On an academic level, yes, I clearly understood what I was getting into. However, I was a child, and I was not capable of making that commitment.
Did You Really Understand What You Were Getting Into When You Got Baptized?
by minimus 41 Replies latest jw friends
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hurt
Did I? Probably. First off, I didn't answer "Yes!" to those two questions. I was mute. So they probably should get my bap annulled. Really, I didn't know it would be this messy, with all the discoveries that came later. I'd tell one ofmy friends years later: had I known what I know today then I wouldn't have gotten dunked. No truer thing. But even God can't change the past...
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obiwan
I was 15 at the time I was baptized...If you can tell me one 15 year old male or female who can say they truley understand I would be amazed. I feel being baptized is a more adult way of life and an adult way of thinking. Most adults have been through many experiences that a 15 has not. So to be able to stumble, impact your life in most negative way is more apt to happen.
Needless to say I am very bitter!
Baptisim should be held out for mature adults...Think about it Jesus was not baptized till he was 30!
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Maverick
This is a great question. If I knew all the ramifications I would have sprinted out of the convention center with my hands covering my ears! Of course I do have a lovely 18 year old daughter from a J-dud (adulterous) ex wife. The girl was raised by me. And at 13 she was approached by the Elders about getting Baptized. She never made it through the questions. She kept hammering the Elders on the difference between what they said and what actually when on in the Cong. She saw all the hypocrisy by the young people. Most of these young people were the Elders and Servants kids. She told me this winter, (five years later), when we were on vacation that one Elder, (a guy wrote me a bad check last year), told her she had a bad attitude and he would be happy not to see her at the Hall! This same clown would get on me about her not coming to the Hall. So on the one hand I had something to show for the 25 years of stupidity and my daughter will not have to suffer as a slave to the Governing Body. On the other hand my ex still tries to lay all the guilt on her when they get together. Funny thing is, the Ex,( who was a truth baby), is in good standing and I'm the big bad apostate. Well I am an apostate to the GoverningBodyGod! Maverick
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minimus
As a 9 year old child, I had no idea what I was into. I, too, felt the heat to get baptized. What if Armageddon came tomorrow? I was told I wouldn't be saved because "I was old enough"! If I ever wanted to reach out for privleges like assisting in the book room or ringing the bell for the School, I had to be baptized. So, my obvious conclusion is that a child should not be made to abide by a contract, PERIOD.
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aojumper
I was 18 when I got baptised, I had just graduated before the DC and had to make a choice...Move out of the house or get baptised so you can continue to live at home, go to meetings and have all your life's decisions made for you. I chise the latter, and have regretted it greatly. I knew once I left the house I wouldn't want to be a witness, so I had to wait until I couldn't take it anymore before I moved out. When I did, I left. It was a long process, but I think it was the only way for me to be totally sure of leaving, now I have no doubts. Had I left at 81 I would probably have struggled with the guilt and loneliness for a lot longer than I have on tha path I did take.
In retrospect, the Org doesn't even baptise in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, they baptise in the name of the organisation. So my contract as a pseudo Christian with them is null and void.
K
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Shakita
NO.
The person I studied with NEVER told me the consequences of what happens if/when you leave the organization. I was totally clueless. I was in my own little bubble of "the truth" being the center of my life, everything else coming second. Why would I question "the only religion with God's approval"? They had all the answers. They had love among themselves. We were saving our children from Satan's world....blah, blah, blah
How can you truly understand what you are getting into when you are "brainwashed"?
Mrs. Shakita
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Big Tex
I did. At least I understood what I was doing for me. I was baptized in 1974 at age 11. I was dedicating my life to my God. Not Jehovah's Witnesses. I made a promise to my God to live my life by the two rules of Christianity to the best of my ability. That hasn't changed.
When I started studying, it was with an sweet elderly sister. I never studied any of the Society's publications, only the Bible. She taught me to look up every scripture ever cited because "these are just men, not prophets; they can and will be wrong. Do not follow what they say, only what God says." So I came into "the truth" looking at everything that came down from Brooklyn through that prism. Still do as a matter of fact.
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minimus
Big Tex, That sweet elderly sister should be disfellowshipped (if she was still alive). Children should grow up to be God fearing, in my opinion, but they should not be made to enter an agreement that have repercussions for them, from a legal standpoint. As it is, when a person gets baptized, they are entering into a contract with the Society, not God. The Society gets to tell you what is right and wrong. Their opinion is what is binding. You dedicate yourself to God. You baptize yourself to the organization.
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dannyboy
My Oh My was I dumb or what?
I thought I was hookin' up with a group that was directed and blessed by God himself, and that joining them would put me in line for untold further blessings.
So, I really didn't know what was going on.
---Dan