Caleb And Sophia - Jehovahs Witnesses Encourage Baptism As Young As 8 Years Old
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- Опубликовано: 11 сен 2024
- Baptisms are a frequent occurrence in many Americans' lives, often seen as a minor thing to the unreligious and a confirmation of faith to those who believe. However, when Jehovah's Witnesses get baptized, it is essentially viewed as a lifelong contract to the organization. Caleb and Sophia work to normalize these things with children of the organization so it does not seem so out of place.
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So children are not old enough to talk to a therapist about being trans, but they're old enough to dedicate their eternal soul? The hypocricy of these "people" is astounding.
Its fucking disgusting ik.
My mom was disfellowshipped as a teen for dating a catholic. Even her parents didn't talk with her. Cut to 30 years later she married him had me and lives a very good life.
They get upset at anyone who marries someone that’s not a witness!
@@musicgirl999How funny
@musicgirl999 yes, they do! My mom, who's a JW, married a worldly man
After divorcing my Dad
Her and her second husband also divorced, though
It's a long story
Anyway, she knows another JW who married a worldly man
I thought she was lying at first
But, she said it was true
And that the elders don't know
My mom was a liberal JW & I didn’t get baptized. I started Bible study at 16 but when I heard the ridiculous answers to my questions, I let that project go.
You're one of the lucky ones, good on you!
The way she says “I don’t want jehova to be sad with you either!” is so gross.
I was basically forced into baptism in the mormon church at 13. My father got pressure from his older brother (who happened to be high up in the church so it was decided amongst *them* that I needed to be baptized. I had home teachers show up every Sunday for awhile and then the same uncle baptized me. I was then forced to go to church alone for several months before I was allowed to decide that the church wasn't for me. My father told me that "your brother had to do it, I had to do it, your uncles and cousins had to do it and now it's your turn". Like it was a right of passage to be forcefully baptized and forced to go to church. Now I rejected the mormon church and go out of my way to tell people my story when they ask why I'm not a part of *THE church*.
How would you characterize your worldview now? Secular?
I'm surprised it didn't happen at 8 since that's the standard age they do baptisms
@@khora3845 I think that's part of why it didn't take. At 8 I was too young not to buy into their bullshit. At 13 I was a cynical teenager who questioned everything. That's also why my father was getting pressured by my uncle. Because I was "too old" to *NOT* be in the church
I imagine that I was several weeks old when I was baptised as a Roman Catholic. I gave my full and informed consent by shouting 'waaah' as the water was poured onto my head.
I am now, of course, an atheist.
@@angelamaryquitecontrary4609 same. Like I had no say in it, I couldn't even lift my head yet, but somehow that means I'm supposed to be a devout catholic for life? Bullshit.
I was raised Catholic we get baptized fresh out the womb.
Same here
Lutherans do too.
Orthodox Church does the same. I literally didn't even ask to be born.
Presbyterian here. Baptized as an infant, but not confirmed/agreed to be a meme er until adult.
Sometimes literally.
I totally agree with you that you should have to be 18 and give consent to be baptized. I was baptized Mormon at age 9. It was not my decision, and I was never asked whether I wanted to or not. To have someone fully submerge you at that age is terrifying. Eventually, as an adult, I formally requested excommunication because it was the only way to get them to stop doing home visitation to try to convince me to come back to church because I was still listed as a member. I had to sign papers saying that I understood the consequences of excommunication, and that I'd never request any type of help from them in the future. They tried to convince me not to go through with it and said that I'd regret it for the rest of my life. I have never experienced a single moment of regret.
My family was slowly pushed out of our church because me and my brother wouldn’t stop asking questions.
Like, if god is all knowing and loving…why is there so much hate and suffering? Why isn’t EVERYONE equal? Why isn’t there PROOF for his existence other than the Bible (which is weak at best)?
My aunt got so pissed at us for questioning everything she got us kicked out because she’s one of those holier than thou Bible thumpers.
Congratulations on getting your freedom back and leaving the Mormon Cult Church
Right... I would think the whole "children can't give consent" would apply here too.
@@Fate263 Oh believe me, it does. They know children can't consent, that's the whole point of baptizing children. They can force you to "make covenants" when you don't know any better and then hold that over you once you do know better. It's a manipulative control tactic.
I was baptized as a Mormon at 8 and I didn't really know what was going on and didn't ever think that I couldn't get baptized and thought I had to
I was baptized into the Catholic Church as an infant. 8 years old at baptism sounds nuts to me
Why? Do you think eight years old is too old or too young? I'm not being sarcastic only curious.
Same here, I was raised a catholic but I'm an agnostic/irreligious now just like other 2 of my 5 siblings and I'm also confused about people who're out here saying how they were baptised at an age that feels so late compared to when I was baptised lol
@@QueenBoadicea oh, I think it's definitely too young. I don't think anyone under the age of 18 should be undergoing these things. I just find it strange that I was baptized before I could even speak, but jehovahs witnesses actually wait until 8 when there's a small chance the kid could refuse baptism. It makes me wonder why, is all
@@QueenBoadiceaI was baptised as a baby at the catholic church, only by family tradition, even not by family believing (only my grandmother had a little faith - my dad was even sarcastic about religion, but though that traditions are important). I'm atheist, but I do not consiser as a problem the baptism at a age I was to young to even understand what was happening. But I guess it's just because my family was chill with religion. And because, in catholicism, the baptism is just a kind of provisory entry in the religion (just enough to be able to go to heaven if you die as a child). If you (theorically you... but in facts, the parents decide almost always), you have to confirm twice your entry in the religion, first when you're +/- 6yo, and then when you're +/- 11 yo.
I think that's quite reasonable (at least when the child can chose if he confirms his faith or not), but it's still too young. I did both confirmations (not sure how it's called in english) but ended up as an atheist. I wasn't forced into it, but did it by tradition and to please my grandmither, not understanding dhat I was doing. One last confirmation when ypu're adult would be great.
