[From ws12/17 p. 23 – February 19-25]
“Just as you have always obeyed, … keep working out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Philippians 2:12
Paragraph 1 opens with “Each year thousands of Bible students get baptized. Many are young people—teenagers and preteens.” As discussed in last week’s article, this is the problem. It is totally without scriptural precedent. What do the Scriptures say about young people? In 1 Corinthians 13:11, when Paul was discussing manifesting love and gifts of the spirit, he had this to say: “When I was a babe, I used to speak as a babe, to think as a babe, to reason as a babe; but now that I have become a man, I have done away with the traits of a babe.” (bold ours). How can a babe or a child reason in a way that allows him or her to properly understand the step of baptism being taken?
Based on 1 Corinthians 13:11 alone, those “young people” should not be allowed to get baptized and more importantly the Organization, congregation elders and parents should not be encouraging child baptism as they have been in last and this week’s Watchtower study articles.
The overt and subtle pressure and commendation of child baptism coerces and encourages many young people to get baptized. Of course, we are really talking about those brought up by parents who are Jehovah’s Witnesses. This pressure did not exist 30 years ago. Back then it was unusual to get baptised unless you were in your late teens or older. This promotion of near-infant baptism on the part of the Governing Body comes across as a desperate attempt to bolster diminishing numbers?
It can be argued successfully that no youth truly can understand the nature of Christ’s ransom and man’s inherited imperfections. Just ask some young baptized ones in your congregation what they understand about those subjects. So how can any young child truthfully answer this first question asked at the end of the baptism talk? “On the basis of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, have you repented of your sins and dedicated yourself to Jehovah to do his will?”
The next subtle pressure is the suggestion in paragraph 2 that if one is not baptised as a witness then one is living apart from Jehovah. Surely we show we are living with or without Jehovah by the way we act in our lives and how we treat others, not by getting a label of ‘baptised publisher’. (See Matthew 7:20-23)
How many youngsters getting baptised truly understand salvation, let alone realise they are now responsible for working out their own salvation? Their lack of maturity and reasoning ability is born out by what is said next in paragraph 4. When quoting a teenage sister it reads: “In a few years when the urge to have sex becomes stronger, he or she needs to be thoroughly convinced that obeying Jehovah’s laws is always the best choice.” The time to be thoroughly convinced is before baptism not afterward. Yes, Jehovah’s laws are always the best choice, but getting baptised as a child or youth will not change how they feel about Jehovah’s laws and will not give them the power of reason, nor the conviction that what they believe is actually right.
The article finally gets on to something that will help them have the power of reason: Bible study. However, it is spoilt by saying “Jehovah wants you to be his friend”. It further compounds this error when paragraph 8 opens with “Friendship with Jehovah involves two-way communication—listening and talking.” (Abraham was the only one called “God’s friend”—see Isaiah 41:8 and James 2:23.)
Search as you may for the phrases ‘friend(s) of God’ in the NWT reference edition you will only find the two scriptures cited above. Search instead for “Sons of God” and “Children of God”, you will find many references, such as Matthew 5:9; Romans 8:19; 9:26; Galatians 3:26; 6,7; and others.
So what do the Scriptures teach? Are we “sons of God” or “friends of God”?
“Personal study of the Bible is the prime way we listen to Jehovah”, paragraph 8 goes on to say. Amen to this statement. Sadly though most of us can testify to the fact that time for personal study of the Bible can be very limited, or non-existent, due to congregation responsibilities, meeting preparation, studying of literature, pioneering, etc.
When the article then states “the study guide What Does the Bible Really Teach? can help you to build your conviction about your beliefs”. We need to be careful that any study tools we use help build up our faith in the teachings of the Bible rather than those based on the teaching of men.
Paragraphs 10 & 11 are good reminders about personal study and prayer, but are marred by another endorsement of child baptism: “A teenager named Abigail, who got baptized at age 12, says”.
After quoting from John 6:44 the article then says “Do you feel that those words apply to you? A youth might reason, ‘Jehovah drew my parents, and I merely followed.’ But when you dedicated yourself to Jehovah and got baptized, you showed that you had come into a privileged relationship with him. Now you are truly known by him. The Bible assures us: “If anyone loves God, this one is known by him.” (1 Cor. 8:3)”
Do you notice how they do not address the youth’s valid reasoning? No attempt is made to justify or show that Jehovah draws children. The reasoning of the youth “I merely followed” is accurate. They are following the religion of their parents, just as most of the world’s children do. A minority make the effort to properly evaluate the religion in which they were raised.
The reason that no attempt is made to show that Jehovah draws children is because the idea simply does not have any scriptural backing. The writer then goes on to undermine his own agenda and argument by quoting 1 Corinthians 8:3. Yes, God knows all those who love him. That is not the same as ‘God knows all those who dedicate themselves to him or make a show of being repentant and get baptized.’ Love of God is not the same as compliance with peer pressure, parent pressure, nor Organization pressure.
Paragraph 14 goes on to show the challenges youths face in sharing their faith in God and Jesus with others in the very way it is worded. It says: “as you share your faith with others. You can do that in the ministry as well as at school. Some find it difficult to preach to their peers at school.”
Immediately, two unnecessary barriers are raised. Is it not better to speak to one’s peers individually, especially with one’s school friends? They can witness and talk about their beliefs instead of preaching, or going from door to door where they may face embarrassment when they call on the home of their schoolmates. Did Jesus ever send out children with their parents to preach? Again there is no record of this. However, there are records of adults (the apostles) being sent to preach.
