I was brought up Baptist, switch to Catholic and then started attending a Unitarian Church. My husband has no?

Question

religion background. I am baptisted Catholic and I would like to have my girls baptisted but my husband is against it. Should I wait and let them decide for themselves? (I was baptised when I was 20 or do it now.) I am worry about then immortal souls. I worry about my husband too but that is not a battle I would win.

Answer 1

Raise them in a UU church. They will have the etachings of all religions, and when they are seniors in high school, there's a program the UU church will do to help your girls decide what religion they want to be, or if they want to decide to not pursue any religion, that's okay too.

Answer 2

Personally, I would wait and let your girls choose for themselves what direction they want to go and let their baptism be because of their personal relationship with Our Father and not because of traditions of your current denomination or your religious background.

The thing about a baptism is that it is something a person does to show their own faith in Christ and their public dedication as a Christian. Why bother baptizing children who don't fully grasp the significance of the event let alone have the mental or spiritual capacity to know our Lord and Savior on a personal level?

Their immortal souls are safe no matter what, because if you understand the original languages of the scriptures, the book of Revelations clearly tells us that everyone has a second chance in the 1,000 year reign of Christ, including even the worst of us. The ONLY one who is condemned to death for sure is the 'son of perdition', which means death, and that is Satan. We all have an opportunity here and in the millennium to learn the truth, so don't worry so much about anyone's eternal status, they will have plenty of opportunity to earn it, whether it is in the flesh age or the coming spiritual age. Our Father is VERY fair this way.

By living a Christian example, you will help plant the seeds of faith in all of them, but only God can make those seeds grow.

Answer 3

I would say that you should not have the children baptized - baptism is an act of obedience that people who come to faith in Christ perform later in life. But then again, I'm a Baptist, so I have pretty firm beliefs on the matter.

I'd say the most important principle in this matter is making sure you and your husband work out a mutually acceptable approach to raising your daughters. The spiritual upbringing (or lack thereof) of your children is one thing that you both should come to an agreement on. Whatever you decide, it is important that you both can live with the plan.

Answer 4

Well, I am of the same basic background (brought up Baptist, then taken out of church for several years before finally electing for myself to become baptized Catholic this past Easter at 17 yrs old...) so I understand the dilemna, even if it is from a different perspective other than parent...

Personally, I think that you should just let them decide on their own...if RCIA taught me anything, it is that while it is preferable for parents to raise their children in the faith, children are not held responsible in heaven if they were not fully introduced to the religion...their natural innocence will save them if (heaven forbid) the worst happens and they pass away before they can make that particular decision...

While possibly confusing to be in a household of mixed faiths, you have to hope that your spoken belief and living example of a life through Christ and the Catholic church will be enough to persuade them of itself....allow them to learn on their own the importance of church and their decision will be that much more impactful...besides, the whole reason that teens have to go through Confirmation is to announce their acceptance of faith into their own individuals lives because before then the choice is only a representation of their parents...in this instance, it would just be you not representing them as young children and letting them live their entire lives as their own people (and I can't see anything wrong with that especially with these circumstances...)

Naturally, years down the line, if they do seem to be swaying away from religion altogether, you might want to sit down with them and have a formal discussion on the topic, but just trust that their childhoods in your home will lead them better that any forced-fed doctrine ever could and pray for them (God can intervene in their final decision far more than you could ever hope to)...

I will pray for you, the wisdom of whatever choice you make, and the peace within your home as these tough decisions are made...Good luck and God bless!

Answer 5

You do understand there are 3 diverse sects of Christianity: Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Protestantism. Baptist and Evangelic are protestants so that they seem to be a a range of of type of Christian than Catholics. Asking Mary to wish for us is not any diverse then asking a pal or friend to wish for us and definite purgatory is contained in the bible 2 Machabees 12:40 2-40 six

Answer 6

If you and your husband are going to bring your daughters up as Catholics, then have them baptized.

