Does your JW baptism still mean anything to you? (page 3)

greendawn

It ceased to mean anything to me long ago, as soon as I realised that the WTS was a false prophet and a cunning deceiver.

Narkissos

I was baptised in the Catholic church as an infant.

Then I was baptised as a JW at age 13.

When I exited the org. 14 years later, I still had my JW baptism in mind. The baptismal questions had just changed, and I felt I was loyal to the commitment I took.

When I joined an Evangelical church I was not expected to be baptised again. My former fellow pioneer friend who was df'd together with me attended a Baptist church and was baptised for the third time.

I don't think it means much to either of us now, if not as milestones on the way...

JH

So, do we get baptized in Jesus's name or in a religion.

I've been baptized twice now, as a Catholic and a JW later on in life.

If ever I joined another religion, which I won't, I wouldn't want to get baptized a 3rd time.

caryl

I was baptized at 13 years of age. They seemed to think I was old enough for that monumental event but I wasn't old enough/mature enough to do anything else. So, this 'thing' I did ruined the rest of my life, because when I was finally mature enough to think for myself, I was DF'd for doing so!

caryl

jafacake: they took the words 'holy spirit' out of the baptismal discourse? Truly?

Honesty

I don't know if I'm alone thinking this way, but I didn't get baptized for the JW's but for Jesus, because he asked us to do it.

JH, you must have been baptised before 1985.

I was baptised into the spirit directed (I found out what spirits direct them and escaped) organisation of the WTBT$ in 1990.

On February 7, 2005 I was baptised in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit according to what Jesus' instructions said at Matt 28:19.

Soooo.... the JW style of baptism only means that at one time I was following some spirits who turned out to be deceptive liars who steal Jesus' position and authority.

FairMind

I don't know if I'm alone thinking this way

jh.....My thinking is the same as yours'. When I was baptized at the age of 25 there was not anything said about dedication to the organization. I still feel my baptism is valid as to becoming a Christian because of who (not what) I was dedicating my life to serve.

MerryMagdalene

Interesting question, interesting answers.

My JW baptism was a disappointment to me at the time. I wasn't ready for it, I was pressured into it, and afterwards I just felt sorta empty (except for the fleeting glow brought on by the conditional praise and acceptance of the JWs around me). It didn't enhance the dedication to God I already felt, and I didn't feel any bond with Jesus as a Christian. I just felt like a lost and lonely JW who could never be 100% JW as I disagreed with them too much, but they were all I had.

When I later read the Gospel of Philip, this part struck me deeply:

If one goes down into the water and comes up without having received anything and says, "I am a Christian," he has borrowed the name at interest. But if he receives the Holy Spirit, he has the name as a gift. He who has received a gift does not have to give it back, but of him who has borrowed it at interest, payment is demanded.

So, after experiencing the presence of Christ personally, I was baptised again, without being blocked by JW doctrine from receiving what was offered.

~Merry

darkuncle29

Yes, it means alot to me. I see it as the begining of the end of my faith, my death to religion in exchange for spirituality.

If was after that that as a teen I really truly hated myself.

Sunspot

If you truly believe that you should be baptized, you need to get baptized in a religion that you believe in.

What if you don't believe in any one religion, but still believe in Jesus Christ and in the bible?

In my case, as I pointed out, I had been baptized before becoming a JW. I had done that because it was what my mother wanted. I was in middle school. Frankly, that never bothered me. I can live with it.

OTOH, I now consider my baptism into the WTS as becoming a member of a cult, which has no connection with Christianity in that sense (only to mock it). I was fed a book of lies (the "Truth" book ) and was baptized as a JW under the false pretenses that it presented.

What "Jesus wanted" had nothing to do with it, as he has no PART in this hideous organization to begin with. I don't feel that my baptism was valid because of these reasons. The WTS enjoys claiming they are "Christian" and then prove in everything they do and teach---that they aren't. It would be on a par with joining up with Koresh or Jones if they were still around deceiving people.

Does your JW baptism still mean anything to you?

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