Should YOU get baptised?
A very good question indeed. As a child or teenager being raised as a Jehovah's Witness, you are already familiar with the full water immersion that is practiced by your parents religion. Most times, you will have witnessed this ceremony at District Conventions or smaller Circuit Assemblies. No doubt you see it as a joyous time for those being baptised, and their families. You have been brought up, to not only observe this process but to expect and accept, that one day, you too will present yourself for baptism.
Usually each year at least one Sunday study of the Watchtower will be about Baptism, and very often it will directed at you, a teenager or even a pre teen. There was one on dedication in the Jan 1 2010 study edition, one on baptism in the March 1 2010 edition, and one of the latest if you were paying attention was in the April 1 2010 edition, focused on youths. The admonition in that weeks study was this:
Accept the Invitation—Now
4 Ecclesiastes12:1 states:“Remember now, your Grand Creator in the days of your young manhood.” How old do you young ones need to be in order to accept that warm invitation to worship and serve Jehovah? No age is specified in the Scriptures. Therefore, do not hold back, thinking that you are too young to listen to Jehovah and to serve him.
No matter how old you are, you are encouraged to respond without delay.
Thus many children are 'encouraged' to take the step of baptism with nothing more than a ''don't worry, just love Jehovah all the time and you can't go wrong.'' The Watchtowers seldom ask 'should you'? They ask 'When will you'? What prevents you?'
That sort of questioning causes young ones put on the spot to give the 'right' answer. After all, when asked by parents or peers, what kid is going to say 'I don't want' to? That is a classic pressure technique question, one designed to elicit only the deemed 'correct' answer.
It is not uncommon for children as young as 8 or 9 to have been baptised at assemblies of Jehovah's Witnesses, perhaps you have even seen some very young ones immersed. Recently the Caller times of Texas published a photo of a 12 year old girl being baptised at a recent convention. The Witnesses focus on the very young teenager of about 13. In two Young people ask articles in 1990 Awakes!, they specifically target that age. After mentioning a 13 year old girl the Awake! of April 8 1990 they had this to say:
‘Am I Old Enough?’
As teenagers get older, they often feel that they have a right to enjoy certain privileges and responsibilities. They are quick to insist on driving the family car, to plead for permission to have after-school jobs, to want their own spending money. But when it comes to baptism, many youths excuse themselves as being too young or not ready for that responsibility. A youth named Andre observes: “A lot of youths wait until they are 17 or 18 to get baptized, which is a little old.” Why? “Because long before that they’re old enough to make other decisions for themselves.”(bold mine)
If you type Andre into the Watchtower Library CD you will soon see that ''Andre'' is used over and over as a fictional character to get a point over. The reasoning used here, is that since at 13 you can 'make other decisions for yourself ' like what to wear or something that you must be mature enough to get baptised! Do you think at 13 you are ready to make life altering decisions?
As less and less people come into 'The Truth' from door to door work these days, great effort is made to convince you teenagers to get baptised NOW. It is the teenagers like yourselves that is the focus in this series of articles dealing with baptism. They may be lengthy, but please take the time to read them.
In them, we will examine thought provoking information designed to help you think about this important and irreversible step in your life. We will look into the lead up to it, and look at what happens after. The aim is to examine the impact of such an action on ones whole life and family and what can be expected as you grow older. It is hoped that by reading these articles, you, as a teenager, will be better placed to make your decision about baptism based on full knowledge and information rather than expectation or emotion.
Christian Baptism - a brief history
The first recorded Baptism in the Bible is the one done by John The Baptist. [Matthew 3: 1-6]. It was a baptism where Jewish people would repent and confess their sins. Vs 5&6 ''Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the country around the Jordan made their way out to him, and people were baptised by him in the Jordan river, openly confessing their sins''.
This was a baptism performed that had nothing really to do with Christianity. Pagan religions and Judaism had practiced ritual baptisms in water for years before Christianity. Jesus had not yet himself been baptised, indeed, Jesus did not need to be baptised as a confession of sin and repentance, as he was the perfect son of God was he not? What John was doing according the Bible was preparing the way for the coming messiah of the Jewish nation. Not long after John began his baptising, Jesus himself came along and requested that he too be baptised. The account is again in the book of Matthew. After Jesus persuaded John to baptize him, for John apparently knew that Jesus has no sins, it was done and a voice from the heavens declared, ''This is my son, the beloved, whom I have approved''. Matt 3:17.
Thereafter, it became common practice that when a person converted from the Jewish faith to be a follower of Christ, they would also be baptised to show this. As gentiles (non Jews) began to accept the message of the Christ, they too would have to get baptised to demonstrate their faith.
