Do You Recognize Your Baptism?

by sweetstuff 67 Replies latest jw friends

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  Barbie Doll

  I was 21 years old, and I believed everything they told me. Now I know better.
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  lfcviking

  No, it means f*ck all to me now.
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  LearningToFly

  I was never baptized, but still treated like I was when I was disassociated at 16. Apparantly because I was unbaptized, I was later told at 19 that they shouldnt have done this to me. They certainly destroyed a few years of my life from their treating me like a baptized publisher though.

  LTF
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  educ8self

  Being without a story (an interpretation/rationalization of past events) is actually being free from it.

  Being, or pretending to?

  Well that all depends on the individual of course, I suppose that is what you are getting at. That statement wasn't about any particular individual or even the collective response, it was a separate, general statement of fact. You didn't address anything else in the post so I am not sure how to address yours, but going by the other conversation in this thread I would just say you need to know, or have some sense of who you are (or just that you are) before you know what to take responsibility for - whatever that actually is for you.
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  Narkissos

  educ8self,

  What I meant, as simply as possible, is: we all have(and, to a large extent, are) a "life story" in progress, which we constantly rewrite and modify as we add new paragraphs and chapters to it. We can (provisionally) declare it wonderful or awful, blessed or cursed, worthwhile or worthless; make it sound more cheerful or more dreadful, colour it with pride or shame; own to it or disown it -- as if our "true self" had been sleeping all along under some magic spell, to suddenly wake up "without a story" of his/her own at the last chapter. It's at the storyteller's discretion. But, like it or not, even the "storyless" character becomes part of the story and makes sense, if any, in the context of that particular story.

  Hope it is a bit clearer. If it is not, never mind.
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  IdependentThinker said:

  When asked the two questions from the platform to the group I didn't say yes. I let 5 of friends from my cong get in line ahead of me, wanting to back out.

  .....So if we think our first baptism was not valid God overlooks it and erases it? I thought it was a thing once done it was a non-negotiagble contract. Any thoughts?

  The elders NEVER knew I didn't aswer yes - I wonder if I didn't even have to go through all those JC meetings Inquistions after all if they had known that. Any formers elders know?

  You didn't mention that you didn't answer the questions. You didn't say NO, or indicate that you
  didn't want to go through with this. You got dipped. That means the elders and WTS see your
  baptism as valid. YOU, HOWEVER, ARE FREE TO SEE IT AS INVALID. Courts typically do
  not recognize contracts that minors enter into, and as I mentioned in my case, even adults had
  complete information withheld from them. We are all free to end our contract for fraud.
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  educ8self

  What I meant, as simply as possible, is: we all have(and, to a large extent, are) a "life story" in progress, which we constantly rewrite and modify as we add new paragraphs and chapters to it. We can (provisionally) declare it wonderful or awful, blessed or cursed, worthwhile or worthless; make it sound more cheerful or more dreadful, colour it with pride or shame; own to it or disown it -- as if our "true self" had been sleeping all along under some magic spell, to suddenly wake up "without a story" of his/her own at the last chapter. It's at the storyteller's discretion. But, like it or not, even the "storyless" character becomes part of the story and makes sense, if any, in the context of that particular story.

  Narkissos:

  Yes, thank you for making that distinction. It comes down to a matter of emphasis, after all not many really see that it is a story.
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  Amber Rose

  When I was a baby I was baptized in a Catholic church, then when I was 15 I was baptized as a JW. I don't know if either of these baptizims count or if I am technically allowed to take communion in a regular church. I don't want to get baptized a third time because, come on, that seems like you're just starting some kind of baptizim collection. Any advice?