by angel.face 19 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
s: “Stop keeping company with anyone called a brother who is sexually immoral or a greedy person or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even eating with such a man.”
so--if you disassociate--you are no longer calling yourself a brother--so how can this apply to you ? ( this is what i did )
Thanks for bringing annulment up angel.face it a good topic.
I think if you stop going there are always going to be some JWs that will shun no matter what.
I have also experienced being Df'd that some loved ones will greet me in public and chat on the phone with me.
It just depends on your loved ones and how indoctrinated they are as to whether or not an annulment will actually work over the necessary business clause if your df'd.
Happily my daughter didn't agree with my Dfing and wanted to speak to me.....then eventually she left and we both woke up.
Why do you want an annulment? Is there someone in particular you want contact with?
Kate xx
I asked this question recently thinking about my daughter, who got baptised at 14 but very quickly realised she had made an emotional decision and wasn't aware of all of the facts re. JW beliefs. So she hasn't validated her decision by continuing to act as a witness into adulthood. My question was motivated from a desire to see her avoid getting disfellowshipped and the pain and punishment of shunning which come with that.
When I asked the question on here someone pointed out to me that going through the process of requesting an anulment whether granted or not (unlikely) would inevitably lead to us being red flagged by the cong. and shunned anyway!
Can a baptism be annulled?
Let's just say that unless it means the corporation faces a lawsuit then, no! It's a way they can isolate those that could possibly cause others to see the truth about their scam.
Either way, they will go along with whatever doesn't hurt their pockets the most.
I have thought about this subject many times.
I think that someone (who has some money and can find a lawyer to represent them) should make a test case out of it. There are many grounds to seek an "annulment", such as: 1) Being baptized as a minor. An imprudent decision which now must change. 2) The differing questions that have been asked at the baptism event. The longer you are baptized, the less stringent the questions are that you agreed to. These have now changed and are no longer valid. If you didn't answer the questions that day, you didn't agree to anything. 3) Changing doctrine. This is the main one I believe. Depending on when a person was baptized, it can be proved that the current "doctrine" either in general or on specific subjects is markedly different than when the "truth was learned" and baptism decided on and performed. "its not now what I signed-up for". Now the doctrine is different, the person no longer agrees with it, and wants his/her "dedication" and "membership" rescinded without punishment because the "church" modified and changed it's doctrine and in some cases it's belief system, and the other party (you) wants out of the agreement because of these large changes which you do not agree with and do not believe as true. If you are old enough, 1975 should be the centerpiece of that argument along with blood and several other topics.
There is no question that this is a different religion in philosophy and practice than it was in 1950, or 1960 or 1970, etc. The religion goes through constant evolutionary, doctrinal and belief modification. This is now inconsistent with what you "signed-on for" (like the end of the world coming before you got out of high school as an example) and you want the entire matter cancelled/annulled, etc. I think a smart Lawyer would want a run at that depending on the country/state/province that you live in. The litigation cost/exposure may make the WTB&TS just settle with you by giving you an annulment just to dispose of the case. Imagine the media getting a hold of a litigation like this and saying "this person needed to sue the religion to get an annulment so their Mother and Father would just keep on speaking to them. They are that controlling!"
I have been wondering lately, can a baptism as a JW be annulled?
The only thing I would add to what everyone else has said is a minor point of terminology
What does it mean to be baptized as a JW?
In the U.S. JW's are legally organized as a congregational church. Your relationship is strictly with your local congregation. You do not have a relationship with any of the JW parent organizations or for that matter, with any other JW congregation. The "worldwide brotherhood" is a social, not a legal construct.
Elders from a congregation you have never attended have no business contacting you. (Unless they are acting as proxies for elders in your congregation)
I know it's not always practical (Or even possible) but moving to Timbuktu and leaving no forwarding address is probably as close as one can get to an annulment.
"Also, there is the concept of 'ratification', which in essence means that a person who, upon reaching the age of majority, abides by the terms of a 'contract' that they entered as a minor, the terms of the contract are upheld. This too has been used to weasel out of legal wrangling related to the baptism of minor children."
This is why it is a captive religion, especially to those born in. A decision made as a child - in my case a few days after I turned 13, has to be upheld, because otherwise you lose everything and everyone if you choose to leave at any time, as a minor or adult. You have the choice to "ratify" or be shunned. That isn't really a choice. And that isn't even factoring the brainwashing, cognitive dissonance, lack of chance to develop critical thinking skills, inability to form outside social networks, depression, lack of self-esteem, guilt, PTSD...etc.
Unfortunately, I believe this has been brought before the courts in the US and upheld as valid on the side of JW's.