@@SugaMotI believe it has to do with the fact that anyone can infer that it is never in any way the choice of the infant to be baptized when they are so young they won't even remember any of it.
If an 8 year old child is forced into it they can be indoctrinated into believing that they chose it of their own volition, giving them a sense of responsibility and strenghtening the suck cost fallacy within them, despite of course that is not at all how consent or responsibility works, even less so for kids.
I remember my Mom telling me when I was like 10 that I was baptized a couple days after I was born, so that means I'm a permanent member of the Catholic church. I remember thinking to myself "well shit" lol
the satanic temple has unbaptism services. (they don't worship anything, including any devil).
I was baptized as a newborn but my whole household literally doesnt practice any organized religion. They really just did it as tradition.
I see it as as long as you aren't confirmed you're good (though my mom was confirmed but it was before she believed anything besides catholicism).
you can unbaptize if you want..
@@LeonardoFormusa_ You know I have
Yep. I've been told I can't be an atheist because I was baptized and therefore Catholic for life because otherwise I'm spiting God. Yeah, I'm an atheist and I'll spite God every day if I want to.
I grew up in the Mormon church. Age 8 was when I was baptized too. I’m atheist now.
SAME!
Congratulations on leaving the Mormon Cult Church. You are so much better off being an atheist.
Congratulations!
Same 😁 Happily exmo atheist \^.^/
@@capercaillieskye congratulations. You are very wise.
This reminds me of when I brought home a library book about cats and my Jehovah's witnesses father threw it away because he found out evolution was in it instead of just being a normal human and asking me to return it and I couldn't sign out library books because of the one I couldn't return for the rest of elementary school because obviously the library didn't like that
That's messed up
My dad things like that to me too.
Well that's pretty stupid
@@lukebeakum1316 i second this
Holy heck im surprised so many people reacted to such a little thing I related to. Ahaha I totally grew up to be a cat lady as a positive update to my love of cats.
I got baptized at 16 because of the pressure from my parents. I knew I was gay but I needed a home. Later on when I could I left their house and moved on. When I was 24 I told my parents I was gay. The two things the said to me was do you have AIDS and we have to cut you off from the family because you were baptized. To hear that from your parents is one of the hardest things any human can hear.
Or relationship has grown since then and my sister and brother have loved me know mater what. Just watching this video makes me sick to know how they are still doing this.
I'm 53. When I was preparing for my J Dub dunking, the book we had to complete was "The Paradise Book." Just the images/illustrations alone in that book are traumatizing.
Like you, I lost everything when they shunned me, and have RTSD from it, as well as PTSD and anxiety from my parents' abuse.
Thank you for all you do, buddy.
Much love and respect, Owen.
I’m sorry, did some research and now I have to ask, what is “RTSD”?
@@murakawa-san2279probably RELIGIOUS Traumatic Stress Dissorder. Basically, the religion is so extreme it causes emotionally-crippling trauma.
@@murakawa-san2279 I believe it stands for "Religious Trauma Syndrome Disorder" do correct if wrong however, but i usually just see it referred to as "RTS" but, it could be called RTSD to seperate from another syndrome known as "Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome" or short for "RTS" which is a genetic condition.
Oh, sweetheart. The pain you've been through really breaks through sometimes, and I am so glad you're free. I hope what you're doing helps free them too.
I literally remember seeing all the Facebook posts saying “My son chose to be baptized!” Like no tf he didn’t, you never asked him.
I remember growing up as a JW. I was PIMO once I turned 13 years old. When we were at a particularly big circuit convention (I think) they announced the new baptism candidates. There were six, most of them around 13 - 18 years old. But one of them looked to be as young as 6 or 7 years old. I remember being revolted and making a joke under my breath about how that actual child couldn’t even read yet. Then I felt sick because that probably was the case. The child would be about 12 - 13 years old now, just NOW becoming the age that most of the other candidates were. I hope he’s okay.
I’m 19 and I’m finally free, unbaptized, but I’ve got a lot of trauma from my family trying to stay that way.
My man Sparlock doesnt deserve all this slander 😤😤😤😤
I went to an Evangelical Church that had Catholic roots, I got baptized there when I was around 6. I got told by my family and my 'church family' that getting baptized was the Greatest honor in the church. They always said that dedicating my life to Jesus was the greatest thing I could do. I asked my mom about it and she was putting it in such a high praise. Now that I look back on it my little indoctrinated kid self wanted to please her and this Almighty deity. So I got baptized,( the church didn't do the whole water thing with me) I got the oil atonement on my head and was told to repeat some things. Did all that and everyone was so happy. Several years later I have deconstructed my faith and now an atheist. Remembering this only shows me how deep I was in. My mom is still deep in the Faith so I'm still dragged to church every Sunday. But I now have the knowledge to break down everything the pastor says. Even if it is just, bringing down everyone that isn't them. I still have some fears and nightmares of things that are taking so long to fully break down. Especially since I can't fully get away from it just yet. But, knowing one day I will brings some hope.
Sorry about the ramble, but finally saying this seems like a weight off my chest. Thank you for reading.
(Please forgive any bad grammar, I'm not the best at English)
according to Mark 16:15-18 be a believer is the greatest thing because if your not a believer, your baptism was all in vain. You must seek out what it means to believe because not everyone who claims to believe is a believer Matthew 7:21-23
Would you currently describe yourself as an atheist/secularist?
@@danielwoodruff3118
why not tell the truth and teach what defines a true believer from a vain believer? Matthew 15:7-9
How old are you? I’d like to talk more about this, I’m pretty young myself so I’d like to hear more of you’re perspective
@@axiom6000
how old are you? i am pretty old so maybe you would share what brings you out?
