From Newsgroup: alt.bible

On Tue, 13 Jun 2023 21:07:34 -0400, James <zebra2@windstream.net>
wrote:

Birthdays and the Bible

In the whole Bible, there are only two references to imperfect men's
birthdays. One was the pagan Egyptian, Pharaoh. And for his 'happy
birthday' he killed the chief of the bakers.(Gen 40:20-22)

The second one mentioned was King Herod. And for his 'happy birthday'
he had the head of John the Baptist brought to him on a platter.
That's it!! None of Jesus' apostles celebrated their birthdays nor did
they of Jesus. So the Bible doesn't look favorably upon birthdays.

But the Bible does have a reference to being born. Notice:

..."and the day of death is better than the day of birth". (Ec 7:1)

So to be in line with the Bible, I guess we could say, "happy death
day" instead.

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From Newsgroup: alt.bible

The argument presented commits several hermeneutical errors: arguing from silence, guilt by association, and ripping Ecclesiastes 7:1 completely out of its contextual framework.

rCo Guilt by Association Does Not Establish a Biblical Prohibition

The argument contends that because Pharaoh and Herod were wicked men who committed executions during their celebrations, birthday celebrations themselves are condemned.

Scripture records many wicked men doing ordinary or religious things in ungodly contexts, yet the act itself does not become sinful:

rCo Pharaoh ate bread and drank wine at his feast (Genesis 40:20-22).
Scripture nowhere forbids bread, wine, or banqueting because
Pharaoh partook of them.
rCo Absalom sheared sheep when he murdered Amnon (2 Samuel 13:23-29).
Sheep-shearing is not thereby condemned.
rCo Jezebel called a fast to frame and murder Naboth (1 Kings 21:9-14).
Fasting is not condemned as evil because a wicked ruler used it as
a cover for murder.

The sin in Genesis 40 and Matthew 14 was murder and unrighteous execution, not the marking of the passage of another year of life. Scripture explicitly defines sin as the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4). Where no law exists, there is no transgression (Romans 4:15). GodrCOs law contains extensive prohibitions and ceremonial regulations, yet it never prohibits the remembrance or celebration of the day of one's birth.

rCo The Argument from Silence Is Hermeneutically Invalid

The assertion that "none of Jesus' apostles celebrated their birthdays nor did they of Jesus" is an argument from silence. Scripture does not record the apostles brushing their teeth, signing contracts, or keeping track of their chronological age, yet such silence does not establish a biblical command against those things.

Furthermore, Scripture repeatedly emphasizes the joy and celebration surrounding the arrival of life:

rCo In Luke 1:14, the angel Gabriel declared concerning the birth of
John the Baptist: "And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many
shall rejoice at his birth."
rCo In Luke 2:10-14, the heavenly host and shepherds openly rejoiced at
the birth of Jesus Christ.

To mark the remembrance of GodrCOs gift of life and His providence throughout another year aligns directly with thanksgiving to God: "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well" (Psalm 139:14).

rCo The Misapplication of Ecclesiastes 7:1

Ecclesiastes 7:1 states: "A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth."

Solomon is not commanding believers to celebrate death or abandon thanksgiving for life. The entire book of Ecclesiastes contrasts life lived under the sun (in a fallen, vanity-filled, sin-cursed world) with the sovereign design of God.

rCo Context of the verse: At birth, a person enters into a fallen world
full of toil, sorrow, and temptation, with an untested and unproven
character. At death, a righteous person who has secured "a good
name" through faithful living finishes the race, departs from the
misery and labor of this world, and rests from their labors.
rCo Solomon is establishing the sober value of a legacy of faithfulness
over the initial, untested arrival into a broken world.
rCo Using this proverb to conclude that one should greet people with
"happy death day" turns a sober observation on human mortality into
an absurd command nowhere sanctioned in Scripture.
rCo The Principle of Christian Liberty

Romans 14 addresses whether observing particular days is inherently sinful: "One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it" (Romans 14:5-6).

Colossians 2:16-17 likewise commands: "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ."

If an individual chooses to mark the day of their birth with prayer, thanksgiving, and fellowship unto the Lord, acknowledging God's hand in sustaining their life, it is an exercise of Christian liberty governed by 1 Corinthians 10:31: "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."
--
Jesus is God: christrose.news/Jesus-God

Good News rCa

Christ's death on a cross paid the debt we owe God for our sins (Colossians 2:14). God raised Him from the dead to prove this (Romans 1:4). This means God can now remain right, while forgiving our sins (Romans 3:26) and delivering us from His coming wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:10). It's a free gift for those who believe in Christ (Romans 6:23).If you believe, call on the Lord to save you (Romans 10:9-13):

christrose.news/salvation
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From Newsgroup: alt.bible

Directly Mentioned Birthdays

rCo Pharaoh (Genesis 40:20)

"And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants."

rCo Herod Antipas (Matthew 14:6; Mark 6:21)

Matthew 14:6: "But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod."

Mark 6:21: "And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee."

Indirectly Mentioned Birthdays and Annual Birth Observances

rCo The Sons of Job (Job 1:4)

"And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them."

The Hebrew phrasing "his day" (yomo), when compared with Job 3:1 where Job curses "his day" (referring to the day of his birth in Job 3:3), points to the periodic observance of each son's day of birth.

rCo The King of Israel (Hosea 7:5)

"In the day of our king the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine; he stretched out his hand with scorners."

The specific occasion designated as "the day of our king" represents either an annual royal birthday celebration or an accession/coronation day anniversary.

Significant Days of Birth Noted in Scripture (Without Celebrations)

rCo The Day of Job's Birth (Job 3:1-3)

"After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day. And Job spake, and said, Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived."

rCo The Day of Jeremiah's Birth (Jeremiah 20:14-15)

"Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed. Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad."

rCo The Nativity of Jerusalem Under the Metaphor of an Abandoned Child
(Ezekiel 16:4-5)

"And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born."

rCo The Day of the Birth of Jesus Christ (Luke 2:7, 11)

"And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn."

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."
--
Good News rCa

Christ's death on a cross paid the debt we owe God for our sins (Colossians 2:14). God raised Him from the dead to prove this (Romans 1:4). This means God can now remain right, while forgiving our sins (Romans 3:26) and delivering us from His coming wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:10). It's a free gift for those who believe in Christ (Romans 6:23).If you believe, call on the Lord to save you (Romans 10:9-13):

christrose.news/salvation
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