One memorable account of this is that of the Ethiopian Eunuch, one sometimes referenced by the Watchtower Society in its articles on baptism. The story is related at Acts 8: 34 - 40. The main part is ''Now as they were going over the road (on a chariot) they came to a certain body of water, and the eunuch said: 'look! A body of water; what prevents me from getting baptised''?
There is one very important thing to realize about the baptisms recorded in the Christian Greek Scriptures; Nowhere is there an account of a child or youth being baptised. All were adults. Jesus himself was 30, an age when a Jewish boy was acknowledged to be mature and a man.
Just because the Bible 'specifies no age,' does not mean that children should get baptised. What the bible does say is that Jesus was 30 and he was the one to be like.
Timothy is often trotted out as an example of a late teen/ early 20 year old servant of Jehovah. However, the account of 'young' Timothy in the bible tells us nothing about his age. Effort is made to speculate that he must have been perhaps 19 or 20. The Watchtower of 15 Sept 2008 has this to say:
''THE new congregation in Thessalonica has experienced opposition ever since it was formed when the apostle Paul visited there. So when Timothy—perhaps in his 20’s—returns from there with a good report, Paul is moved to write the Thessalonians a letter to commend and encourage them. Likely composed late in 50 C.E., that letter is the first of Paul’s inspired writings. Shortly thereafter, he writes the Christians in Thessalonica a second letter. This time, he corrects an erroneous viewpoint held by some and exhorts the brothers to stand firm in the faith.
About ten years later, Paul is in Macedonia and Timothy is in Ephesus. Paul writes to Timothy, encouraging him to stay in Ephesus and carry on spiritual warfare against false teachers inside the congregation. When a wave of persecution is unleashed upon Christians in the wake of a fire that ravages Rome in 64 C.E., Paul writes his second letter to Timothy. It is the last of his inspired writings. We today can benefit from the encouragement and counsel given in these four letters of Paul.''
Have you done the math? If Timothy was 20 in 50 C.E, then when Paul wrote to him in 64 C.E to 'flee from the desires incidental to youth', timothy would have been at least 34 if not even older. Still considered a 'youth'. Then, how much more a 'babe' must a person of 12 or 17 be?
Down through the ages, most Christian denominations have practiced baptism of its members. The main support for this is in the bible at Matthew 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit".
At times in the history of the early Christian Church, it was not uncommon for entire families from infant to grandparents to be immersed in rivers. It may be argued that the early Christian churches fell away from the practice as done in the bible and altered it to a mere sprinkling of water.
Around the 1300s full immersion was replaced by pouring and sprinkling of water. It was a practice that also was applied often to infants, very often as soon as possible after the birth. Infant mortality was a lot higher centuries ago and the practice was done to save the baby's soul before it could die. There was no time to wait for the child to grow to an adult and choose baptism. The other benefit to the religion of course was that it meant that the baby was now a Catholic, or a Protestant. It had been not only baptised into Christ, but into a religion. Chances were high, that when grown, the child would not leave the faith that their parents had them baptised into and go to another.
Moving forward to the 15th century and the reformation and the practice of immersion was revived among newer faiths such as the Anabaptists.
They reintroduced the practice of full water immersion of adults and repudiated the practice of baptising infants. Their name means 're-baptisers', derived from their belief that previous baptisms were not valid. Only theirs was recognized.
Today, there are many Christian faiths that practice full baptism. Such as the Anabaptists, Seventh Day Adventists, Christadelphians, Pentecostal, some Presbyterian, Eastern Orthodox, Mormons, Churches of Christ and Baptists.
However, there are also many different ideas among them as to just what baptism means. Some say it is merely to identify one as a Christian, others that it is to get saved. For the Jehovah's Witness, the meaning is that water baptism is an outward symbol that a person has made an unconditional dedication through Jesus Christ to do the will of God. They also consider baptism to constitute ordination as a minister.
Thus, Jehovah's Witnesses do not recognize past baptisms of other religions, and just like the Anabaptists of old, believers must be re-baptized into their brand of faith. Like most faiths, some effort is made to make sure that the person knows what they are doing and understands the full responsibility that goes along with serving God according to the 'organization' rules.
Next, we will look at the subjects of dedication and baptism among Jehovah's Witnesses. First though comes a unique Witness-ism: ''You should make the truth your own.''
What does "Make the truth your own" mean?
This is a phrase often told to those who are children being raised as Jehovah's Witnesses. The matter of making the 'truth' your own, or believing and proving it to yourself, is the first thing you should do before you reach the stage of dedication and baptism. It is good if you are told this. After all, nobody should want their children to follow their religion just because they were born in it do they? Or do they?
