In Christianity, baptism (from Greek βάπτισμα and βαπτισμός, meaning "immersing", "performing ablution" - see below) is the sacramental act of cleansing in water that admits one as a full member of the Church. Most Christians, such as Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Lutherans, Anglicans, and Methodists are baptized as infants. Baptists and certain other groups baptize only after a person accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior ("believer's baptism"). Most Christians baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but some baptize in Jesus' name only.source Firstly I don't want this to turn into a discussion about religion, and yes of course the subject matter is extremely close to religion. What I am asking is this; Do you believe that a child should be baptized soon after birth like most children are, or do you believe that the child should have the decision in whether they wish to be baptized or not? As in let them grow up and make their own thoughts on the subject and choose whether to have themselves baptized or not. I ask this because I have a brother who is not yet 1 year old and my father and step mother are getting him baptized this Sunday. I can not go because of the fact that I am completely against their decision to do this. They do respect my point of view and aren't demanding I come, which is good. Though my parents are far from religious, my dad tells me he wants it done "just in case there is a god." So, should the child choose or should the parents choose? Remember, no religious debate. If it does start to sway towards religious debate I will close the thread...
baptism should be a person making a choice to show the community that they have dedicated their life to christ... how can the parent make that decission -Donuts
well, way to bring up a controversial one rey, =] (see stoled) as for the topic..."just in case there is a god" LOL wouldn't god smite him and ur brother simply for that...okay, that may strike religious debate...so ignore that statement everyone...lol...anyways...Aside from that I'm pretty sure you can be baptised way down the road and it will still be "okay" in the eyes of god... Therefore, the baby should get the choice.
I think the kid should get the choice. Grew up in the mormon beliefs and they baptize you at 8 if you agree to it. Alternatively, if the infant grows up and decides he doesn't want to be christian anymore, I don't think being baptized would stop him. Things like that only have power over you if you want them to.
I think that they should baptize your brother when he's young, because it shows that they want to raise their child in the best way that they can and to know when your young that you have a whole congregation looking out for you is pretty cool. I've had friends that were baptized when they were older I think that it was a pretty cool experience for them. Basically, I think that they should baptize him now and then if he wants to get baptized when he's older he can.
Oh yes because baptism is all about parents showing how much they love the church. Nothing to do with a sacred covenant between god and the individual being baptized.
They both sould have a choice. When baptized as a baby, it is just symoblical but when baptized as a youth/adult, it is you showing that you are commited to Christ and a sign showing your dedication. (yay sunday school paid off for something)
Both the parent and the child should agree to it, if the child does not want to be bapped then the parents should accept that and move on.
/offtopic I agree with titmar, there should be a third option. /ontopic I think it should be the child's choice, unfortunately 1 year olds can't really speak for them selves now can they. So in the end, I don't think it's going to scare them for life or anything, but it's still not cool to have religion shoved down your throat.
That is what child dedication is for. You see at my church you can "dedicate your child" which is basicly just saying you will raise him in a Christian manner. But baptism is a public confession of your faith saying that you have accepted Christ and will follow him as your lord and savior... so how can a child's parent make that decision? -Donts
That's where the religion debate starts to come in so I left any option similar to that out. 100% Agree with that statement. How can anyone make a decision like this for someone else? It just does not make any sense.
when you get baptized, it shows that you are willing to devote yourself to God but if your parents force you to do it when you don't even have a choice, then it doesn't mean a thing. Especially if they have a mind set of "just in case"
i think children should choose their lifestyle in every way, and the parents should just provide advice and talk about their personal experiences...but then again this is earth and it is 2008 so maybe it'll be like that someday [dreams]
It really makes no difference whatsoever. If the child grows to be a Christian then he will be happy that he was christened. If the child grows to not be a Christian, he will realise that the ceremony and everything it stood for is completely fictional and ludicrous and it will have no effect on his life. QFT
Or rather, to put it more mildly: I feel that all polls on any forum, regardless of the topic, should have a comedic/i dont care type of option to vote for.
It's just water. After the fact, no one will talk about it. It's only a little sub-bullet on the resume of life. <- Profound. Pretty much. But it matters to some. If something in your life is important enough to determine whether or not you are tortured forever or are given eternal life in heaven. You should probably make the decision on your own. Chances are if someone does it for you, you don't understand the situation fully and "god" may still look upon you as unbabtised seeing as you didn't draw true meaning from it.