by Clam 25 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
I remember counsel being given to teens who had not yet taken the plunge(pun intended). Apparently it had gotten to the GB that many youths were afraid of getting baptized and then getting in trouble later and getting DFd or in the least having to deal with a judicial committee meeting.
This fear is well-founded. Once your baptized, DFing is a real possibility for anyone who doesn't tow the line.
"When minors are disfellowshipped, parents are still responsible for raising, training, and teaching them, even studying with them if the minors are in the household"
flock book pg 98
if they're old enough to do wrong they're old enough to do right ".
I hear this crap all the time. But shouldn't it be: "If you aint old enough to say No then you aint old enough to say Yes"
A 6 year old has no idea what they are saying Yes to when wanting to get baptized. It ridiculous.
stillA,
If you changed "old enough" to "mature enough" in your example I would agree. Age and maturity are two different things.
Baptism is supposed to be about wanting to do right. A young child can want to do right but may not have the maturity to hold fast. A lot of adults can't do that!
In general I believe that disfellowshipping is a bad thing. Instead of shunning a person who has tripped up there should be a concerted effort to support and retrain.
The exception that I see is when the person is bent on pursuing a course that will bring harm to others (i.e., domestic violence, sexual abuse) and has made it known that they are not willing to change. Such a person deserves to be shunned by everyone, not just JW's...but that's just my opinion.
Nina
There is nothing an 8 year old is likely to do to bring about excommunication, but once he hits 13 or 14 and the sex hormones start raging through the body little nasty things can happen.
I appreciate what your saying.Nasty tho?No..just normal stuff...silly fucked up religion.
OMG- the thought of a very young person getting DFd is just horrifying. Could you imagine the experience of them getting shunned by everyone they know? Other than school, all social ties except for in the home enviornment would be cut off. And that's assuming they aren't home schooled!
That's just barbaric.
That's just barbaric.
no...the bible clearly states that disfellowshipping is a loving practice. once the wrongdoer realizes his/her evil ways, they always come back to the congregation.
at least that's what my mother told me.
luv, jojo
no...the bible clearly states that disfellowshipping is a loving practice
Oh yeah, my bad... I forgot!
I once knew of a six month old that was ex-communicated, 0oops.....that was a Catholic Kid. Well, what the heck Dfing a kid is wrong no matter who does it but so is baptizing them at such a tender age. I guess they figure that once they’re baptized their caught.
I knew two JW sisters, about ages 11 and 12. Neither were baptized, but at the time it didn't matter because it was during the 4-year(?) period when an unbaptized publisher could be treated the same way as a baptized person. Well my son saw them smoking at school, reported them to the elders, and their names were read to the congregation. Can't remember the terminology, but everyone understood that they were to shun them as if they were disfellowshipped. Those poor little girls had an alcoholic father and a mother who was struggling financially. One girl ended up on drugs and the other spent time in jail. At the time I thought my son had done well reporting these children to the elders. Now I am disgusted, not at my son, as he was only in his early teens, but partly at myself for approving the action, and particularly at the elders for enforcing this stupidity, and especially at the WTS for dictating it.
