Category: Baptism

The Meaning of Baptism

August 2, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Bible teach Ch 18

Click image to access this “Bible Teach” chapter on the Watchtower’s website

What is baptism all about?

“Bible Teach,” Chapter 18, paragraph 23 (p. 182) states that baptism “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit… means that a baptism candidate recognizes the authority of Jehovah God and of Jesus Christ. He also recognizes the function and activity of God’s holy spirit, or active force.”

This provides a good opportunity to use The Holy Spirit is God Approach from my book, Getting Through to Jehovah’s Witnesses: Approaching Bible Discussions in Unexpected Ways, especially pp. 193 and 197 regarding the “name” shared by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Continue reading

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The Contrast Between Watchtower and Bible Baptism

July 26, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Bible teach Ch 18

Click image to access this “Bible Teach” chapter on the Watchtower’s website

After you have worked your way through all the baptism requirements set out in Chapter 18 of “Bible Teach”, ask the Witnesses to contrast that with what the Bible reveals about baptisms of people in the New Testament.

Take your time with each passage. Continue reading

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Requirements for Watchtower Baptism

July 19, 2022 / / 1 Comment
Bible teach Ch 18

Click image to access this “Bible Teach” chapter on the Watchtower’s website

Paragraph 4 (p. 175) of Chapter 18 of “Bible Teach” states: “Water baptism is a requirement for all who want to have a relationship with Jehovah God… To qualify for baptism, however, you must take definite steps.”

 

The chapter goes on to spell out no fewer than 15 requirements the Watchtower says you must meet before you can be baptized.

 

These are not matters left between the individual and God.

Rather, they are matters which Watchtower elders examine and evaluate.

This establishes a religious culture in which converts learn to be completely dependent on what a small group of elders thinks of them.

Later, you’ll want to contrast all this with the baptisms of people in the Bible.
 Continue reading

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What Does Baptism Signify?

July 12, 2022 / / 2 Comments
Bible teach Ch 18

Click image to access this “Bible Teach” chapter on the Watchtower’s website

Paragraph 1 (pp. 174-175) begins “Bible Teach” Chapter 18—“Baptism and Your Relationship with God”—by commenting about how eager the Ethiopian official in Acts 8 was to be baptized. You are supposed to feel the same way.

I recommend that you point out to the Witnesses how quickly Philip fulfilled his request. There were no lengthy educational sessions and no evaluations by elders to determine his worthiness to be baptized.

As this chapter unfolds, you’ll see all the requirements the Watchtower puts on people before they can be baptized. After you’ve covered them all in your study of the chapter, I’ll be recommending that you remind the Witnesses that none of the people in the Bible had to go through such a process in order to “qualify for baptism.” Continue reading

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