The answer to the your question depends on what you what to do. If it's for personal "spiritual" reasons then I don't see the difference if you believe in god, if it's for religious reasons then I don't think the elders of your cong are going to care they are going to treat you like an DF person or an apostate. Their rules don't work that way, they would say that this is how the "world" works not how god's org. works.
is my baptisum as a minor vaild?
by highdose 16 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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highdose
ok cool! so all i gotta do is think of somthing i was doing wrong, and i'm home clean! yay!
.....but did i do anything wrong?hmmm this will take some thinking... i soooo wish i had been a bad girl:(
gonna make up for lost time now though!:)
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Black Sheep
Whether you had actually said the vows or not, your baptism was nothing more than a young badly informed brainwashed child going along with peer pressure, as you suggested.
Freddo just pointed out a loophole, so we should be able to jump through it if we wanted to for personal reasons.
Before taking your case to parents or elders, get a copy of that 1964 Watchtower.
Forget about presenting your non-vebalisation of the vows as being a misdemeanor.
Confess to the elders that you committed the SERIOUS SIN of PRETENDING to say the vow when you were really just an unrepentent ratbag schoolgirl with no respect for the Watchtower, and you NEVER, ever, REGRETTED not saying them. You were never repentant. You just went through the motions to get a bunch of overbearing arseholes off your back.
That should be enough to make any baptism invalid.
They would try to change the subject to.... you are trying to avoid being disfellowshipped. Just repeat until they give up.... You can't disfellowship me, I didn't say the vow. I was bullied into going through the motions, etc. Stay on subject.
That said, most JWs would probably shun you anyway. There are a few good ones that can't bring themselves to do it, but don't count on it.
Comments anyone?????
Cheers
Chris
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bluecanary
I'm going to cut and paste my talking points on minor baptism:
Should a minor child be allowed to make a baptismal vow?
Baptism as a Jehovah’s Witness is a binding verbal contract with the Watchtower Society. In most countries today, minors are prohibited from making any kind of contract. A child’s knowledge and ideas change dramatically between the teens and twenties, and for this reason the law protects the rights of minors.
Never is the baptism of a minor mentioned in the Bible. Jesus was not baptized until he was 30 and Jews felt a person became an adult at 30. When Cornelius and his family were baptized it does not state that any non adults were baptized and there is no scriptural evidence of any children or teenagers ever being baptized.
Minor children of Jehovah’s Witnesses are discouraged from participating in non-sinful activities that worldly children take for granted (e.g. choosing entertainment, clothing and association, dating, attending parties without supervision) because they are not yet mature. How is it that someone who must run nearly every decision they make through a parental filter is deemed mature enough to make a vow dedicating themselves to live the remainder of their lives according to the dictates of an organization that may change rules and doctrines at any time?
As soon as a child is old enough to speak, it is old enough to parrot its parents’ beliefs. Memorizing doctrines and reciting programmed answers to baptismal questions does not ensure that a child understands the beliefs they purport to have. Do not the Witnesses pooh-pooh other religions for baptizing those without capacity for understanding?
In light of Biblical evidence and common sense about the sensibilities of children, is it reasonable to allow minors to get baptized and hold them accountable for a vow they made at time when they could not truly understand what they were dedicating themselves to?
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WTWizard
They do more than baptizing children. They coerce children to get baptized. If you are 6, they have yearbook examples highlighting 6 year olds getting baptized, and they will scare them into it by telling them that they might not survive Armageddon if they are 6 or more, not baptized, and it comes during that period. Later, they use peer pressure (anyone that reaches 12 and is still not baptized is seen as bad association).
Never are those children given all the information on both sides of the story before committing themselves. And, once they are baptized, there is no way they can later change their minds should they realize that they have been lied to or it is not working for them.
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Black Sheep
I am one of the lucky ones. I didn't know it at the time. I took the option of death rather than having to abide by all of the rules they had prepared for me.
It was a fine line, but I took the option of death by Jehovah rather than obedience. 40 years later I see it as suicide with an unloaded gun. I waited for the bullet until way, way, way, past its 'use by' date.
The primary reason I didn't get baptised was the consequences of being DFd. Some of the rules my father reckoned were kosher were not, by my reckoning, and I couldn't see myself abiding by all of them until Killer God arrived and saved me from looking like a fool in front of my peers, who were a very nice bunch of heathens/christians/surfies/druggies/humanitarians and all round good guys and girls.
In hindsight, it was only a coin toss between between my still having a relationship with my family, and being an outcast.
I thank God I made the right choice.
If you are an unbaptised child of a Jehovah's Witness and you are reading this, please, please, please, leave your baptism for later. Leaving it for later has been my greatest/only blessing from Jehovah.
Cheers
Chris
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wantstoleave
I've heard of many people in recent times writing to the society and having their baptisms revoked. They cite things such as you mentioned, invalidity due to age, or pressure from parents. Of those that I've heard do it, all have been reversed and they are no longer classed as ever having been baptised. It might be worth a try?