard to himself only, and no one dies with regard to himself only. 8 For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah. 9 For to this end Christ died and came to life again, so that he might be Lord over both the dead and the living. Judging others and looking down on others makes us feel superior, but we need to put ourselves in the "shoes" of others, and think about what their perspective is. Do we really judge them all as motivated toward a fertility rite. If we were that sensitive to everything that has been tainted by some form of non-Christian or non-Jewish religion, would we use the names for the days of the week? Would we buy cut flowers in the spring? Would we include a ring ceremony at weddings? Would we go to fertility doctors who can discover chemical and biological reasons to help overcome fertility issues, instead of just praying to Jehovah? Would Christians ever allow their sons to be circumcised, knowing that this was spoken of as a fertility rite for Abraham's offspring (fertility) to be as numerous as the stars or sands of the seashore? Do we speak out so judgmentally against Jacob for practicing the old fertility rite which was apparently the same as "thrusting the shoot under the nose"? (Ezekiel 8:17) . . .and that they should offend me again, and here they are thrusting out the shoot to my [or, their] nose? (Genesis 30:37-43) 37 Jacob then took freshly cut staffs of the storax, almond, and plane trees, and he peeled white spots in them by exposing the white wood of the staffs. 38 Then he placed the staffs that he had peeled in front of the flock, in the gutters, in the drinking troughs, where the flocks would come to drink, that they might get into heat in front of them when they came to drink. 39 So the flocks would get into heat in front of the staffs, and the flocks would produce striped, speckled, and color-patched offspring. 40 Then Jacob separated the young rams and turned the flocks to face the striped ones and all the dark-brown ones among the flocks of Laʹban. Then he separated his own flocks and did not mix them with Laʹban’s flocks. 41 And whenever the robust animals would get into heat, Jacob would place the staffs in the gutters before the eyes of the flocks, that they might get into heat by the staffs. 42 But when the animals were weak, he would not place the staffs there. So the weak ones always came to be Laʹban’s, but the robust ones became Jacob’s. 43 And the man grew very prosperous, and he acquired great flocks and male and female servants and camels and donkeys. This fertility rite is credited with making him rich and prosperous. Such rites were supposed to influence God (or gods) to make the thing happen as desired by the one performing the rite, yet Jehovah never judged Jacob for believing in the fertility rite. The Watchtower is correct to point out the fact that such fertility symbols diminish the meaning of Easter, but I think we follow a very judgmental path when we start tying Easter itself to Babylon. Perhaps it's just me, but I think it's too judgmental to make the leap from finding things wrong with Easter celebrations to then saying, as you said: Really? No Christ at all? I think we do better in our ministry if we come across as less judgmental and more loving, more understanding of the perspective of others. (1 Corinthians 9:19-23) . . .. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew in order to gain Jews; to those under law I became as under law, though I myself am not under law, in order to gain those under law. 21 To those without law I became as without law, although I am not without law toward God but under law toward Christ, in order to gain those without law. 22 To the weak I became weak, in order to gain the weak. I have become all things to people of all sorts, so that I might by all possible means save some. 23 But I do all things for the sake of the good news, in order to share it with others.

And don't let anyone accuse us of extremist talk or this is what's going to happen to them!

I have not seen any direct evidence that it was sarin gas. The evidence for such things has been proffered before by "white helmets" whose members have been caught involved in the heinous types of crimes they want to pretend are only being perpetrated by others. They have kidnapped and beheaded children and then used children in their humanitarian PR to see if they can get powers like the US to intercede on their behalf. Some of the first proofs were made by showing undamaged canisters as if that was the way to drop sarin gas from airplanes. And if the amounts necessary to cause the kinds of death displayed on videos were from exploded canisters over such an area then the perfectly placed video makers forgot that they were not supposed to touch the bodies so soon, and not all remembered that they needed to show themselves with masks on, and other necessary protective gear. This was only slightly better done (with mistakes) than previous attempts to make a toxic gas video. I also have heard that some intelligence also picked up on conversations from the day before of people claiming they were preparing toxic gas announcements for the following day - the day of the attack. The right way to make such a video of course is to get to a scene of an actual conventional bombing and then bring some actors who are willing to "writhe to death" among the dead bodies. Naturally, we will believe that a cameraman (or crew) is filming during a live sarin gas attack close enough to the toxicity to kill themselves. I can't say that it didn't happen, or will not happen. Obviously, even the US has used toxic gases and chemicals for years, and has even manufactured and sold such weapons for years. But Assad and Russia also know the stakes, and the timing is suspicious. What we think is based on what media we pay attention to, and right now there is too much confusion and past fraud to call anything 'direct evidence.'

Always trying to crack a yolk. (just to give an egg-sample)

But how do we know that the name didn't come from Queen "Esther" or the fact that eggs have cholESTERol? In any case, I think that eggs should be OVOIDed.

The Wikipedia article on Easter Egg gives a picture of one these styled eggs and says it is from a Greek Orthodox Church https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_egg: Red coloured Easter egg with Christian cross, from the Saint Kosmas Aitolos Greek Orthodox Monastery I suspect the same. The writer probably came across the same idea that is also presented in the Wikipedia article: The Christian custom of Easter eggs, specifically, started among the early Christians of Mesopotamia, who stained eggs with red colouring "in memory of the blood of Christ, shed at His crucifixion".[6][7][8][9] That idea isn't a perfect fit for the rest of the article about paganism, therefore, it probably seemed useful to replace "the blood of Christ" with "blood of sacrificed infants." You have to admit that the latter has a more pagan ring to it. By the way, the references linked as 6,7,8,9 in the quote above point to some overlapping evidence, most of which sounded very weak to me.