I know that you mentioned it before. But I think it's important that people realize that not only they tell you that everyone you love will leave you.... They also tell you constantly that everyone that is not a Jehovah's witness is not allowed to be in your life. It's an absolute cult. 😞😊
If they tell you that non-JWs are not to be in your life, then all the JWs I've ever known have been violating that creed, because every one of them have had both JWs and non-JWs as friends, colleagues and coworkers.
I empathize so much with you and everyone in these comments. I’m still very religious, but I think it’s awful how people can take a religion and a set of beliefs and twist it to hurt people and tear families apart. No matter what happens with all of you, whether it’s you, Telltale or any commenter, I hope you have a wonderful life full of all the things your heart desires.
Awful. Everyone in that kingdom hall awkwardly listening to his dad terrorize the family were complicit. Imo
My heart desires that the religious zealots stop trying to force their religious dogma on others. Doesn’t matter which god they worship. They need to keep it to themselves and away from the law. You are disingenuous. You only want people to have their heart’s desire as long as it aligns with your religion. But you must appear reasonable.
@@jpbaley2016 yeeaaahh, my roommates like that and tho I’m very religious, she’s even too much for me.
I grew up as an evangelic in Brazil and i was baptized age 8. My 7 year old cousin was as well
hey im also from brazil bro, it sucks living with the extremists (aka crentes in portuguese)
I grew up in an evangelical family and was baptized when I was 14 years old. I really didn't want to be baptized, but I was afraid to tell my parents and they would be mad at me. Nowadays my family doesn't know about my religious beliefs because I'm afraid it might cause problems between us.
I was baptized into catholicism as a baby, did communion at 7/8.
I didn’t get confirmation. Surprisingly my dad was worried I wouldn’t be able to get married if I didn’t confirm. Even though he never really believed in religion. 😂
Catholicism is like “we will baptize right out if the womb.”
You know, it's kind of sad that it showed that the mom was actually interested in Sparlock when she was younger as well. Her religion made her give up interests she could have shared with her son.
Somebody make a fanfiction of Caleb and Sophia becoming a better family leaving the religion it would be pretty epic.
"I don't want Jehova to be sad with you either so you have to do what I say or else he will be sad with you" reminds me of "I hate hitting you. Hitting you hurts me as well. If you only behaved better I wouldn't have to hit you, look what you made me do."
I was baptized as a baby and to this day I feel so uncomfortable. I had no way to consent or have any idea what was happening around me. I was just some commodity for my parents, an event for them. It was never about me being baptized it was about them being able to take their baby to get babtized. I was an atheist as soon as I gained consciousness and realized you don't HAVE to worship a god. I went through a stage when I was around 12-14 where I was beyond pissed that my parents did that because it had me convinced it basically stopped me from being accepted into any other religion I might want to become a part of
I was also baptized when I was a baby.
the satanic temple has unbaptism services. (they don't worship anything, including any devil).
FWIW infant baptism is a promise by parents and congregation to raise and support you as a Christian, not a commitment by you. That’s why conservative evangelical churches reject infant baptism.
For more liberal congregations it’s really just an acknowledgment/welcoming ceremony.
There are some christian sects that believe if you die before being baptized you will be denied entry into heaven, so for some beliefs its about protecting your child's soul. I was a Methodist when I was baptized and I can just barely remember it. It was a big ceremonial thing that my sunday school class did together, rather than giving each individual child their own special baptism day. I was shocked when my family switched over to a Lutheran church and they would take ten minutes out of a service to baptize a new born and then move on with the rest of the service.
Whichever god calls to you, they will understand, they call you for a reason. You made no vow, you took no oath, you are free to choose your path.
I grew up in a cult formally known as The Children Of God and now go by The Family International. From what I know now they have dimmed down to a much more normal and charity-based organization but originally one of the biggest sex cults and other filters of abuse as well which reminds me a lot of the Jehova Witnesses. It's really cool to see the platform you've created to expose this kind of shit. Kudos bro.
When I was religious we baptized babies asap after birth. my dad actually did one immediately after I was born despite him not being a pastor (LCMS Lutheran)
Cristian get baptized as infants. My parents never asked me if I wanted to stay a Roman catholic and I grew up hating myself so I left and my mom still says I'm just confused. "You like Christmas right? Cristians celebrate it while others don't." Actually it was called the winter festival for a very long time and it was a pagan tradition before Cristians turned it into Christmas. My mom was so angry with me and said that wasn't true when I researched it. I don't like when they ignore all the bad things the "religion" has done.
Christmas is not pagan smh, you’re mother is right. There’s no evidence that Christmas is pagan and you are promoting Pseudo history.
Everyone who went to my Lutheran middle school was expected to take religion classes in 7th and 8th grades and have a group confirmation ceremony where we all officially become part of the church and pledged ourselves to God. I kept the palm frond and books for the memories, but immediately revoked my vows in highschool, became an atheist, went on a journey learning about religion from a nonchristian perspective, and haven't been back in that church since I left.
I am non Catholic
I am not baptized and I have not recited Confirmation
I like learning about religion
I was baptized as a Methodist when I was too young to even go to school. When my family moved we ended up going to a Lutheran church and they get baptized as babies there. Getting baptized at 8 doesn't seem as much of a big deal to me. At the end of the day its just someone putting water on your face and saying words. Its better than being coerced into getting baptized a second time because someone convinced you the first time didn't count, like what happened with my mom.