Just how does a young Jehovah's Witness do this? Usually by having a bible study of their own or making it personal study. In fact that is the very suggestion in the Young people ask article in the Awake! of 22 October 1998. The suggestion basically is to study a book and go to the meetings.
If you have an actual bible study, often times the person who conducts this study is a mature brother or sister, perhaps even a pioneer. That is because it is hoped that the fine example of such a one will rub off onto you. The selected book may likely be the same one used in the outside bible study work and will take you through the teachings of the witnesses. You must remember though, this is not a bible study. It is not a study of the bible with the book as an aid. It is the study of the "Witness Doctrines" with selected bible texts to prove the point. A close examination of the scriptures used will at times reveal in fact, that they have little or nothing to do with the actual lesson.
Another method is by learning about the religion. A boy once asked his parent how it was they knew it was the truth. A pretty good question. And one that deserved a very good answer. In the case of this lad however, the answer was far from satisfactory. "Read the Proclaimers book". What book is this? It is called Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of Gods Kingdom. and was published in 1993. It is the official history of the Witnesses. The advice, perhaps given out of not really knowing how to answer the question and a desire to make the lad do some research was meant to make him do some reading.
By reading the so called 'modern history' of the organization, it would be hoped that he could see clearly how God was blessing the Witnesses and sustaining them through all sorts of trials as proof that this was the 'truth'. The book also touches very softly on some matters that had been not talked about before that opposers would talk about. So it is hoped that by reading such a story, the lad would see how it was really the truth and the opposers were all evil, and at the end decide this was the religion for him, without even looking at the teachings.
One thing that is discouraged however in doing such personal research, is a trip to the local Library for reference works to back up the claims of the society. Only the books on the Watchtower Library CD, are recommended.
But you have such a lot to research! Do you know what year Judge Rutherford changed Russell's teaching about the Pyramids of Egypt being built by God? Why is Brother Russell's grave marked by a large pyramid with Pagan symbols on it? How many times has the 'generation' of 1914 teaching been changed? What 'religion' were all of Brother Russell's associates and mentors? What year did they stop celebrating Christmas at Bethel? Why are you taught that 607 BCE is the date for the destruction of Jerusalem when archaeologists say it was 587 BCE? What year do they claim Jesus chose them as the one true religion? Why are these questions important? Because the answers may impact your decisions now and in the future.
There are so many things to look at. Can you really say you are ready to even think about baptism? There are far more subjects to look at than the basic teachings that you will be presented with. Until you have actually spent time researching your own religions history and doctrines, how can you be sure it is the one true one? How can you go door to door telling people that their way of worship is wrong and yours is right if you have not done the work to make sure?
A Young people ask article in the Awake! of November 22 1986, Titled 'Why should I choose my parents religion' had this to say to you:
Witness Youths Must Also Decide
What, now, about adolescents who have been raised by parents who are Jehovah’s Witnesses? Are we saying that they are not faced with the question, “Why should I accept my parents’ religion?” By no means. There comes a time in their life when they must decide for themselves whether they personally are going to dedicate their lives to Jehovah God or not.
Like other youths, they ask themselves, ‘How can I be sure that my parents’ religion is the true religion?’ And like the others, they must convince themselves that its teachings are in line with the Bible.
More needs to be studied than whether the teachings of the paradise, no hell and no trinity are in line with the Bible though! You also need to look at whether the religion is doing anything that might show that Jehovah might not be using them. After all, they make a great claim that Jesus chose them in 1919 above all others. That is a big claim and you need to prove that to yourself also.
What does dedication really involve?
Two words that go hand in hand within the teachings that you are growing up with are dedication and baptism.
Dedication is the first step and baptism is the second step that shows your dedication. Baptism is not a guarantee that you will now be saved through Armageddon, rather it gives you the chance to. The reality, according to what they tell the public, is this; ''Jehovah will read the hearts of the unbelievers and determine who will live or die''. And yet, I am sure, you are aware that 'unofficially' they tell you that you must be baptised because your parents baptism will only protect little children. Every Jehovah's Witness knows the real teaching is that he will only save baptised faithful ones. In fact, The Watchtower of 15 December 2008 said this:
Our coming to know “the truth”—the entire body of Christian teachings that has become part of the Bible—and adhering to it are essential for our salvation.
Emphasis is placed rightly so on the matter of dedication in the Jehovah's Witness literature. It talks about it at length in some Watchtowers such as the Jan 1 2010 study edition. But do all those who get baptised actually understand the true weight of dedication? Do you?
