JW’s, at what age is a person able to make important life changing decisions?
The WTBT$ goes to great lengths to encourage their youth as young as a 9 to make the life changing decision and be baptized as a JW, yet tells perspective marriage couples to wait until they are much more mature before making the decision to marry. They stress that at under the age of about eighteen, what was thought to be the one true love proves to be just a fling and not a suitable partner after all.
How is marriage a more important decision than the dedication of their life to the men of the WBT$?
When is a JW old enough to decide on the acceptance of a blood transfusion of blood factions and the parents are no longer to make the decision on their behalf?
The way I see it if a child is old enough to decide to be baptized into the WBT$ at 9 years old then they would be old enough to marry and to decide about blood transfusions at that age as well.
Or is it Simply that the unbaptized child is not counted as a JW and they need to boost their numbers or die trying?
Update:@Best to Make it So!, yes I can now see how a 9 year old would be so much more mature than a 17 year old because there were not all those nasty whore moans running around, thank you.
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
Why not ask this question to Catholics (and a few others) who baptize infants?
Or the Jews who do the Bar And Bas Mitzvahs at the age of 12?
And then you might want to check the state laws within the USA which allow in a few states to marry as young as 14.
Driver's licenses can be obtained at 16 - and the young people are taking their lives and the lives of others in their hands at that time.
Citizens can vote at 18 - and they are taking the "fate" of a NATION into their hands.
When young people volunteer or are drafted into war, it is at the age of 18 - and they are DEFINITELY taking the lives of others into their hands at that time.
Not every child is ready for baptism at 9 or even 19.
Not every young person is ready for marriage at 18 or even 28.
And we are not "baptized into the WBTS"
Baptism is an outward symbol of a personal dedication to Jehovah God.
May we have your opinions on the ages of these other LIFE ALTERING ACTIVITIES?
EDIT EDIT EDIT
I am not saying that a 9 year old in a rare instance would not be capable of that decision or has never made that decision. I KNOW of some 9 year olds who have done so.
For baptism, an individual is making that decision for him/herself alone. They stand totally responsible for that decision.
In marriage, it involves another person, and he/she may not be mature to take on the life changes for and with the OTHER PERSON. Their decisions may be mature for them, but for the role of marriage, there are outside factors that this person cannot control.
The first baptsim question covers their personal dedication to Jehovah and the role of Christ in their life as their Exemplar, Ransomer, and King.
The second question covers a person's role of working with the holy spirit in their life which involves the preaching activity, a Christian's obligation, duty, AND privilege.
Without going too much into your question, since it is different for each individual depending on their maturity level and knowledge and belief and love of God and so on and so forth...
No, one's decision to dedicate themselves to God is not more important than their decision to marry...but hormones play much less of a variable in that decision than in the marriage decision. One is more likely to be able to make the decision to dedicate themselves to God in a mature way even at a younger age than they are to make the marriage decision, because hormones aren't rolling up on you in the dedication decision versus the marriage decision.