I have been watching these cartoons both in my language (Italian) and English, and all the analysis about them since the very beginning. My friends and I often use quotes from them as jokes, which kinda dulls the effect compared to how they sound when put into context. I'll never forget the chill running down my spine the first time I saw the "I don't want Jehovah to be sad either" conversation. It's always bad, but the way it hit me in Italian is unparalleled. Thanks for you videos and for spreading information ❤
I was never really pressured into being baptized right away, but the fact that I had such limitations not being baptized made me wonder if it was all it was worth it. I remember my mom explaining it to me as a part of a TV episode and right after you are baptized, and you go off and have lunch with all your family and friends, it goes to "To Be Continued..." before you even take a bite out of your sandwich. Almost like the shit hits the fan after that. I never baptized though. I still have a relationship with my parents, but it's so hollow. They seem just as isolated within their congregation as they are with their own families.
I guess that was what "To be Continued..." could have been.
My friend wanted to be baptized when she was a kid, but her father wouldn't let her. He felt that she was too young to understand what it meant. She got baptized years later as a young woman when she became a Baptist.
This is completely unrelated to the topic at hand, but why in the world did they draw an obviously white child as the younger version of Sophia's mom, who is darker skinned than everyone else in that family? As an artist, things like this are a pet peeve of mine! Was it really that hard to duplicate a Sophia model and tweak it enough so that it looks like her without it literally just being the same character design?
It looks like her child version is based more on her old look, where she used to have lighter skin. Not sure why they changed it.
@@CampingforCool41 I don't know either! It's kinda strange!
I was a full grown, 17 year old when they show up at my house and I open the door. I had to stand there and watch a Caleb and Sophia video about cleaning the house while trying my best not to burst into tears from laughter and politely say "sorry, I don't believe in god" and awkwardly stand there looking into their eyes waiting for an answer or for them to leave. The one who handed me the tablet just stood there dumbfounded like the video about cleaning the house should, I don't know, convert me? She had this look oh her face like "that didn't work? I was sure it would".
You know in DnD a warrior can actually multi-class by adding wizard levels if the player wants. While some would only think of it as a paladin it is actually possible to multiclassing wizard and warrior levels in one character without being a paladin, paladin's just come pre equipped to level up as both a warrior and a magic user. I know this isn't the main point of your video but it's the most entertaining part of the video so far. 8:26
NGL, it's a good addition. I was thinking paladin wasn't the only kinds of wizard-warriors. 😅
Historically, and in many other games, a paladin is a warrior-priest. Still a magic user of sorts, but not a wizard.
I didn't know that Sparlock was a Gummy Bear.
The quota for hours in door knocking reminds me of something that went on in the 70s. Teenagers and young adults would be recruited for 'a great job with travel and benefits '. When they signed up for the job, it turned out to be selling magazine subscriptions door to door. A group would be driven from town to town and dropped off in a neighborhood to knock doors. They had quotas for how many doors they knocked and subscriptions they sold. Then they'd be put up in a cheap motel room and get fed cheap food, only to start over in the morning. When that town was saturated, they'd be driven to the next town. They only got paid by the sub, leaving them trapped in the job til they could work their way out and afford a ticket home. I always think of those kids when you talk about door knocking. Poor kids and the JW knockers, I get the feeling that they'd rather be anywhere else.
I saw a girl get baptized at one of the few times I was at church. I was like "What on earth is happening??"
I grew up Baptist and got baptized at nine years old. Now I'm Pagan, Blessed Be.
In His eye.
Happy summer solstice
What made you leave Christianity for a religion that has wayyyy less evidence for it?
Axiom: originally...... politics but I think paganism is more my thing now, Blessed Be.
@@baronghede2365 So you left Christianity because of politics? Do you hear how silly that sounds? Your religion should be of more weight to you than your politics since you’re religion should define all other aspects of you’re life. That’s why the question “Does God Exist” or “What religion is true” is the most pondered question in history.
That Sparlock story was extremely sad. It's just an out and out admission that they love to crush the souls of children and extinguish any creativity and free thinking. They don't even try to hide it or make it more palatable.
I grew up with Church of Christ. They were also super strict on baptism and I was 16 when I was baptized and everyone basically in the house (aside from my 5 year old sister) was not required, bur highly encouraged and was going to turn away from anyone who didnt get baptized evn in our own household. A guy that I was seeing when I was 18 got baptized because of the whole unequally yoked thing. We didn't know he was only 17 (he said he was 18) and we got an angry call from his mother, rightfully so. And the way the mother lit up when Sofia spoke up about baptism was so familiar. Now I'd call myself a hopeful agnostic now but my dad and stepmom are still in the church. My dad hasn't talked to me in years because I chose to uphold boundaries. My stepmom at least understands where I'm coming from and we still have a positive relationship even if she does occasionally try to get me to come back to church.
Dude, I can relate to so much of the experiences you talk about. I really appreciate you!
6:30 Young mom is coloring a picture of Jonah being gobbled up by a whale. LOL
The entire presentation is a mindf. parents sitting on both sides of hers shows that there is no escape.
I was never baptized, but I watched my family and family friends go through it. Even doing it to the infants as young as 1.
I’m afraid of water, not bad enough to not swim but it is bad enough to not go under it often or get into the ocean with heavy waves. I had nothing against baptism as a kid, even if I didn’t love the religion, the fluke of not being baptized came down to a fear of drowning and being grabbed in water.
Hell, apparently as an infant and toddler if I touched water I’d start acting like I was melting so I would make none of this process easy for them if they tried.
I grew up Anglican/Episcopalian. I was baptized when I was a baby - maybe 2 mos. old. Godparents promise to care for them, help them take their place within the life and worship of the Church; to turn away from all things that are not God- like and by your life to model for your Godchild how to turn toward Jesus and to follow him unreservedly. When I was 12 I was then "confirmed" whereby you affirm for yourself the faith into which you have been baptized and your intention to live a life of committed discipleship. This affirmation is confirmed through prayer and the laying on of hands by the confirming bishop. It doesn't affect your life in any way whatsoever. If you go to church or don't, nobody really cares (except parents). If you walk away, so what? Nobody cares if you talk to someone who no longer attends that church. Baptism/confirmation is basically just one more rite of passage in that particular church and is meaningless in the grand scheme of things.
i was catholic. i got confirmed at 12/13 much against my desire. i didn't want to be a soldier for christ. i didn't want to commit to the church. but it would have really hurt my mom, so i did it. ironically, none of us were catholic by the '80s.
It's simple. Leave children out of religion. The whole concept is harmful.
@@Turai12 Unfortunately, when you are baptized as an infant in the RC and Angl. churches, you have no choice, nor do you have a choice to be "confirmed" if your parents are already forcing you to attend church weekly in the first place. "As long as you live under our roof" basically.
@@ybrynecho2368 I know and that should be illegal. It's nothing but brainwashing.
Same here, my grandmother wouldn't Drag Me to Church the Episcopal Church was the only church. I didn't mind the pastor I really found a good friend in him he told me to follow my own path. I did it led to a Native American Discovery I never knew I had and I have followed that path ever since. Of course my grandmother was furious with me and refused to speak to me and would call me all kinds of names. My stepmom have no interest in church with her when I go on vacation no you're not going to make me go there. The very last time I stepped into church was two weeks before my mom passed sat there with her out of respect.
"Get em young, and the possibilities are endless"
When Caleb threw the borrowed Sparlock away because his mother ordered so (as it displeased god because it was magic) Caleb did another thing which is considered serious sin in JW world - he didn't return Sparlock to his schoolmate. He should return Sparlock to his schoolmate as soon as possible, not throw it away. Caleb's mother should be heard by judicial committee because of learning her son dishonesty.
Did JWs take baptism as seriously in the 60's and 70's as they do today and did they push kids to do it back then? Because my mom was raised in it because my grandmother had converted. My mom never got baptized because she openly didn't believe in it. But it never really caused any problems with my grandmother. We always had a normal relationship; no shunning. Her JW friends were always in the background and I'm sure they didn't like the fact that we weren't in, but for the most part, they left us alone. My grandmother even allowed us to put up a Christmas tree in her house, during the year that we had to live with her and she gave me birthday and Christmas presents at times, even though she would always say that she thought celebrating those holidays was stupid. But she didn't push her beliefs on me much more than that. Knowing what I know now, from watching all of these ex JW RUclipsrs, I'm thinking my mom and I dodged a bullet, for whatever reason. I'm still not sure why, though. I'm curious if there are still people like my grandmother in the religion today, or if the JWs have cracked down on people like her and her lack of taking the teachings seriously, would've gotten her disfellowshipped today. Personally for me, I could never see the appeal of a religion like JW because I always thought it was so boring. They don't do anything but talk about the Bible. They don't believe in letting their people do any fun activities, or having any interest other than the Bible. They don't even do any kind of charity or anything, and they don't do any holidays. Why would anyone want to join a religion that promotes such a boring life and does nothing to help their community? At least groups like the Mormons do holidays and they have stuff like the Tabernacle Choir and some other cool stuff, at least. At least the Catholic church has good schools and charities that help tons of poor and homeless people. MAYBE I could get behind the JWs at least a little bit, if they used their Kingdom Halls as food pantries or collected clothing for poor people or something, even if it was just for their own members. Religions like them, seem like such a waste of time and resources.
Hey I’m a JW (not really)
I was born into the religion in 2008 (I’m 15)
And I’ve lived what JW’s call a “double life”
Obviously they don’t know about it
And to answer some of your questions
The fact I’m being pressured into baptism at 15 and I am currently on track to get baptized September 10 should answer your question on being pressured
Is there still people like your grandmother?
Not that I know of but I mean nobody knows I got into substances at 13 or lost my V card at 13 too
So I think it’s fair to say anything is possible
And yes they do actually do charities and raise food and clothes for people
But it’s only for other JW’s
After some flood I think in Africa they actually sent a bunch of people over there to rebuild peoples houses and give food and water and clothes to the people affected
Except the only people who got the supplies and got their houses rebuilt were JW’s
While everyone else had everything destroyed and in ruins
I know for a fact the organization has enough supplies to fix everyone’s houses and supply provisions for everyone
But they won’t because that’s the point
It’s meant to isolate people and divide people from the world
And despite not being proud of some of the things I’ve done
I’ll definitely prefer having done the things I’ve done than having to be divided and isolated from everybody else
@@Randomguy-vf5yq Don't get caught watching these videos. Have you thought about what you want to do after high school? Do you have a job? If I were you, I'd move away and tell my family I was attending another Kingdom Hall in wherever I moved to. And try to delay that baptism as much as possible. Maybe you could avoid it if you got sick ;-) ... Just sayin' Do you have any wiggle room as far as discussing it with your parents? Can you tell them that you believe that people should only do stuff like that when they turn 18, or would they totally get angry and shut down if you said that?
One more thing... I have an idea for how you could make money, which you're going to need a lot of, if you wanted to move when you turn 18. This is something I only thought of recently and I REALLY wish I would've thought of it when I was your age, like 20 years ago. Do you go to a public high school that offers a ceramics class? (making dishware and stuff like that, out of clay?) If so, you should take that class, make as much stuff as possible at home in your spare time and sell it on Etsy or eBay. I think you're allowed to do that if you're under 18. If not, maybe you can get an older friend or family member to create an account for you. In my school, they allowed us to take home as much clay and paint as we wanted, to make extra stuff over the weekends and then we'd bring the stuff back to the school to get fired in the kiln, once it dried at home. The school paid for all of those supplies, so it was totally free for me. But I didn't find out I was allowed to do that until literally one week before graduation. I made one little miniature dish set for a doll and that was it. If I would've known then, what I know now, about selling on eBay, I would've enrolled in that class my freshman year, taken home as much free clay as I could, every weekend, and spent every free moment making miniature dish sets for dolls, and perhaps custom coffee mugs and stuff and selling it online. It would've worked for me because I lived walking distance from a post office, so I wouldn't even have to have been old enough to have a driver's license. All I would've needed was for my parents to cover the shipping cost on the first couple of items until I started making some money, which I know they would have. Obviously, I don't know anything about you or your situation, but I just wanted to take the opportunity to share this advice. I hope it helps.