@ARchiv@L That reference, as you know, includes not just Josephus, but TACITUS. Thanks for the link. I'll copy the paragraph about him. *** w10 4/1 p. 15 Did You Know? *** A number of secular writers who lived close to the time of Jesus made specific mention of him. Among them was Cornelius Tacitus, who recorded the history of Rome under the emperors. Regarding a fire that devastated Rome in 64 C.E., Tacitus relates that it was rumored that Emperor Nero was responsible for the disaster. Nero, says Tacitus, tried to place the blame on a group whom the populace called Christians. Tacitus writes: “Christus, from whom their name is derived, was executed at the hands of the procurator Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tiberius.”—Annals, XV, 44. Tacitus wrote his Histories and Annals, including this one, closer to the year 116/7. This makes it earlier than that of Seutonius who wrote closer to 122. Also Tacitus is much more clear about who this Christus is and how he relates to Roman history.

This particular reference to Jesus is more often considered to be a true part of the original work of Josephus. There is another Josephus reference that is almost always considered to be a forged interpolation. This one appears to not have the "earmarks" of a forged interpolation, but there are still questions about it. Another reference or two is found in the Talmud, and these are polemic and from a couple hundred years later, potentially, which makes them less valuable as contemporary history. There is also SEUTONIUS, a Roman historian alive from about 69 to 122 who wrote: "The Lives of the Twelve Caesars." When writing about the reign of Claudius, who ruled from 41 to 54 (the period from 8 to 21 years after Jesus died), he included the line: "Iudaeos impulsore Chresto assidue tumultuantis Roma expulit" The line is considered genuine, and is most likely translated, in the ways it is shown in Wikipedia here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suetonius_on_Christians "He expelled from Rome the Jews constantly making disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus" "Since the Jews constantly make disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome." The same article in Wikipedia matches it to Acts 18:2: (Acts 18:2) And he found a Jew named Aqʹui·la, a native of Ponʹtus who had recently come from Italy with Pris·cilʹla his wife, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. . . . This appears to blame the expelling of the Jews on the many disturbances between "Hebrew" Jews and "Christian" Jews. Historians specializing in the early history of Christianity have been postulating that these disturbances were of greater importance historically than previously recognized. Such disturbances mentioned in the book of Acts, especially in the area of Jerusalem, might provide some Biblical evidence of how easily these disturbances flared up. (Acts 2:5-10) 5 At that time devout Jews from every nation under heaven were staying in Jerusalem....[including]... sojourners from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, (Acts 6:1-7) 6 Now in those days when the disciples were increasing, the Greek-speaking Jews began complaining against the Hebrew-speaking Jews,. . . 7 Consequently, the word of God continued to spread, and the number of the disciples kept multiplying very much in Jerusalem; and a large crowd of priests began to be obedient to the faith. (Acts 13:5) 5 When they arrived in Salʹa·mis, they began proclaiming the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews.. . . (Acts 13:45) 45 When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began blasphemously contradicting the things Paul was saying. (Acts 13:50) 50 But the Jews incited the prominent women who were God-fearing and the principal men of the city, and they stirred up persecution . . . (Acts 14:1-4) . . .. 2 But the Jews who did not believe stirred up and wrongly influenced the people of the nations against the brothers. . . . 4 However, the multitude of the city was divided; some were for the Jews but others for the apostles. (Acts 16:3) 3 Paul expressed the desire for Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. (Acts 16:20, 21) 20 Leading them up to the civil magistrates, they said: “These men are disturbing our city very much. They are Jews, 21 and they are proclaiming customs that it is not lawful for us to adopt or practice, seeing that we are Romans.” (Acts 17:1-5) . . .where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 So according to Paul’s custom he went inside to them,. . . 4 As a result, some of them became believers and associated themselves with Paul and Silas, and so did a great multitude of the Greeks who worshipped God, along with quite a few of the principal women. 5 But the Jews, getting jealous, gathered together some wicked men who were loitering at the marketplace and formed a mob and proceeded to throw the city into an uproar.. . . (Acts 20:3) . . .because a plot was hatched against him by the Jews when he was about to set sail for Syria. . . (Acts 21:20, 21) . . .“You see, brother, how many thousands of believers there are among the Jews, and they are all zealous for the Law. 21 But they have heard it rumored about you that you have been teaching all the Jews among the nations an apostasy from Moses. . . (Acts 21:27, 28, 30) 27 Now when the seven days were about to end, the Jews from Asia, on seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd, and they seized him, 28 shouting: “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our Law and this place. . . . 30 The whole city was in an uproar, Some historians have begun to look at some of these references to "Jews" and now see a few of them as references to "Christian Jews" who were the ones hatching plots against Paul and others. While this may not be true of these references from Acts, there are literary evidences of Christians who believed Paul was teaching apostasy. I only bring it up to show how and why either Seutonius or Claudius may have conflated the disturbances among Jews with those of followers of Christ. Most Christians of the time, even in Asia Minor and Italy had still come from the Greek-speaking supporters of the Jewish synagogues, where it was Paul's custom to preach, everywhere he traveled.

I have no interest in celebrating Easter, and it's obvious that the rabbit and egg fertility symbols are completely out of place. I'm glad that the Watchtower points these things out. But there does come a point when, just because we don't like something, we tend to believe anything bad about it. In fact, one of the source sites for this information is here: https://warriorsoftheruwach.com/easter/ That site has all the info that Bible Speaks includes, and then some: Here is my favorite: