by free2beme 26 Replies latest jw friends
baptized as young as 6.That's sick and wrong.
I was baptised infant 
Of cause that is when your parents say your vowels when your older you recieve "confirmation" but the church makes it very clear that you only do confirmation if you are happy with the Catholic faith.... there is no pressure at all, they'd rather you not do it if you don't want to
Evanescence
Hey, Ev.
Yeah, you're okay. But, to be baptized a Witness at that age, gosh that's just not right!
Yeah, you're okay. But, to be baptized a Witness at that age, gosh that's just not right!
fair enough could you imagine disfellowshipping a 7 year old?
Evanescence
My cousin got baptised at 10, and although I was only 13 myself at the time, I could see it was wrong, I even told my mother that I couldn't take the organisation seriously if they are letting, (coercing or forcing may have been a better word in light of the circumstances), people that young, into making a supposedly important and life changing decision and commitment to god.
And as for young ministerial servants counseling, I had a 16 year old son of an elder, who could do no wrong, telling me why I wasn't spiritually strong, I was 17 for god's sake, and I wasn't going to take it anymore, I calmly and politely told him to go fuck himself and come back to me when he knew something about real life and the real world.
I myself refused to get baptised, despite almost being shunned by some of my friends, I wasn't even "wrong-doing" at the time, I was better behaved than any of them, but I was treated like an outsider because I didn't lay myself down to be slaughtered without question.
I have known several that got baptised in their 20's. Why? Because of all the pressure about marriage. Anyone that wanted to go our with them was warned away because they were not technically Witnesses.
Many of the under 12's that i know who were baptised are now d'd. How anyone is allowed to devote themselves to an organisation at that age is beyond me. You cant have sex till 16, get married till 18, but can get baptised at any age. Yet the consequences of devotion to the Org can be a lot more far reaching and long term then either of the other options.
3. Fear
"you're old enough to make your own decision now, I cant protect you if armageddon comes and you arent baptized!"
My mother didn't actually say this but she sort of implied it. However, an elder came out and said it straight to my face.
I was only 12.
Three of my cousins got baptized at the same time. I believe their ages were 9,8, and 6. At the time I was about 10. Shortly after the baptism one of my cousins tried to "encourage" me towards dedication. I told him that kids in my cong didn't get baptized til they were closer to teenage years. His answer to that was,"you could start a trend like we did".
In my case, I was scared I would die at Armageddon. The Survival book said the mark of salvation is a dedicated state symbolized by baptism.
Respectfully,
OldSoul
I told him that kids in my cong didn't get baptized til they were closer to teenage years. His answer to that was,"you could start a trend like we did".
Another example of the rules being different from one congregation to another. The youngest person I ever saw baptized was 10 and they were DF'ed at 16 and as far as I know, they never returned. As for age 6, could they even read the books enough to answer the baptism questions?
I did at 15. All the kids my age were already baptised. So in order to keep my status in the social circle I also got baptised. And I did have some elders saying, "so and so is baptised, what's preventing you?"