They've really stepped up their animation and character design.
I got pressured into getting baptized by my SDA church cause everyone always questioned my faith like if it was as strong as I said I should get baptized right. I wanted to prove to everyone that I was a true Christian that's the only reason I got baptised and I wish I could take it back Baptism is extremely important in SDA you weren't seen as a true Christian until you were
That sucks. I'm SDA and I baptized by choice at age 9. Unfortunately a lot of SDAs believe more in the church than in God. Now I attend one of the most liberal SDA churches and a lot of people don't like us until they need a place to go themselves
No need taking it back. You would not take back this mornings shower of bath? Its a dip in the pool. As for our conviction they are just what we think of reality so always wrong by definition
SDA is not orthodox; much of their creed consists of heresy. Have you ever given authentic, traditional Christianity a chance?
@@danielwoodruff3118 Christianity is too much decided on their own doctrine so why would I care.
@@LukeSilver-fe7iv I'm not claiming that you should heed my opinion or any other man's. I'm only encouraging you to crack open a Bible and just read what it has to say for yourself. *That* is real Christianity, not the creed of any church. Mortal men may be inconsistent, but Scripture never is.
I know PTSD!!! Back in 2001, when I was living in a two bedroom apartment, I had a room mate who was five years older. I was taking care of him after he had a stroke. After his second stroke, he had memory loss, became paranoid and delusional and violent!!! On evening he came into my bedroom swing a machete and fractured my left wrist. I’m left handed. And he struck me in the back of my head. I was in the hospital for three days any my exroommate was hauled off to the slammer!
I use to play guitar. Can’t anymore! I use to do oil paintings. Can’t anymore!
I can’t even watch a movie with sword fights because my mind flashes back to the night of the machete attack!!!!!
So, I know PTSD!!!!!!!
I remember being kn a Brethern Church requesting baptism at 4, denied by my parents, but tben being allowed at 6. Didn't hurt me but definitely set me up for what happened, which is missing an understanding of the world because of a blind devotion to the bible.
my parents always liked to bring up the topic of "when will you decide to be baptized?" and, since i was 11, i decided to become an unbaptized publisher, and to qualify for that you have to regularly attend for meetings, i only really did it because i felt like it was important more to my family than to myself and my own thoughts, and also to not risk getting kicked out of the house, which i was terrified of.
still to this day they bring up that same topic, and my answer is "i don't know, i'm not ready for it yet." but it feels like such a nagging pressure, like i have to.
When I heard this song for the first time, it f'd me up emotionally. It actually made me cry, having been raised in a cult.
music.ruclips.net/video/X8BW9bdYj7s/видео.html&feature=share
Oingo Bingo - "Mary"
music.ruclips.net/video/X8BW9bdYj7s/видео.html&feature=share
I don’t think they do the hundred questions anymore, because when I got baptize, they just asked me a few question instead.
I see a lot of people commenting about how they were baptized at babies. What makes 8 years old so young for Jehovah's Witness children is that baptism is basically a lifelong contract. If you are kicked out, your family and family will not speak to you unless you come back. There are so many infractions that can get you removed, including questioning the doctrine and leaders, and an 8 year can't possibly understand the gravity of the situation.
i was pressured into baptism at 8yrs old by my mormon family. i desperately wanted to not have to go to church anymore and they required i be baptized before i could stop going :/ even though it saved me from having to continue to go to church, i’ve always hated that it was something i had done. i never wanted to be baptized and it feels wrong that it happened. plus having it done was beyond uncomfortable. i had to wear an uncomfortable white outfit thing and getting dunked was actually really scary to 8yr old me.
This should be your Halloween costume. Become Sparlock!
Says at 8:15 “Isn’t that a Paladin?” Um actually Caleb SAID he was a warrior wizard. As someone who plays TTRPGS if is O B V I O U S that Sparlock is, indeed, a wizard. If you were playing the most modern versions of D&D (5e) he would probably be a War Magic Wizard from Xanathar’s Guide to Everything or potentially a Bladesinger judging by the weapon he is holding in only one hand and the shield in his right. This implies he also has the “Warcaster” feature, which he probably acquired at level 1 as he is a human.
IN ADDITION, paladins are HOLY, meaning they pray to a god/gods, that does not appear to be something that Sparlock is! I do not SEE any holy symbols, nor heavy armour, implying that he is DEXTERITY BASED! Everyone who is in the D&D 5e community knows that the optimal paladin build is a strength/constitution build NOT intelligence and dexterity! I cannot believe someone who doesn’t spend any time reading hours of D&D deep lore would get this wrong!
Wow, I was baptised at age 8 in a southern baptist church and all the elders but my grandpa and pastor said i was too young. Its easy to tell the cultness in this description of JW baptism
Also your idea of putting a sign on your front door to deter JWs worked for me recently lol. They somehow found my legal first name (goofed my last) and wrote a hand written letter. My legal first name is the same as my upstairs neighbors (not the goofed last name either) so i put it in her mailbox. She jammed it back in mine. So idk what they did to get any info on me. Do they keep track of people and plan who to prey on?
Hey, I’m a JW (not really)
I was born into the religion so I unfortunately never had a choice, and I’ve been living what they call a “double life”
And to answer your question, atleast where I’m at (south central LA)
There was this huge campaign during the pandemic to preach remotely
Basically they got all the adresses from their territories and plugged them into white pages to find the information and names of the people there
And just like that they sent letters or did phone calls
I’m 15 by the way so I really do not have a choice in this.
