I was so awash with emotion during the day of my being baptised, I think I would've answered yes to having a root canal. What was it I was swearing my allegiance to on that ominous day? Are there a standard set of questions that they ask all baptismal candidates at these cermonial offerings? If not, have the actual questions changed over the years?
What Was I Agreeing to at my Baptism, Anyway?
by prophecor 22 Replies latest jw friends
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Forscher
There sure are! If you were baptised before 1985, they were all variations of the following:
*** w73 5/1 p. 280 Baptizing Follows Discipling ***
(1) Have you repented of your sins and turned around, recognizing yourself before Jehovah God as a condemned sinner who needs salvation, and have you acknowledged to him that this salvation proceeds from him, the Father, through his Son Jesus Christ?
(2) On the basis of this faith in God and in his provision for salvation, have you dedicated yourself unreservedly to God to do his will henceforth as he reveals it to you through Jesus Christ and through the Bible under the enlightening power of the holy spirit?
If, on the other hand, you were baptized during or after after 1985, they were as follows:
*** w85 6/1 p. 30 Subjecting Ourselves to Jehovah by Dedication ***
The first question is:
On the basis of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, have you repented of your sins and dedicated yourself to Jehovah to do his will?
The second is:
Do you understand that your dedication and baptism identify you as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in association with God’s spirit-directed organization?
There you have it.
Forscher -
AuldSoul
1973-1985 1st Circuit Assembly Questions
(1) Have you repented of your sins and turned around, recognizing yourself before Jehovah God as a condemned sinner who needs salvation, and have you acknowledged to him that this salvation proceeds from him, the Father, through his Son Jesus Christ?
(2) On the basis of this faith in God and in his provision for salvation, have you dedicated yourself unreservedly to God to do his will henceforth as he reveals it to you through Jesus Christ and through the Bible under the enlightening power of the holy spirit?
1985 District Convention-current Questions
(1) On the basis of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, have you repented of your sins and dedicated yourself to Jehovah to do his will?
(2) Do you understand that your dedication and baptism identify you as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in association with God’s spirit-directed organization?
Respectfully,
AuldSoulP.S. Forscher beat me to it, LOL. Good job.
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Forscher
Thanks, Auld Soul.
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atypical
Good thread, Prophecor. To me, this is a major, major issue. I hate to admit it, but I never even thought about my baptism questions until reading on this forum. And yes, I was baptized after '85, so I had the new set. At the time, like you say, I was swept up in emotion and would have done whatever I was told.
It's interesting, not only did I not notice the questions, but I agonized the entire weekend (I was baptized at a District Convention) that I was maybe not ready to baptized. I felt very guilty that I was somehow unqualified to get baptized, and that Jehovah would be unhappy with me. I was only 13, and I honestly had never done anything - no smoking, no lying, no masturbating, nothing. I was very caught up in the fever to be perfect and free from blame, and I was afraid that somehow something was wrong with me.
It was the convention where they released the Mankind's Search For God book, and I read the entire book on the way home Sunday (2 hour drive). Interestingly, that book is what got me thinking outside the box as far as witness beliefs go.
That second question is just one more example of the society learning to protect themselves in every way. All liability is on the individual, and none of it is on them.
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AuldSoul
atypical,
Great post. You brought up the reason that book will NEVER be studied in the Book Study. It raises WAY more questions than it answers.
Respectfully,
AuldSoul -
jeanniebeanz
Although I studied many questions during my indoctrination, the actual baptismal questions were not covered.
They stuck in my throat and I remember thinking, 'what have I gotten myself into'. That was my reaction to the 'original' questions. There is just no way I would have said yes to the more modern questions.
My dedication was to 'God and Christ' not a man made org. The organization is crazy to stick itself into God's shoes like that...
Jean
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prophecor
On the basis of this faith in God and in his provision for salvation, have you dedicated yourself unreservedly to God to do his will henceforth as he reveals it to you through Jesus Christ and through the Bible under the enlightening power of the holy spirit? You mean I could've had a choice? I could've allowed Jesus Christ to reveal God's will to me, and read the bible without any unnecessary restrictions placed on my reading as to its understanding and interpretation? The WTB&TS seem to have reduced the weightiness of the old first question, no longer being condemned and removed the freedom by swearing my allegiance to the Borg in the updated second question. Frighteningly Politically Corrected speech craft. Is the second updated question a means of them seperating me from The Christ, alluding to their beliefs that we are not considered worthy of having a relationship with Jesus, but only the 144,000 do? Hmmmmmmmm?
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Sparkplug
I think I would've answered yes to having a root canal.
Prof- Now that is truly funny!
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atypical
Auld Soul, you are so right. I have mentioned points out of the Mankind's Search book many times to elders and ministerial servants who just looked at me curiously. When I was still attending book study, I would make a point to comment and incorporate something from that book. I never understood why most of the witnesses I knew didn't read it.
The book tries at the end of each chapter to give a reason why the particular religion is wrong, but as you said, it actually gives a ton of food for thought. It even maps out Protestantism, which was very enlightening to me.
It seems like the society made a variance by printing that book; they usually try to steer everyone away from any kind of knowledge about other religions.