An example of dedication could be made out of a young man who saw his mother die at a young age. Filled with grief and perhaps even anger that no cure was available decided he would spend his life making sure that no other son lost his mother to the same illness. So he applied himself to schooling. When his friends were playing ball he was studying. He went on to university to study medicine and had no time for normal social relationships, not even a girlfriend. Thus he was often lonely and would sob himself to sleep many nights as people his own age were starting families. Still he pushed on, into his 50s now, graduating from many years of study with multiple degrees and diplomas. He now sought to specialize in the very illness that cost him his mother. Years of low pay passed as he spent his meagre income from working at a hospital on private research and experiments. Finally in his 65th year he not only found a cure but a wife. Already old, and ironically, ill from the dreaded illness herself, his new cure was too late for her. By the time he was 70, he was alone again, but his cure was taking off around the world. Soon many sons would keep their mothers that may have otherwise lost them.
Do you think the man was dedicated? He lived his whole life for one goal and went without so much. This man was dedicated to a wonderful cause don't you think? And yet, the Jehovah's Witnesses would tell you that he wasted his life!
I want to also give you an example of dedication according to the Jehovah's Witnesses. I relate the lives of 'Dottie' and 'Bill', a pair of fictional characters based around real times and events.
Around the age of 18, they realized that they were perfect for each other. It was 1941. As young ones, dedicated to Jehovah when they were 11 they were very happy to receive the gift from Judge Rutherford himself of the new book 'Children'. There was much talk in the book about the nearness of Armageddon and it was telling the children and young folk, that now was not the time to get married and have families. Looking at each other, and knowing that Armageddon was only months away as the Judge said, they decided to go pioneering in the outback territories agreeing to meet up later in the paradise, where they would marry and raise a family of their own.
Bill was training as an engineer at the time and Dottie wanted to be a dancer. However, they decided that as Armageddon was so close, it would be foolish to pursue those goals. The months and years past, and they lost touch, Bill eventually went to serve as a Bethel overseer and Dottie remained in the pioneer ranks. At a convention in 1961 they bumped into each other again. My how the years had aged them, but they still felt the old love for each other. Both had remained single in the service because Jehovah's organization came first. But now, they reasoned, why should they not get married at last? Armageddon had not come 20 years ago, indeed, the president, Brother Knorr himself had got married in 1953.
So at 38, Dottie and Bill finally got married. But they would have no children. Not only was she getting a little to old for that, the urgency of the preaching work was still proclaimed loud. Bill left his comfortable room at Bethel and together they went special pioneering. By 1968, with the Watchtower Society heavily suggesting 1975 as a possible date for Armageddon, they were reinvigorated to do more still. So they entered Missionary service and went to the orient. 1976 found them still in the old system and ill. At 53, the exotic diseases of the foreign country had caused them permanent health problems. Sticking it out, as Jehovah's will they stayed until 1986 when they were forced to leave their assignment due to poor health.
They went back to their home country and were taken back into bethel as advisers to the missionary school but by 1996 the bethel was closed and had been merged with another country and they were sent back to the special pioneer ranks. At 73 it was a hard slog. Bill had broken a hip the year before and couldn't get out much. They had no social security and they had never had a job or learned a trade. At 74 Bill died of pneumonia in the little rented room above a railway line. It had been a cold winter and with no money, there was no medicine. The brothers wept at his funeral, what a blessed life he had led they remarked. to have seen the growth of the organization, to start the work in a foreign land, and to still be in full time service at his death. Dottie was devastated and not being able to afford the room anymore on her small monthly stipend from the society, found herself in a nursing home. Still, she would preach to other oldies about the truth and how Armageddon was around the corner.
Dottie would cry sometimes at night, and the nurses never knew that it was because she would go back to the summer of 1941 and dream about marrying her young Bill and the children that might have been. But next morning, she wiped her eyes, and would start to read her Watchtower. Dottie died at 89. The only witness in the home. She never got visits from children and grand children and great grand children like the others. Some times a pioneer sister would come by and read the Watchtower to her.
That, is a textbook definition of dedication to god in the eyes of the Watchtower Society.
That means that ones whole life and every single decision made in that life will take into account the will of God as revealed by the society. No deed may be done that does not fit in with the taught will of God. It means that things that you may want to do for yourselves are not important. You are first and foremost a person who only does Gods things. While this is certainly a lofty ideal, few understand the full import of this. How does a Jehovah's Witness youth learn what the will of God is? Can it be gained by reading the Bible alone? One would think so. "Read the bible daily" is the often pushed phrase and indeed appears on the front of the Brooklyn Bethel. Certainly a good idea if one claims to be a Christian.
