Can baptism be considered a legal verbal agreement?

by StarTrekAngel 24 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  TD

  Understood.. but what happens when you uphold your end of the bargain after adulthood doesn't change the fact that you entered the bargain at an age not considered legal.

  Bargain, contract, pact, deal, compact, etc. don't apply to an at-will relationship. Those are all terms of legal obligation and there simply isn't any legal obligation here. --Only your voluntary affiliation and the social fallout of leaving.

  I understand the frustration and I can't tell you how much it pisses me off personally. (My wife is a JW who would have left by now except for family...)

  Your affiliation is however only with your local congregation and not with the JW parent organization(s) I know it happens, but elders from a congregation you've never attended really have no business pestering you.
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  Simon

  I agree with TD - there's no obligation no either side ... it's really whether you decide to walk through the doors of the Kingdom Hall each week.

  There should be some moral obligation that you would hope a group would abide by but who's going to police it and how would you make it a law.

  The only legalities you have are statutory - if the ceiling collapses you can probably claim something but "promised me eternal life and didn't deliver"? unlikely.

  All the authority that the WTS have is only what they have given to them voluntarily. Yes, they lie, they deceive and they manipulate people ... but there is no law that could apply to such things AFAIK.
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  scratchme1010

  If it can be considered so, would there be a legal ground to say minors can not enter this agreement?
  

  Yes and no. Yes in the sense that they enter what is legally considered a fiduciary relationship, as they expect guidance and counseling from that organization. That is what has hold them legally responsible for covering sexual abuse of minors and not-so-minors too.

  No in the sense that as a religious organization it is based on a spiritual/religious belief, and therefore it's not a transaction what happens when a person joins.
  
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  babygirl30

  This goes along with exactly what I had said to my parents when I was DF'd and they tried to put the guilt trip on me with the whole "you didn't live up to your dedication"...

  Um...

  1. I was baptized at 14yrs old

  2. I wasn't old enough to vote

  3. Wasn't old enough to drink alcohol

  4. Couldn't legally consent to sex or marriage

  5. Couldn't work FT legally

  6. Couldn't be my own legal guardian

  7. Was in 8th grade, was a nerd, had no friends, and loved Computers and books...

  YET...I was supposedly 'smart' enough to knowingly make a decision to give my LIFE to a religion? Please!
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  NeedToKnow

  As per babygirl30 said, my exact same situation except I’m not DF. I’m really against child baptism. There’s a reason Christ himself was baptised at 30 and he was perfect!!!