Jesus - the rebellious child

Logic damages Jehovahs Witnesses credibility more than any other intellectual argument and nowhere is this more evident than in the practice of child baptism.

The JW.ORG website has a number of articles that feature baptism for children as young as ten and they are very clear that the Bible doesn't give any direction about how old a person can be before they dedicate their life to Jehovahs.

Before we use logic to turn that claim on it's head I need to explain why the subject of child baptism is important.  Since last years 'shunning' convention many ex-Witnesses have found themselves completely cut off from their families.  However there are exceptions.  If a child is raised in the religion but never gets baptised the family are able to have a normal relationship with them.  If another child from the same family does get baptised and then subsequently leaves the religion, they are to be shunned.

It is a requirement by the Governing Body that is destroying families all over the world and they laughingly call it 'an act of love'.

Therefore children who made (or more accurately were coerced into) a decision to get baptised at the age of ten, eleven, twelve are now facing a lifetime of shunning from their family while the 'rebellious' kids who didn't cave in to the pressure of the organisation can live a normal life away from the religion but still enjoy the state of a 'family member'.

How can it be morally right that the decision of a child influences the course of their whole life?  Not only that but it also has a knock on effect for their own children.

So is there any biblical guidance as to an acceptable age for baptism?  Actually there is a very clear guideline. JW's are keen to use principles in the bible to fashion their beliefs.  This is the case with their understanding of things like birthdays.  The bible doesn't say anywhere that birthday celebrations are wrong however in the two birthday parties it mentions someone is murdered, therefore JW's conclude that this indicates celebrating birthdays is wrong.  The same principle applies to their stance on smoking, blood transfusions etc.

Using this method of understanding the bible lets imagine Jesus in modern terms.

He is born into a strong Witness family and he is taught from day one about Jehovah, the bible and the Organisation.  By the time he is eight he can discuss bible topics with grown men and his understanding and logic are remarkable.  In his spare time he loves to play with his train set and he still has a teddy bear in his bed.  Does he contemplate baptism? No.

At the age of twelve he has three bible studies with kids at school, he does regular bible readings from the platform and his Watchtower answers are exemplary.  The teddy is gone as has the train set, now he plays Candy Crush on his iPad and he's just realised that Penny next door makes his heart race when he see's her.  Is he ready for baptism?  The bible writers omission clearly shows not.

By the time he's eighteen he's working in his dads wood shop and he's well on the way to becoming a very good joiner.  His number four talks are better than any elder can give and his understanding of the bible is clearly something very special, yet he retains his humility and he's eager to learn more.  Penny is no longer in his thoughts, in fact she was supplanted by Debbie, Wendy and latterly Karen, none of who became more than friends but he felt deep, powerful emotions as he fell in and out of love with all of them. He's now taken up rock climbing and sailing.  By now he must be ready for baptism?  Not according to the bible.

At twenty-one the elders are getting concerned about Jesus.  His talks just get better and better and he now has so many bible studies he is having to hand some over to other brothers and sisters.  Yet he hasn't dedicated his life to Jehovah.  He's now a fully qualified joiner, he's given up rock-climbing but he is saving up for his own small sailing dingy.

At twenty-six he changes career.  He takes an Open University course and begins to teach woodwork to disadvantaged children in an inner-city school.  He loves the work.  The sailing dingy he purchased is sat on his back garden, unused for the last eighteen months as he no longer has much time for leisure.  An elder recently asked him if he had thought about baptism.  He replied 'since I was a child and I think I am nearly ready.'

Finally he turns thirty, he still loves teaching children how to turn a plank of wood into something functional and beautiful.  The boat is long since sold and now his life revolves around the Kingdom Hall and teaching.  He's settled, he knows what he wants from life and he is ready to get baptised.

And that is the principle - Jesus, the only perfect man ever to have lived (according to the bible) waited until he was thirty years old before committing his life to God.  By that time he had reached a point of stability and maturity.  

So why do the Governing Body refuse to use this clear principle when it comes to a minimum age for baptism?

Because they need control.  Without baptism they don't have control over a person, they can't disfellowship them, tear them apart from their family, demand exclusive allegiance.  Without baptism there cannot be fear.  And so they conveniently ignore the principle given to them by Jesus himself, they make excuses as to why that principle is not relevant.

The moral of the blog is; it's far better for kids to ignore the Societies advice on baptism, just like Jesus would have done.