However, from early on, the Watchtower Society has taught that it is impossible to know the will of God by reading the bible!
The proof is in the Watchtower of September 15 1910 p298; If the six volumes of ‘Scripture Studies’ are practically the Bible, topically arranged, with Bible proof texts given, we might not improperly name the volumes - ‘the Bible in an arranged form.' That is to say, they are not mere comments on the Bible, but THEY ARE PRACTICALLY THE BIBLE ITSELF. Furthermore, not only do we find that people cannot see the Divine plan in studying the Bible by itself, but we see, also, that if anyone lays the ‘Scripture Studies’ aside, even after he has used them, after he has become familiar with them, after he has read them for ten years - if he then lays them aside and ignores them and goes to the Bible alone, though he has understood his Bible for ten years, our experience shows that within two years he goes INTO DARKNESS. On the other hand, if he had merely read the ‘Scripture Studies’ with their references, and had not read a page of the Bible as such he would be in the light at the end of two years, because he would have the light of the Scriptures"
The full import of Pastor Russell's message was that it was not possible to know the plans of God without his books to tell you what it was. So it followed that in those early days of the Witnesses, known then as the International Bible Students, those who joined them dedicated themselves to do God's will as explained by Russell, a man, rather than by reading the Bible itself. [Note; the old watchtowers are not on the Library CD, they are however available on various internet sites]
Today, those Watchtowers and books of Russell are long forgotten among the Witnesses. Indeed, almost every teaching in them has been changed! Today, how is the will of God revealed to young ones who are seeking to dedicate themselves to do God's will? No doubt you know the answer already. The 'organization'. Much emphasis is placed on being obedient to the commands, suggestions and counsel from the Governing Body and the faithful slave. The December 15 2008 Watchtower had this to say about its own writings:
''Our coming to know 'The truth'- the entire body of Christian teachings that has become part of the Bible - and adhering to it are essential for our salvation'' (bold mine)
Yes, Russell's view is alive and well, where the organizations teachings have became 'truth' and are essential as the bible itself. There certainly cannot be levelled at the Watchtower Society the charge that they do not want people to know the full idea of dedication. In fact, it could be said in all honesty that they have often gone beyond the teachings of Jesus to include in dedication and obedience things that he never taught, nor appear in the Holy Bible at all.
What, you may ask, do I mean? One example can be furnished by looking at the two questions for baptism candidates to answer yes to:
1. On the basis of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, have you repented of your sins and dedicated yourself to Jehovah to do his will?
2. Do you understand that your dedication and baptism identify you as one of Jehovah's Witnesses in association with God's spirit-directed organization?
Question 1 is the lead in to the reality. You want to do his will? You have to understand it is as a Jehovah's Witness following the 'organization'. And that is where what I call the fine print is.
What the 'organization' tells you is the will of God, is thus, the will of God. The literature is full of frequent messages not to question the elders, the faithful slave, the Governing Body, or Jehovah.
In fact, in the eyes of the organization, questioning anything they say, is questioning Jehovah. If there is something you do not understand, do not question or waste valuable time trying to research it, trust Jehovah to clear it up in his time. Trust his faithful and discreet slave to be giving you the food at the proper time.
To dedicate yourself to do god's will, in the Jehovah's Witness world means also dedicating yourself to the organization. Therefore, aside from the basics of living a good Christian life, Jehovah's witnesses are to preach from door to door a required number of hours if they are to be 'in good standing', go to every meeting, study at home as a family, report all service, donate money regularly, and avoid types of music and entertainment that they deem debasing or immoral.
So far does the telling you what you can and can't do go that there are also some things that you are not allowed to do when it come to sexual relations with your husband or wife such as oral sex.
The goals to pursue are privileges like Ministerial Servant, Elder, Pioneer, Bethel Service or to be a Missionary.
Further, they are to shun anybody who was a witness and left, never even greeting them 'hello'. If they themselves do and do not stop, they too can be shunned. At no time can a baptised Witness form a point of view different to the rest. You simply must believe what you are taught even if it is revealed to be wrong later. A true Jehovah's Witness "does not think - he does". The Faithful Slave has done the thinking, the Publisher does what the slave says. Which seems a little strange does it not? Slaves generally do what they are told, not tell others what to do! Anyway, that is perhaps a discussion for another time.
It can be seen clearly that dedication is a deep subject and one that requires a great deal of thinking about. One can, as a child or a teenager become so wrapped up in the belief system, so immersed in the religion that one automatically thinks they have 'dedicated' themselves. When one set of beliefs is all that has been known since birth, following the faith of ones parents seems not only sensible but the right thing. Many young people do not question the beliefs in any meaningful manner and have little or no knowledge of the origin of the beliefs either. This is not a good situation to be under when contemplating ones entire future.
