JWism- Bibical Conversion or Cult Indoctrination?

by Think About It 2 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

  • Think About It
    Think About It

    Something that always bothered me when I was in was how long it took someone to become a Jehovah Witness. Many accounts in the Bible had people becoming a Christian immediately, overnight, or in a very brief time. With becoming a Jehovah Witness it was always like a cult indoctrination rather than a bible account conversion.

    Here are the steps as I remember them. Feel free to correct if I am mistaken, since I have been out since 1995. Anyway, it seems like I remember it taking people several months to even several years to go through this simple bibical step.

    A) Angels or HS guides a JW or WTS literature to Prospect who wants to learn more.

    B) The Prospect starts a 1 hour per week "bible study" using WTS literature.

    C) After some time the Prospect agrees to attend meetings at the Kingdom Hall.

    D) After a period of attending meetings the Prospect is allowed to tag along for Field Service training.

    E) After being deemed trained & qualified the Prospect is allowed to make the WTS literature offer. The Prospect is also told it is expected that they turn in a Field Service Report each month.

    F) If the Prospect passes the scutiny of the Elders up to this point, he may be asked about the desire for baptism. If interested, the Prospect is given the baptism study questions.

    G) If the Prospect answers correctly and passes the baptism interview with the Elders, it is agreed that the Prospect can be baptized as a Jehovah Witness.

    F) The Prospect then waits until the next upcoming JW Assembly baptism day to become baptized a full fledged Jehovah Witness, ONLY if the Prospect answers yes to the "loyalty to the Governing Body" question.

  • Honeybucket
    Honeybucket

    yep. and its ALL DONE by devine intervention, dontcha know

  • cobaltcupcake
    cobaltcupcake

    As I recall, the explanation for the instantaneous conversions back in the 1st century was that they were all Jews, so they already knew the "truth" with the exception of accepting Jesus as the Christ. So, a short chariot ride or talk in the town square was sufficient to "convert" them.

    Evidently, the early Christians didn't worry too much about the character of the person like JWs do now. After all, the apostles were constantly ranting about bad conduct in the congregations.

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