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Baptism dilemma - Page 3

post #31 of 45
1/28/11 at 7:43pm
I'm a Buddhist. My wife is Catholic. I am very very minorly "religious" in my Buddhist beliefs, and my wife is a believer in God but somewhat disillusioned by the church. I think the important thing to note here is that we are both sympathetic towards religion and even religious organizations, even if we disagree with them on many occasions. We are not militant atheists. We would not use the term "Sky Wizards," for example. We made the decision to baptize our baby in the Episcopalean church. We do not really attend, though occasionally we dip in at the holidays or on an odd Sunday. I think we are both respectful of the traditions and ceremonies of the church, and even though neither of us is really strictly religious, we would like her to grow up with some kind of religious framework/context. She will be free to choose her own path when the time comes, but for the meantime, we hope she will at least understand a bit of humility, respect for tradition, and understanding of religious and spiritual feeling. This had the added bonus of making my wife's family very happy. And we had a nice party afterwards. But it is a highly personal thing. What we chose suited our needs very well. YMMV.
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post #32 of 45
1/28/11 at 7:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Teacher View Post
To all those who say "don't do it:" can you think of a practical downside? I can't.

Its a slippery slope with grandparents. First they want them baptized, then every other decision has to take into account their feelings. My wife is Jewish, and I am Roman Catholic, although neither of us are religious. We did not have a bris, Hebrew naming, or baptism for them. They are our children and we don't want them to ever feel pigeon holed as one faith or another. Faith is something that changes and you can lose and acquire to me, and not something that can be assigned.

Quote:
Originally Posted by LatinStyleLover View Post
A slightly different perspective here on what is going on with your parents. For your Roman Catholic parents, it is much more than being baptized into the church that is on their minds. Catholic doctrine teaches that children are born with "original sin" and are therefore condemned without baptism. Whether your children ever attend church, whatever decision they might make in the future to either practice a particular faith, or not, per Catholic doctrine being baptized wipes out original sin and I can assure you that is what is bothering your parents, not whether or not they are ultimately going to be active Catholics.

If yo have no serious or particular objections to baptism, and your discussing it here seems to indicate that, then it seems to me that you will greatly relieve the real concern your parents have for your childs salvation without any downside. Whatever else might happen in the future, in your parents mind the original sin will be washed away and their grandchild not condemned.

My father experienced this same issue with my grandparents, as my dad was raised a strict Catholic, but since we were being raised a different faith my father would not baptize us until we reached the "age of consent." Each time one of my brothers or sister was finally baptized then my grandparents were so relieved. Apparently, they believe that any baptism, in any church, will wipe away original sin. I really do not know if the Catholic church teaches that, but my gramps sure believed it.

The Catholic Church still teaches this. But if this is the aspect that bugs the grandparents, they can baptize the child themselves at anytime without anyone knowing. All you need is the Holy Water, and plenty of Catholic Churches will sell, or just flat out give you some. All they need to say is, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit." Pour the water over their head, and boom, according to Catholic teaching, Original Sin is washed away. The child never has to know, and neither do you. Anyone can give this sacrament.
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post #33 of 45
1/28/11 at 8:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered View Post
I'd never allow my child to go through the whole pointless routine of water being splashed on their head only to have them be labeled as something.

Yep.
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post #34 of 45
1/28/11 at 10:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by NewYorkRanger View Post
The Catholic Church still teaches this. But if this is the aspect that bugs the grandparents, they can baptize the child themselves at anytime without anyone knowing. All you need is the Holy Water, and plenty of Catholic Churches will sell, or just flat out give you some. All they need to say is, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit." Pour the water over their head, and boom, according to Catholic teaching, Original Sin is washed away. The child never has to know, and neither do you. Anyone can give this sacrament.

Good point. Actually, I was under the impression that any water would do, though I may be mistaken.

Frankly, I find it hard to fathom that any logical adult would think their child would be granted or denied access to an afterlife simply because someone splashed some water (holy or not) on their head. Still, it's sad to read stories such as the one Jodum5 posted, where religious folks spend the rest of their lives unable to reach any closure due to concern over a stillborn baby's soul.
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post #35 of 45
1/29/11 at 12:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Douglas View Post
I'm a Buddhist. My wife is Catholic. I am very very minorly "religious" in my Buddhist beliefs, and my wife is a believer in God but somewhat disillusioned by the church. I think the important thing to note here is that we are both sympathetic towards religion and even religious organizations, even if we disagree with them on many occasions. We are not militant atheists. We would not use the term "Sky Wizards," for example.