Do not think that dedication as a Jehovah's witness means living a 'normal' life, doing a bit of witnessing and some meetings and plenty of time to hang out with mates riding dirt bikes or whatever. The longer you are 'in', the more time they will take up of your life. It will be called 'Theocratic activity', and you will be guilted into doing more and more.
When we are children we often go through phases where we want to be a doctor, a fireman, an artist or a boat builder among other things. As we get older, these dreams change, sometimes because we simply do not have the means to achieve them, but usually because we simply keep changing our mind as we mature!
Even into the late teens and early twenties, people are still trying to figure out just what it is they want to 'be'. Not until at least the mid to late twenties do most finally know what they believe in and what they want to do with their life. This is the natural way of our brains. Science has shown that the human brain keeps growing and developing into our mid twenties. That is why, as we get older, we are more able to make informed decisions, assess situations and direct our lives. It is perhaps for a very good reason that the bible records Jesus as being 30 at the time of his dedication and baptism. Children and teenagers are not mentally equipped to process everything needed to take this massive step.
Why some get baptised
So you want to get baptised? Why?
Seriously, WHY? I am sure you can come up with all the 'right' reasons! "I love Jehovah" , "I want to live in the paradise and pat lions", "It's the truth, it makes sense". "I have dedicated my life to God".
Jehovah's Witnesses love the 'right' answers. It matters not whether the answer is correct, but more that the provided and prompted answer is given, just like in a Watchtower study. Here is the answer, here is the question that fits the answer.
What though are some of the real answers to the question, why? Some of the real answers are not verbal at all, but rather given by deed. Actions speak louder than words they say. Lets give a few answers by examples.
Kristen
Young Kristen is not happy. She has been raised as a witness from the age of 7 by her parents. Well, her father and her step mother that is. Now 15 Kristen has had enough of her overbearing step mother. Although they are Jehovah's Witnesses and her dad is an Elder, his new wife is just not good with kids. Kristen wants to leave home but is too young. In another town is her uncles family who are also witnesses and would welcome her into their home if only she was more spiritually mature. Kristen has been going out in service more lately as a way of staying away from her stepmother, and the brothers are praising her for the spiritual progress she is making. An older sister remarks that she is doing so well in the ministry that she might want to think about getting baptised and perhaps even auxiliary pioneer in the holidays. Kristen pursues this idea, after all, more time preaching is less time at home. Within a few months, she is baptised and leaves to live with her uncle and his family. What just happened here? Do you think Kristen got baptised for the 'right' reason? Why do you think Kristen got baptised?
Marcus
Lets look in on Marcus. He has been raised as a witness from birth. he is what's known as a 'born in'. They are thought to have the very best start in God's work of anybody. Getting into his teens though, he gets up to a bit of mischief. He even gets in trouble with the elders. Marcus' parents are very disappointed in him, as are the Elders who had been giving him small jobs to do. He should have known better than to do 'those worldly things' especially with a girl who was not a witness. Marcus soon begins to feel somewhat guilty about what he did wrong, and realizes that he had better stick with witness girls from now on, and not be naughty either. As he approaches 17, he begins a relationship with a nice witness girl. Best of all, she is not only pretty, but digs him and his music. Marcus is in love. Small talk about the future together is inevitable and he knows that she is 'the one'.
There is a little fly in the ointment. She is getting baptised next assembly day and like all girls dreams of a white wedding at the kingdom hall with daddy walking her down the isle. Now eager to please his now girlfriend, what is Marcus to do? Only one thing is on his mind. Marry his girl. If she wants that wedding, why nothing is too good for her. But he also realizes that not only can they not get married in the kingdom hall, she won't marry him if he is not spiritual and baptised. There is little hesitation in Marcus' next moves. He has always 'known its the truth' because it makes sense, so he goes to the elders and starts taking steps toward baptism. 8 months later at a district convention, he gets baptised and 4 months later marries his sweetheart in the best kingdom hall wedding ever seen. Why do you think Marcus got baptised? What was the 'right' reason he chose?
Sam
Lets take a look also at Sam. He was a quiet boy raised by his single mum as a Jehovah's witness from 10. Not really fitting in with the other boys in the congregation or any of the kids at school, he was a bit of a loner. Never really doing anything wrong other than looking at Playboy magazines from time to time. Seeking to leave home because of not liking his strict new stepfather, he found a way when offered a job in another state. So 16 year old Sam moved away and moved in with some step relatives who could keep an eye on him.