Once again paragraph 16 plugs the Organization’s promotion of child baptism by quoting an 18-year-old sister, mentioning that she was “baptized when she was 13”. The rest of the paragraph concentrates on the young sister’s views on how other young ones can preach. Once again, nothing on how they can develop the fruits of the spirit which will make them desirable to both God and man.
Finally, we come to the subtitle: “Keep working out your own salvation”. For all of us “working out our own salvation is a serious responsibility”. Let us not abdicate it to a body of men and blindly obey them, but rather work out our own salvation by our own study of God’s Word, implementing what we learn.
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You want to commit yourself to be a JW for the rest of your life ? What sort of Witness parent can refuse, without revealing the things they have reservations about ? Unless their child has been asleep at the meetings, and unless the parent has pre-emptied the request, what can anyone do ?
Hi all, Thanks for those thoughtful comments. If anyone thought that was the end of the subject for now, be aware two more articles are coming for study for the weeks commencing April 30th and May 7th. They are entitled ‘Baptism, a requirement for Christians’ and ‘Parents, Are You Helping Your Child Progress to Baptism ‘ with the theme scripture ‘why are you delaying, rise up get baptised’ based on Acts 22:16. It’s paragraph 4 says “Granted, an infant would not qualify for baptism. However, the Bible shows that even relatively young children can grasp and appreciate Bible truths.” According… Read more »
Thanks Tadua. I have had a look ahead. Those articles will be interesting.
Came across a good counterargument against child baptism on Youtube. What if your 12 year-old asked if they could be baptized as a Mormon? What answer would you give them to deter them from that action? That same argument is applicable to ANY religion they want to dedicate themselves to at that age.
It’s like Confirmation in the Catholic Church, also undertaken when kids have no idea what sin is or what they are doing. It is a rite of passage thing, and it has nearly become the same for some here.
Sorry, I meant to leave this as general post, not particularly a reply to what you put, Brain.
As my own grandchildren align with baptism as young as 9, I find myself at odds with my own children and in-laws over the issue of why Jesus himself waited until 30!
Baptism is a multi functional tool that they use in several ways.
They use it as a back up guilt trip to the guilt trip they already lay upon you before you are baptized. They use it on baptized “young ones” to make parents that may be awakening from fully opening their eyes, and maybe the reason why they are promoting such young baptism. It works the other way too, parents think that by getting the kid’s baptized so young it will keep them in the ‘truth’ and that it also gives them (the parents) leverage if need be.
You make s good point psalmbee, the whole dedication/baptism thing is a lever to push people around with. I remember in my own case in the late 70s, I was having a ball , I had a job, money all the freedom I wanted as my parents were to absorbed in their issues to bother me, I had no desire to do drugs , go to night clubs , engage in immoral sex , I was in the bush all the time or sailing a boat , or finding a higher tree next to water to jump out of, absolutely… Read more »
Thanks wild olive, yeah it’s kinda like a Swiss army knife for them! They can use it in so many different ways and definitely do, 99.9% of which is wrongful
use may I add.
“promotion of near-infant baptism on the part of the Governing Body…”
Tadua please provide a reference for this statement.
Hello Thaddeus,
Have you watched any of the JW Broadcasts in the last couple of years? The GB are clearly putting forward the idea of very young ones getting baptized (although it seems to me more appropriate to call it for what it is- entering into a verbal contract to be loyal to the Org).
While a child of 8 years of age isn’t exactly an infant, that same child is not even close to being a mature adult who is capable of making a life-long commitment to a group of men in Warwick.
Amen to that WarpSpeed! ^^
Could not have said it better myself. This WT article made me feel very uncomfortable.
Whether the baptism age is getting younger I am not sure. But the problem is now the responsibility with the changed baptism questions in 1985, bringing in a degree of commitment to the Governing Body. Thirty odd years ago, and earlier, when I was baptised, we were dedicating our lives to Jehovah and Jesus. No more. Where was the risk ? But over the years we have seen the damaging effects of the 1981 Watchtower articles on disfellowshipping, and the consequences of being disfellowshipped or disassociated. That consequence alone should be made very very clear to all considering baptism, and… Read more »
Thank you very much,Tadua for keeping us awake on these matters.(please delete my prev.comment if it’s objectionable).
Nice review again Tadua. Looks like Eric has fallen in love with the camera on YouTube! (Just joking Eric) I agree that the pressure to be baptized at a younger age was not as pronounced 30 years ago. However, both of my daughters were still baptized in their early teens. If you were an appointed man the pressure was higher. Today’s Jw Org is a completely different animal though. The GB come on the Broadcast and fawn over little kids being baptized at 8 years of age. Definitely getting closer to infant baptism, which the Org used to crucify Christendom… Read more »
I would add that one additional pressure for children is this: “Baptism is a requirement for Christians, and it is an essential step to gaining salvation.” If you don’t have baptism, you don’t have salvation. So why wouldn’t every child want to get baptized?
No added pressure at all!
Good thought Mike
Excellent.Thank You Tadua,for more+sound Scriptural reasonings,on the org.’s increasing pressures,lately more on the young(-no one seems to be immune-!)to fall in line with some of their stranger doctrines. But 1st Cor.7:14 is what I’ve always looked to,and Eph.6:1-4. As a parent;grandparent & w/decades of watching over other’s children,albeit short-term for the day;under my wing(most not as JW kids),I can testify to the same:they’re not ready to run their own personal lives,in all the comprehensions and actions and accountability required.