They have to snare them at a young age, before they have a chance to experience life and realize there's something better out there. They're always saying that it's the most important decision you can make, and yet they're encouraging kids 11 years old and even younger to do it. This shows how desperate they are to hang on to it's membership, because the door-to-door ministry isnt bringing them in nearly as quickly as they're leaving.
Baptism at age 11 next Saturday
by Fatfreek 38 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Hermano
Just one more sign that it is a cult.
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Jourles
Illustrative of their experiences is that of one young man from El Salvador who, at the age of ten, submitted to baptism
That made me laugh. Here we have a "young man" all of ten years of age. I would like to see the WTS's definition of when a male child becomes a young man. A 10 year old kid is just that - a freakin' kid!
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GoingGoingGone
So the moral of this story is kids baptised early or not can wake up and get on with thier life just like adults can.
I agree with this, Smiles_Smiles. The problem arises, though, when the parents aren't ready to exit the JWs, but keep pushing the kids to be good JWs. Those kids have to keep doing the JW thing to keep their family in their lives. They can't get on with their lives unless they are willing to give up people who are a huge part of their lives, their families.
I'm so glad that your daughter had you so she could get out! She sounds like one smart cookie!
GGG
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Alligator Wisdom
What is the minimum age requirement for a male to be appointed to serve in a certain capacity, such as a ministerial servant? How about a female if she were to decided to pioneer six months after she gets baptized?
I can see it now. Ten year old pioneers with some 16 year old ministerial servants taking the lead on a Saturday morning field service routine.
Alligator Wisdom (aka Brother NOT Exerting Vigorously)
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greendawn
That's too young for a person to get baptised in a high control religion, they need to learn a lot more about life before they make such a commitment, wait until their sexual instincts awaken because if they can't control them they will find themselves ostracised and under great emotional turmoil through being DFed.
And of course there are all the often weird doctrines of the org that an 11 or even 16 year old can't really evaluate correctly. The JWs must be desperate for members to baptise pre puberty children.
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aquagirl
i had just turned twelve a month b4 my baptism..i do believe there is a push,probably to fill all of those empty seats!!!!
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steve2
So the moral of this story is kids baptised early or not can wake up and get on with thier life just like adults can. I know adults who were never baptized who are still inslaved to the JW mindset.
I'm with you Smiles_Smiles. Let's assume that most of these children who are baptized later drop out of the organization and are subsequently disfellowshiped/disassociated. The more young ones who are disfellowshipped as opposed to simply dropping out, the better. Why? The strongest test of the disfellowshipping rule is usually between kids and their parents. I'm hearing an increasing number of stories in which parents are not taking a hardline with their disfellowshipped children and the more this happens the better. Sooner or later, the Watchtower will have an even bigger problem on its hands: Mass loss of younger people whose parents refuse to cut them off! Bring it on!!
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steve2
Thanks for the references Blondie - you're amazing!
BTW, the Kingdom Ministry of 1974 implies that a child must be at least 10 before baptism can occur. I wonder where they came up with this age? Why not 12 or 13 - ages in which adolescence is assumed to have commenced?
I well remember my JW grandmother telling me that what set the true religion apart from all the false ones in Christendom was the latter baptized infants and children, whereas the true religion requires a decision that only a adult can make!