There was a girl at my KH who was dating a worldly guy and the only thing that ever happened with her was that she was bad association. They got married, have kids, she's still in.
I grew up Southern Baptist, getting baptized was strongly encouraged when you were a teenager. They didn't really push the issue until that time.
When my church imploded, I briefly attended services at the Church of Christ and hooooo boy are they a bunch of nutcases! They insist that one be re-saved and re-baptized their way since no other way (apparently) was valid in their opinion. It was my first knock down/drag out argument I've ever had regarding theology. Probably was my first step towards de-converting.
I saw your doppelgänger in chipotle in Fayetteville NC today!! I kept doing double takes, he looked EXACTLY like you, same shirt style and glasses too
I notice a weird change about the parents in Caleb and Sophia. The dad is lighter and the mom is darker than they used to be.
The father was rumoured to have been Argentine.
I was 15. Southern Baptist believed you had to be old enough to understand what it meant to recieve it.
But that depends I was 10 but I shower I knew what it ment and the meaning behind it
that’s marginally better than other christian sects, credit where it’s due
I was 6 in a southern Baptist church. It wasn’t uncommon for small kids in any of the churches I had attended as a child (5 different churches that I can recall).
Not all Southern Baptist churches. I was 8. Basically pushed into it by being told god would answer all my questions I kept asking.
Let me and I I'm a daughter, granddaughter and niece of Southern Baptist ministers.
It was though I would work for the church when I grew up. That didn't happen.
I fought my way to go to college, graduated with a degree in communication and was working in a tv station in my junior semester.
Family was not pleased, save for my mother. She was happy.
Ok so imagine this: Mortise from Madagascar saying: "I want to serve you for ever and ever and ever" Thats what went through my mind XD
Mort? 💀
#JusticeForSparlock
A long time ago, I watched a video of a mom and dad watching a pastor bathe their baby in water, and the baby was crying the entire time. And given that this is a church, no one really seemed to care how that baby was feeling, as long as the baby was "being given to God".
What's tragic about this is that unless this baby grows up to see through what their church had done to them, they will never escape the religion's beliefs and moralities.
I remember watching a baptism for a baby and someone edited in some water board interrogation voice lines, funny at face value but, knowing more about religion now, getting baptised sounds more like a curse
While paladins do use a combination of magical and martial attacks I still wouldn’t call them warrior wizards. A paladin is more focused on serving a religious organization or deity, that’s what makes a paladin. In DnD you could literally be a Warrior Wizard. Just multi class and put one lvl in to warrior and one lvl in to wizard and boom you’re a warrior wizard.
I did really like their magazines when they were passing them out. They came to see me when I was in a very vulnerable time in my life. I had just officially left the mainstream Mormon church. Another thing they got right about the Bible was nothing was ever added to it (I think they quoted from Revelations?) But I had to tell a nurse to tell them to stop visiting me. I can't even imagine what would have happened to me if I joined. I later learned from my mom that my brother almost got sucked into Scientology.
My sister and I were going with our Mormon next-door neighbors to Primary, the Mormon version of Sunday school, only on Tuesdays. The Mormons enforce everyone getting baptized on their 8th birthday. My friend was a month older than me, so she got baptized first. I was excited to get baptized next, but my mom put a stop to that and made us quit going to Primary (since we were Baptists [ironic!]). Now I'm glad I was never baptized.
I think i was 11 when i got baptized in a Baptist church. At the time i wasn't entirely sure what i was getting into. I saw a few other people do it and it looked fun. I had to pray for God to come into my life. Then i had a meeting with the pastor about it and then i was baptized. Thats when all hell broke loose. Being baptized meant i was a member of the church and i had to go to the meetings which ive talked about before. Ill reply with that story.
Heres the story on that: After i got baptized I became a member of the church. This is the hierarchy of my church- Pastor, Assistant Pastor, Elders, Members, Children, Outsiders. Elders are the oldest people of the church. They can attend the meetings but weren't required. Members had to attend unless it was sickness, loved one dying, hospitalization or something serious. If you were healthy you had to attend. For a long time i skipped out on a lot of meetings until the Pastor looked at my dad with anger and my dad dragged me to the meetings. They were at night like on a Tuesday and they would go until 10 or 10.30pm. They started around 6ish. I was in middle school when i attended the meetings and school didn't get out until 4. Get home and get ready for a meeting. Eat dinner then go to the meeting. I was around 13 when i went to the meetings. Yes i am aware that this was abuse. And im glad and relieved that my sister never has to go through that because we left the church before she was able to get baptized.
After being stalked around the state for years and years I thought they have up finally but no. A letter came yesterday.
In a MUD I used to play on they had War Wizards, which specialized in Earth magic. They would summon themselves Vulcan Hammers and would train in blunt weapons. They could also turn their skin to stone, completely absorbing damage for a certain number of hits.
The story you describe of the people of WV who took you in, but then abandoned you after you didn't toe the line? They are living the definition of "conditional love".
My Catholic bishop required that my Catholic school prepare us for Confirmation (similar purpose to JW baptism) in 5th grade. I had just turned 11 when I was Confirmed. But that was just one additional tie to reaffirm my baptism as a baby.
Later, I lost all religious inclination and left the church, but I wanted to marry a then-practicing Catholic. In order for my fiancé to obtain the necessary Dispensation of Cult to remain in good standing while marrying outside the Church, I lied to say that I had never been Catholic. Otherwise, due to my baptism as a newborn, I am considered Catholic for life, and I would have had to reconcile and reaffirm a Catholic faith in order to satisfy the Church’s marriage requirements. They wanted to hold me to a contract I supposedly made as a newborn.
I got to the part with your daughter and was like… 😮 oh no. I came into the organization around 18 or 19. Wasn’t baptized. The thought literally made my anxiety spike. My inner voice said no. Good thing I listened.