We made the decision to baptize our baby in the Episcopalean church. We do not really attend, though occasionally we dip in at the holidays or on an odd Sunday. I think we are both respectful of the traditions and ceremonies of the church, and even though neither of us is really strictly religious, we would like her to grow up with some kind of religious framework/context. She will be free to choose her own path when the time comes, but for the meantime, we hope she will at least understand a bit of humility, respect for tradition, and understanding of religious and spiritual feeling.

This had the added bonus of making my wife's family very happy. And we had a nice party afterwards.

But it is a highly personal thing. What we chose suited our needs very well. YMMV.

This is a pretty cool attitude about the whole thing, Douglas.
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post #36 of 45
1/29/11 at 2:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by runner-guy View Post
I feel it may be hypocritical if we baptize and not be involved with the church.
You are correct in that thought.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Teacher View Post
To all those who say "don't do it:" can you think of a practical downside? I can't.
The parents of the child are asked a question+/- as follows: "Will you be responsible for seeing that the child you present is brought up in the Christian faith and life." If a parent has no intention of doing so, it's truly hypocritical to answer, "I will with God's help."

Be true, if only to yourself and your child.
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post #37 of 45
1/29/11 at 5:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dakota rube View Post
This is a pretty cool attitude about the whole thing, Douglas.

+ 1, but Douglas is a pretty cool sorta guy, so I would expect no less.
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post #38 of 45
1/29/11 at 6:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Douglas View Post
We made the decision to baptize our baby in the Episcopalean church.
If indeed you did that ... at the very least you should get your spelling correct ... and be aware that it is The Episcopal Church. The members are called Episcopalians.
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post #39 of 45
1/29/11 at 6:58pm
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Originally Posted by RSS View Post
If indeed you did that ... at the very least you should get your spelling correct ... and be aware that it is The Episcopal Church. The members are called Episcopalians.

Episkopal Spelling
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post #40 of 45
1/29/11 at 7:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JustinW View Post
Episkopal Spelling
Aren't you Pissopalian too?

You do know the joke don't you? A fellow walks into a hospital and sees a nun carring a pail of water. He dips in his finger and makes the sign of the cross, then says, "Oh, this place must be Pissopalian."
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post #41 of 45
1/30/11 at 2:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Teacher View Post
To all those who say "don't do it:" can you think of a practical downside? I can't.


The Practical Downside:

If his child decides to become a "Devil Worshipper or A Black Magic Specialist" he will have to
undergo legnthy Exorcisms to have GOD and the Holy Spirit depart from his Mind, Body and Soul...

I would Baptize into the Catholic Faith--Nothing to lose Everything to gain.

Just DO IT!!!
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post #42 of 45
1/30/11 at 2:53am
I'm not a very religious person but I will raise my children in whatever religious group currently in power. So Christianity and Judaism seem promising.
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post #43 of 45
1/30/11 at 2:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pantisocrat View Post
I'm not a very religious person but I will raise my children in whatever religious group currently in power. So Christianity and Judaism seem promising.

Yep,...If your Socially Ambitious definitely become Jews and Never Forget:

Jesus Saved/Moses Invested--The Power of Compounding...
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post #44 of 45
1/30/11 at 3:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by x26 View Post
Yep,...If your Socially Ambitious definitely become Jews and Never Forget:

Jesus Saved/Moses Invested--The Power of Compounding...

The Jews are not as powerful as they once were. In finance, I know the Hindis are slowly replacing the chosen few at the top. For government, I think Baptist/Catholic mix would be pretty sweet. Ideally, my son would be raised Baptist to marry an Irish girl of Catholic father and Lutheran mother. A win-win combo in 2042 election. My daughters would be raised as Jews so I will always have Jews in the family when disaster strikes, taking full advantage of matrilinieal succession.
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post #45 of 45
1/30/11 at 8:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by runner-guy View Post
Also, I'm thinking if we baptize our child can be a part of the church in the future if he or she chooses.
what if he chooses a different religion but you have him pre-fastened into a kiddie seat in the pope mobile.
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