Island Woman:
Now, if the study conductor is negligent that is another matter but the negligence, imo, cannot be blamed on the "religion" itself.
Well, the thing is this: The JWs make a BIG DEAL out of their baptismal procedure being so much superior to that of other churches. They require that you study with one of their ministers for a minimum of six months to a year in order to have a basic understanding of the doctrines. They make you go through a process of answering 120+ questions in order to "qualify" for baptism. This is done under the auspices of the elders of the congregation. The impression one gets is that this is a "test" of sorts that one can "pass" and therefore qualify for baptism, or "fail" and have to go back to the books and try again at a later time.If it's just a show, or a matter of going through the motions, without actually knowing what they are agreeing to, it could be a case of a person's baptism being invalid (best case scenario if they want out later), or it's just one more example of blatant hypocrisy in the organization.Seriously, if they are baptizing 6 and 8 year olds, do those BABIES really have the kind of understanding of doctrine to teach other people The Truth™? Are they capable of making what is clearly an ADULT decision?Love, Scully