Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
At what age? (Since you like yes or no type of responses...there is no set age. I suppose you can then run with that and post whatever but that is up to you). However, while there is no set age they would have to have the cognitive ability to make an informed decision and they would need to not only understand but apply that knowledge thus giving evidence they are ready. Clearly baptism doesn't happen with babies as is a common practice in many Christian religions.
Some children don't commit. Disfellowshipping does not apply.
Parents decide what is essential only interaction. There isn't a neighborhood JW monitor sitting outside a family's home monitoring essential only interaction.
Baptism is expected of all children. It's expected of the parents that their child become baptized. It's true some do get to the age of 18 without having been baptized. That child would be considered "spiritually weak" though. Do you agree? An unbaptized child in their late teens would start to be avoided by the only peer group they are allowed. JW children are not allowed friendships outside of the organization. JW children have "worldly" classmates and acquaintances, but not friends.
This is just one of the MANY examples they have in print or video form. The storm he is talking about is The coming Great Tribulation and Armageddon. He is telling the kids that they can't rely on the righteousness of their parents to save them when Jehovah comes to destroy the wicked. Starting probably 40 years ago (at the age of 8) I knew I didn't belong in their group. I expected to be tortured and murdered by my government just like in Nazi Germany. That phobia indoctrination is actually a tool they use on children. I knew I wouldn't have God's protection because I was different so I thought if I did the best I could and kept my mouth shut about what I saw Jehovah would grant me mercy and not make me suffer
The problem I see here is that some people think they have a claim of ownership of their children...That couldn't be further from the truth....This guy said it best...
On Children
Kahlil Gibran
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.
As I said Katzpur,it's not my intention to be convoluted or roundabout but some situations are black and white and some aren't. I did want to convey that a JW who undergoes disfellowshipping knows exactly why and the Biblical reasons for that action. What I provided is a very general approach.
I realize that. Still, it seems really sad to me. There is something to be said for a person being true to what he believes. If someone felt that he could not be honest with his own family when he came to have a change in how he believed or face their rejection, something's wrong in my book. More than just about anything else, Jesus condemned hypocrisy, and if a person stays in a religion he no longer believes just to keep from losing family and friends, I'd say that's worse by far than leaving.
I raised both of my kids LDS. When my son was about 16, he essentially stopped going to church. I don't think he'd ever really believed in Mormon doctrine, although he has always been spiritual in his own way. My daughter, who was at one point, very strong in her LDS faith, left at about the age of 18. Several years later, my son became engaged to a Catholic girl. She was really pressuring him to convert to Catholicism, even though she was not a particularly committed Catholic herself. She just wanted to make sure that their children would be raised Catholic. My son mentioned this to me, and asked, "You'd feel pretty bad if I were to convert, wouldn't you, Mom?" My answer was this: "I wouldn't feel particularly happy about it, but you know what would bother me even more? It would be if you converted just to please her and not because you believed what Catholicism teaches. You need to go with what you believe, not with what I believe or what your Dad believes or what your fiance believes." Long story made short: He didn't convert, and they eventually split. But if he'd truly been converted in his heart to her religion, I would have respected his decision to make it part of his life, and I can't imagine that God would have wanted me to treat him any differently than if he were still a practicing Mormon. Furthermore, I can't find anything in the Bible that I believe tells me otherwise.
The problem I see here is that some people think they have a claim of ownership of their children...That couldn't be further from the truth....This guy said it best...
On Children
Kahlil Gibran
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.
I realize that. Still, it seems really sad to me. There is something to be said for a person being true to what he believes. If someone felt that he could not be honest with his own family when he came to have a change in how he believed or face their rejection, something's wrong in my book. More than just about anything else, Jesus condemned hypocrisy, and if a person stays in a religion he no longer believes just to keep from losing family and friends, I'd say that's worse by far than leaving.
I raised both of my kids LDS. When my son was about 16, he essentially stopped going to church. I don't think he'd ever really believed in Mormon doctrine, although he has always been spiritual in his own way. My daughter, who was at one point, very strong in her LDS faith, left at about the age of 18. Several years later, my son became engaged to a Catholic girl. She was really pressuring him to convert to Catholicism, even though she was not a particularly committed Catholic herself. She just wanted to make sure that their children would be raised Catholic. My son mentioned this to me, and asked, "You'd feel pretty bad if I were to convert, wouldn't you, Mom?" My answer was this: "I wouldn't feel particularly happy about it, but you know what would bother me even more? It would be if you converted just to please her and not because you believed what Catholicism teaches. You need to go with what you believe, not with what I believe or what your Dad believes or what your fiance believes." Long story made short: He didn't convert, and they eventually split. But if he'd truly been converted in his heart to her religion, I would have respected his decision to make it part of his life, and I can't imagine that God would have wanted me to treat him any differently than if he were still a practicing Mormon. Furthermore, I can't find anything in the Bible that I believe tells me otherwise.
Your good heart beats stronger than some of your belief system's doctrine.
Any Mormon family who practicing shunning is acting counter to specific directives given by LDS Church leadership, which stresses that the exact opposite should be the case. So, if you're going to "blame" someone, just go for the parents; don't blame the Church, since the Church is doing everything it can to keep this from happening.
Your good heart beats stronger than some of your belief system's doctrine.
I'm pretty sure that's supposed to be a compliment, TroutDude, so thank you for that. The reality of it, though, is that I am who I am because of, and not despite, my belief system. One of the things I like most about Mormonism is that we don't believe it's necessary that people get all of the details right here in mortality or risk being eternally damned. We don't feel the same need as most Christians to get the world to conform to our way of thinking. God is a lot more patient with humanity than we are with one another.
So then how do you account for the rampant ridicule on the CD forum towards those who are religious?
Do you know what shunning is? You may be ridiculed, but you are definitely not being shunned!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The reality of it, though, is that I am who I am because of, and not despite, my belief system. 
One of the things I like most about Mormonism is that we don't believe it's necessary that people get all of the details right here in mortality or risk being eternally damned. We don't feel the same need as most Christians to get the world to conform to our way of thinking. God is a lot more patient with humanity than we are with one another.