Still a quiet lad, not getting up to much, the local brothers seemed to like him some and would give him little privileges of service and talk about 'reaching out'. Being painfully shy and lonely, Sam couldn't even look at girls. Worldly girls were out and downright scary, so he began to look in other congregations and always the questions were the same. Are you baptised? It seemed to be the measuring stick. if you were not baptised there was no way the girl was taking him home to meet her parents if he was not 'spiritual'. So he gets to realize that in order to get a girl friend he is going to need to lift his game. And he does. 6 months later, he is baptised at an assembly hall and before you know it, he is now a bonafide 'brother'. A catch. It wasn't too hard, after all, it was the truth, all the teens were doing it and well, it was about time he got mature. Did Sam make the right decision? What were his motives? What level of research did he do about the beliefs?
What do you think?
All three young people got baptised and made their parents, friends and congregations very proud and happy. Now I am not saying that getting baptised was wrong. But I am hoping to get you to think about the reasons. While there are no doubt exceptional young people who have a level of maturity perhaps higher than many others and may get baptised for the real reason of Godly living, there are those, and I must add, more than you may think, who do it for the wrong reasons. What becomes of such ones? That is a matter for another article.
It is a human thing to fool oneself and others. It is common for people to convince themselves that wrong moves are in fact right ones. People can be so blinded by desire and wants that they cannot see the faulty course being navigated.
Even the right course chosen for the wrong reasons can be like a ship sailing on reef waters. Much pain and anguish is experienced as immature travellers on the journey of life come to terms with poorly thought out choices of youth.
It is my dearest wish that you as a teenager, make full use of your growing brain and the resources available to you in plotting out you lives. You are the lucky generation. While older people may poo hoo the internet and fads such as texting, iphones and ipads, they place at your fingertips the entire recorded history of mankind. No other generation has access to so much information, all the good, the bad and the stupid.
So let us look at the process, the mechanics, of getting baptised for whatever reason, noble or foolish.
Baptism and what it means for you.
You have decided, right or wrong, good reason or not, that it's for you. What next in 'Jehovah's' Organization? Well really, you have to tell somebody. An elder to be precise. What do you think will be his response?
''Well done Johnny! We have been watching you for a time and you sure seem to be doing the right things. Your field service is up to 10 hours a month and your comments at the meetings have more depth to them''
The next step may be a 6 month study in one of the societies publications that contains the information that they want to present to make converts. I say may, because different bodies of elders have different ways of doing things. They may already conclude that you know enough about the truth and may decide to skip straight to the Organized to do Jehovah's will book.
This book contains the Bibles principle doctrines and guidelines for Christian Conduct. So it claims.
Up to this time of your life, you will not have seen this book. It is not available to the public and is only for those who want to get baptised. It is not like the other books that are used to have bible studies. It is not a book about the bible. It is a book about the Organization. It is a book about how the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society runs the Jehovah's Witnesses. It contains the information that the publisher is allowed to know about the way the congregation works, who is in charge, and what happens if you disobey them.
There is another book that nobody is allowed to see except the elders, it is called Shepherd the Flock of God. It is a book of rules and regulations with most of it focused on sins and a lot on disfellowshiping.
At the back of the Organized to do Jehovah's will book are 104 questions that you have to answer. But don't worry, you can't get them wrong because the answers are all given for you to practically read off.
After you have reviewed the book and 'studied' its contents the elders will make a time to sit down with you to review it. It will only take 3 hours or so. If they determine that you know enough basic stuff about what they teach and show that you will obey the organization, they will inform you that you 'qualify' for baptism. They will then spend about 10 minutes with you telling you the questions that you have to answer yes to at the convention or assembly and that you wear suitable attire for the baptism. That usually translates to girls, no bikini's and boys, put on a T shirt, with no bands slogans.
There are things that are not discussed in the book at all. The most important one is the subject of Shunning. Not disfellowshiping, shunning. They are two very different things. It does talk about disfellowshiping and disassociation as getting the person treated the same way, but does not say what that treatment is. The word and practice of shunning is not even mentioned despite being the harshest punishment that can be given to a wrongdoer.
Would you not expect that in the book that is used to make sure a bible study or a Witness youth knows what they are doing would include this incredibly important information? You need to ask yourself why it does not.
Why would this information not be in such an important book? Assuming that you have made your way through the required material and satisfied the elders that you know what you are doing by giving the 'required' answers in the book, (just like the watchtower study) and decide not to ask any awkward questions, then at the next assembly or convention, if you show up looking suitably modest, you too will be baptised as a Jehovah's Witness, dedicated to the spirit directed organization. You will not be baptised as a Christian dedicated to Jehovah and Jesus. There is a difference you know.
