I probably have a biased view, being in the UK, where religion has no part in the lives of most of the population. But I believe in treating people the right way, essentially much that the Bible would teach in less enlightened times. I do feel for anyone who believes that if an unbaptised child died God would punish the child for the choice of their parents.
baptising is just symbolic act. it does not mean anything. so yes its is right to do if parents think that they should
Doesn't hurt anyone? Religion is a lifestyle, why should my parents tell me how to live my life before I'm old enough to speak? It's like arranging my marriage when I'm a baby. I think it's selfish, and I don't believe babies or children should be assigned to a particular religion.
it's strange that nobody would dream of referring to a child as a "conservative child", a "communist child" or a "labour child" yet the terms "christian child" and "muslim child" roll off the tongue with uncomfortable ease. Marcus Brigstocke summed it up; "a four year old is no more a chistian than he is a member of the postal workers union"
Good points, but still, we have a responsibility to introduce our kids to the Lord, what they will do with it in the future is a matter of free will.
I obviously didn't "decide" to get babtized as a baby, and I do believe that it is a good thing to say the least to get babtized when YOU decide. Of course many of you label all beliefs in Jesus equally Christian, but you have to realize that a lot of churches do NOT agree with the tradition of babtizing a baby. I'm quite sure there will be more and more responses regarding "but Catholics do it like this" and such, so my question is if some of you non believers are so happy with your beliefs and so sure witin your disbelief, then why so much effort to discredit those who do?
It's not so much a question of religion, but one of free choice. Baptising a baby is introducing a baby into a certain religion before he or she has even decided what religion they believe in, if at all. You're telling that child that he or she is a member of a certain faith, which I think is wrong. Everyone should be given the opportunity to make their own mind up and chose for themselves.
well you will never be able to "not" influence your kids, and that is regardless of WHICH religion you follow.
That's like saying the news isn't about to "not" influence the public, yet most respectable news stations still remain rather neutral. All I know is that I wouldn't forgive my parents if they told me what religion I had to believe in.
Short of illegal, you should be able to raise your child any way you want, even if it makes them turn into fundy Bible thumpers. Besides if you don't screw up your children everyone else will anyway.
It's not telling what religion to believe in, but sharing your own belief and then let the child decide.
Is introduction performing rituals on them before they can talk or do basic reasoning? Dragging a child along to a place of religious worship or indoctrinating it, i.e teaching such controversial things at a very impressionable age (same time we learn languages, the alphabet etc) is not mere introduction or sharing.
I already said I myself don't believe in babtizing a baby, I mean, where in the bible does it say to do that? Sure, if you want to, but what matters is you accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour and THEN get babtized. I got babtized in a Lutheran church as a baby btw. But I don't dig their way of worshipping. Too much legalism for my taste.
Blogmaster, I agree. To everybody else, let me repeat Blogmaster's point, once again, even a great number of believers in Jesus Christ don't believe in baptizing a baby, including me. So it's not just all of you, unbelievers. More and more people in the whole world (including those in my country) now come to realize that baptizing a baby was not what the Lord meant in the Bible anyway. So some of the people who have been baptized as a baby, choose to be baptized again as an adult... But... (before anybody talks about Christian indoctrination again ).... even more people having been baptized as a baby are atheists now in their adult life.
I'm Protestant, so going by Protestant reasoning, it's a useless gesture if you Baptize a baby, as it doesn't save them from Hell or make them a Christian. By Protestant reasoning, one is Baptized after confessing and believing that Jesus is the Son of God, who was born by a virgin, died on a cross for man's sin, and then defeated death so we wouldn't have to burn forever. I don't know what your personal beliefs are, but those are mine.