I had my first encounter with JWs yesterday. Was playing video games with my sister when they knocked on the door, they must have seen the TV was on because they didn't stop knocking until we answered. Freaked me out.
This is so off topic but your profile is themed around Warriors isn't it
@@cats9994 no I just liked warriors as a kid and kept the username cause it just fits
@bramblestar334 I still love warriors and I'm 19 💀
Thankfully, the church I go to has guidelines for being bapitized. A person has to be 13 years of age, babies are not allowed to be bapitized. Those getting bapitized need to take a class provided by the church, and the pastors clarify on multiple occasions that baptism is not required nor necessary, but something you should only do when you're ready
I'd argue that Sparlock being a "warrior wizard" is less of a paladin, and more of an Eldrich Knight. As paladins' ability is fueled by faith and divinity, they're more of a warrior cleric.
Jehovah's Witness lifestyle ironically feels like you'd lose your soul...
I was devastated hearing about Serena giving her life to this cult. Insane. Same with Prince and MJ (though, he left).
Serena is still living 'worldy' though . She is still attending Hollywood events , going to Beyoncè concerts and all. If a regular JW was caught doing all those things , they would be called in for a judicial meeting. Celebrity JWs are not treated like regular JWs , they get to do what they want because they bring in money into the organization
I’m culturally Catholic. This seems closer to Confirmation which can occur earliest at 13- but basically just has to be done as an adult (before your Wedding). Meaning youre ready to accept adult responsibilities in the church. First Communion is the more significant ceremony at age 8, meaning you are ready to grow up in the church and have enough awareness of self to take Communion and go to Confession.
I wonder if the mom wasn’t just mad that Caleb was breaking jehovah rules with sparlock, but maybe she made him toss it away out of envy, like she was forced to reject it so he can’t have it.
JW baptisms and they way they are veiwed is fascinating to me. My family is "catholic" (I'm atheist and most of my family are believers, though nobody's gone to church for like 20 someodd years) and we baptize within the first few months (if not weeks) after birth. Catholics don't take baptisms nearly as seriously.
The priest puts the baby in a christening gown, says a prayer, dips the baby in the holy water, "amen, Jesus Christ, holyluhah, God be with you... yada yada yada", the the parents and godparents get a dosing of holy water and a sip of sacrificial wine and everyone goes to a party at Grandma's house.
No perperation, nothing. I was never baptized since my mother is against religion, though my younger brothers and cousins were all baptized and none have stepped foot in a church (except for a handful of special occasions) since. Really not that big of a deal to Catholics, especially not as big as JWs make it out to be.
As a Hebrew speaker, I actually can understand why they call G-d, “Jehovah”. In Hebrew, the ineffable name of G-d is written as יהוה (the letters right to left are Yod-Hei-Vav-Hei). Since they didn’t use vowel signs in their writing back then, in English we usually write it as “YHWH” but technically “YHVH” isn’t technically wrong. Tradition of the pronunciation is what says they’re wrong but the writing can be read that way.
What JW are doing by adding the “J” instead of the “Yod” is westernizing the name, similar to how people change the name of “Yeshua” to “Jesus” (his real name actually is “Joshua” in English, “Jesus” comes from the Greek form of the name, “Iisous”).
Does that mean JW is correct? Nope. His Name still isn’t “Jehovah”. I understand where they’re coming from, but they still wrong.
That's actually a damn interesting comment you wrote. You give a pretty clear thought process on how the JW made their error.
Good on you.
I feel like we don't talk enough about how sexy that dads voice is. Stan the evil Jehovah's Witnesses propaganda dad. 😩👌
Jimmy Snow talks about that all the time during his Caleb and Sophia videos. He pretty much openly salivates over that dad's voice.
I was forcefully baptized by a pastor at an evangelical baptist church, and my parents weren’t even the ones to take me!
They should do an episode of Caleb just smiling and have his dip shit parents come over and tell him how Jehovah is sad because Caleb is i guess having fun or something.
Its the first thing i thought.” How are these people acting so forces, like acting acting, in a family relationship. Bizar and detached
great video! People don't get it till they've been through it. I admire your perspective.
I was baptized as a catholic at 8 years old. When I was 15 my mother started studying with the witnesses. I very much was opposed to being baptized after I reach 15 because and it started to drift away from organized religion between 15 and 18
paladins are typically more a warrior/healer combo, rather than warrior/wizard. pure warrior/wizard is actually a surprisingly rare combo, with the closest examples i can think of being most main heroes in dragon quest games and red mages from basically anything that has them, but both also have healer mixed in too
I was raised Irish Catholic by force due to my Irish Catholic grandmother INSISTING my parents raise us this way. We went to church, CCD (aka Catechism), and were very involved in the church. This was until I was about 12, when my grandmother moved to Florida. A year earlier, I read the Bible and realized Christianity was BS, so when my parents gave me the choice, I told them "HELL NO." My older sister was already confirmed, but stopped going to church when my parents stopped. I was VERY close to confirmation, just dodged the bullet.
Ccd ah! Central city dump!
@@miscalotastuff733 might as well have been.
Damn I lived that Sparlock episode growing up as a jw.
All my Pokémon and yugioh cards were burned, a couple video games and a limited edition Sephiroth figure a close friend gave me.
I was baptized when I was like newborn. At that point I would say baptism for babies doesn’t really count since they literally have no idea what’s happening and can’t consent.
I was baptized when I was 17 in a UCC church in a very small town. It was a very simple service with water on my head after prayers. That wasn’t enough for the rest of the town I took major grief for not being “drowned” in honor of Christ.
Those “Bunker” videos are Orwellian as heck. They want you to be like Winston Smith, at the end, conformist to the end. You go into baptism as Winston early when he rebels and questions everything. After the baptism you're like him at the end. Sad very very sad.