The difference can be seen by looking at the baptism questions again. Matthew 28:19 sets the requirement for Christian baptism when in says "Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit".
The Watchtower of July 1 1955 says on page 411: "A Christian, therefore, cannot be baptized in the name of the one actually doing the immersing or in the name of any man, nor in the name of any organization, but in the name of the Father, the Son and the holy spirit." (Bold mine)
The baptismal questions for candidates in those days were:
(1) Have you recognized yourself before Jehovah God as a sinner who needs salvation, and have you
acknowledged to him that this salvation proceeds from him the Father through his Son Jesus Christ?
(2) On the basis of this faith in God and in his provision for salvation, have you dedicated yourself unreservedly to God to do his will henceforth as he reveals it to you through Jesus Christ and through the Bible under the enlightenment of the holy spirit?
The Watchtower of July 1 1956 discussion on baptism commented:
All of you who answered "Yes" to these questions should be baptized without hesitation or delay. You have sufficient knowledge and understanding of what you are doing and God holds you responsible to carry out his will by being baptized in water.
However, after decades of baptizing in this way the method was changed.
In the June 1, 1985 Watchtower on page 30 the questions were changed to:
(1) On the basis of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, have you repented of your sins and dedicated yourself to Jehovah to do his will?
(2) Do you understand that your dedication and baptism identify you as one of Jehovah's Witnesses in association with God's spirit-directed organization?
The April 15, 1987 Watchtower states on page 12 the reason for the change:
The two questions addressed to baptismal candidates were simplified so that candidates could answer with full comprehension of what is involved in coming into intimate relationship with God and his earthly organization.
So it was that in 1985 they reversed the earlier teaching that you could NOT be baptised to an organization, to YES YOU CAN. At least the explanation was honest, they wanted the baptism candidates to know they were now owned by the 'organization.'
Hopefully by the time you reach the stage of going through the questions for baptism, you have indeed made a real effort to learn all you can about the Jehovah's Witness faith. If after that you are still determined to get baptised, you must be prepared for the changes it will bring to your young carefree life.
So will begin a new life. One where at the start you will feel like a spiritual giant. Don't worry, that won't last long before you realize you are at the bottom. You will now be expected to do things and have to come up with good reasons if you don't. You will work out that to be in good standing, all you have to do is 10 hours a month in the door to door work. You may get labelled 'worldly' or 'bad association' if others do not approve of things you may like or do. Most of all, you will learn that you are never doing enough for the organization.
It is now, very very important to address something that the Jehovah's Witnesses have not. Oh, I know they touch on it, they allude to it but seldom talk about it.
You cannot change your mind without severe consequences.
If you do decide it is not what you want anymore, you will be shunned until you break and come back. The Witnesses will tell you "nobody is forced to stay", "people can leave if they want too". I am sure you realize that the thought of losing ones entire family can 'force' a person to stay.
You have been baptised as a member of the 'Organization'. You are bound by whatever they say is the word of God. You are bound by whatever they teach. You must change your belief whenever they change theirs. If they reveal 'new light' as they frequently do, you must now support and teach the new understanding. If you cling to the old understanding and tell them, you can be disfellowshipped.
If you decide you were too young or not sure when you got baptised, that is not their problem. You answered the questions 'right', therefore you must have known. You cannot claim that you didn't know something. If you don't agree with a teaching or develop doubts, you are not to share them nor talk to others about them.
Should you confide in an elder about such things, you will be told to wait for Jehovah to fix it. You will be told to pray more and to study the publications more. You will be told what you can and can not look at on the internet. You will be told what to think.
You will learn to live in fear. You will learn that what keeps many in the truth is fear of losing family should they leave. You will learn that when they talk about disfellowshiping, what they are really talking about is shunning. They just can't bring themselves to say the words. Whether somebody is disfellowshipped for being an unrepentant sinner or for disagreeing with the Governing Body, the result is the same.
Shun the person no matter if they are your mother or sister or brother, treat them like they are evil and invisible. That is what they think love is. That is how they show their ultimate dedication to the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, the Jehovah's Witnesses.
Another article in this series will discuss your life after baptism, and the choices and consequences open to you. It will be a lot more detailed and it is hoped you will take the time to read it also.
In conclusion;
You are no longer a child and have the right to make important decisions for yourself. The wisest choices are made when we have access to the facts and have given due consideration to a variety of opinions. This is YOUR decision to make; you only get to do it once, so take your time.
