875.
REMOVING ANOTHER BOULDER OF STUMBLING
FOR GOD'S PEOPLE. (Isaiah 62:10 NEB).
REGARDING THE PROHIBITED USE OF THE WORD 'LUCKY'.
The use of certain
ordinary words is ignorantly prohibited among members of the sect falsely
calling themselves Jehovah's Witnesses. For example, JWs repeatedly using the
word 'lucky' are soon placed under a social ban. But only when
this word is used to utter an augury or false sign, particularly a false
prophetic sign (an omen) is the word being used in an unGodly way.
It is
bizarre that while JWs have for many years uttered and published many false
prophetic signs of their own (more than any other religion), they are
over-sensitive about the use of such words as 'lucky' and
'chance'.
In
Proverbs 24:10 it states: "If your strength fails on a lucky day,
how helpless will you be on a day of disaster!" (New English Bible).
This simply means that if despite favourable circumstances your strength still
fails, on a day of disaster you will most certainly be helpless.
As to
the scriptural denunciation against the "god of Good Luck" in
Isaiah 65:11,12 of the New World Translation, this scripture teaches us that
we must not ignore the voice of God and worship a man-made god of good luck,
fate, or destiny. It does not teach that we are prohibited from
using the word 'lucky' in its proper context, or that we are to
substitute it with words like 'fortuitous' or 'fortunate';
for they all mean the same thing.
The
following are the dictionary definitions of the particular words in question:
LUCKY: |
|
|
1. |
Attended by good luck. In early use: Fortunate,
successful, prosperous. Currently: Fortunate by chance. |
|
2. |
Of a literary
composition: Having an unstudied felicity. 1700. |
|
3. |
Of the nature of good luck; occurring by chance and producing happy
results. 1547. |
|
4. |
Likely
to promote good luck. 1549. |
|
5. |
Occurring by chance;
casual, fortuitous. 1691. |
|
6. |
Used
as a term or address of endearment, esp. to a woman. |
|
CHANCE: |
|
|
1. |
The happening of events; the way in which things fall out. Fortune; a fortuitous circumstance. |
|
2. |
A
fortuitous event or occurrence; often a mischance. |
|
3. |
One's hap, luck, lot. 1674. |
|
4. |
An opportunity. |
|
5. |
A
possibility or probability as distinct from a certainty. |
|
6. |
Absence of design or assignable cause; often spoken of as a cause of events. 1526. |
|
FORTUITOUS: |
That which happens or is
produced by fortune or chance; accidental, casual. |
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1/12/96.
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