If not, then wait. But remember to have them instructed in the Christian faith, whether in the Catholic or another tradition.

I suggest you pray for your husband every day.

With love in Christ.

Answer 7

If you are Catholic you should have them baptised right away. Catholics believe you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven without a baptism. If one of your girls should die in the mean time, she would be out of luck.

Answer 8

I am glad that you are worried about their souls but having them baptized will not save them. THEY MUST ACCEPT CHRIST into their hearts to be saved and though most religions want you to be baptized you DO NOT have to be. Baptism is SYMBOLIC of the washing away of ones sins. Once they are saved though they can be baptized when they are older if they want to.

Answer 9

The Bible teaches that you must repent of your sins then be baptized in Jesus Name to be save (Acts 2:38) since little childen do not know what sin is, they can not repent. They must fist understand what sin is. If they were to die before that, they would go straighjt to heaven. Reach the book of Acts to see that only adults were baptized. Jesus taught us we must be like children (innocent) to enter heaven, Hope this helps.

Answer 10

--Is Catholic--

First let me say that you should go back to a Catholic Mass. Unitarians are not Christian. The group officially denies the Trinity and the Divinity of Jesus. If they baptized Unitarian it is only worth the price of the water.

Your situation is messy. Are you a Catholic, ie have you been confirmed into the Catholic Church? If you are read the following. If not skip to ===NOT CONFIRMED===

===CONFIRMED===
What are the age of your Children? That is the most important question. If they are below the age of reason (which is around 8-10 but depends on the actual individual) then it is required of you to have them baptized by Canon Law (ideally the baptism should take place within a month of their birth). Baptizing your children is part of your duty as a Christian parent.

Further it is your duty before God to raise Christians in the Catholic Faith, not non-Christians. Your children might someday choose not to be Christian, but such a choice is immoral for you to foster. God has entrusted to you a great gift, one in which He wished to be instructed in the Catholic Faith. He is not interested at all in you waiting and letting your kids sort things out for themselves. Rather, God wants you to instruct your children about Him and foster a relationship with God.

If your children are above the age of reason, then instruction on the meaning of baptism is required before baptism will be administered. This instruction is primarily the responsibility of the parents. An individual child who is above the age of reason should not be forced into a baptism that they do not want or that they feel they are not ready for. However, a child that is above the age of reason but below the age of responsibility, should be instructed in the Catholic faith as a part of their upbringing and education of the world by their Christian parents.

Important: Baptism of children is as much a responsibility of the parent as of the child.

===NOT CONFIRMED===
Morally, the necessity is for the parent to instruct the child in the "good" and the more of the good that the parent knows, the more imperative it is that this education be passed on. We do not let children choose freely between good and evil deeds, nor if we are Christian should we let children choose freely between Christ and not-Christ. Rather we must weight our instruction "for Christ" because He is the ultimate good, the source of all that is good, as well as the cause of all that is good.

Being that you are a Christian, it is important to follow that which you know of Christ for your children. It is important to remember that Christ in the bible instructed whole families to be baptized, including their children and servants. Baptism brings individuals into the family of God (and orders them to the Church). From the very beginning it is Baptism that was understood as that which makes a Christian a Christian. If you read Christ’s teachings in the Gospels and then the workings of the early Church in Acts and the Fathers of the Church, you find that they constantly point to baptism as that which brings individuals into the Body of Christ and makes them Christian. Being Christian is not simply you choosing God but it involves God choosing you. Being Christian is an utter free gift from God as it is through His activity in the sacrament of baptism that allows the individual to be called a Christian.

It doesn't make sense for you to be a Christian and yet raise non-Christians. Baptizing your children is allowing God to give your Children a free gift. Not baptizing is to not allow God to give your children a free gift. If your child choose not to allow God, then that is their choice and between them and God. If you do not allow it, then it is between you and God, not them.


Let me suggest that you start reading about the Catholic faith. Let me suggest any of the wonderful and easy to read books by Scott Hahn.