A question about believer baptism?

Question

I've been wondering about a baptism situation: say there is a husband and wife couple, both of whom are not believers. The husband receives a substantial brain injury and reverts to a permanent vegetative state. The wife becomes a believer, and becomes baptised.

According to the rules of denominations that practice believer baptism (e.g. Baptist, Church of Christ, etc.) could the wife request to have her husband baptised? The husband, a non-believer prior to his injury, never made a profession of faith, and due to the brain injury can never make a profession before death. so would the church approve or allow the baptism if requested by the wife, or would this violate the rules of believer baptism?

(Side note: I believe in both infant baptism and believer baptism. To me, it's important, but NOT necessary for salvation [for instance, the thief on the cross was pardoned by Christ without baptism])

Thanks.

Answer 1

First of all, let me state although I'm no longer "practising" or church-going, I was raised baptist. Since the infant does not have the mental faculties, awareness, insight, etc. to know what baptism means and to judge that that is something he/she wants to do, but is baptised nonetheless, baptising the vegetative husband (who would be in pretty much the same state as the infant) would seem to be logically consistent within YOUR beliefs. I am not sure the church would see it this way (I don't think my former church would have). The simple answer is this may have less to do with logic or ethics than it does baptist orthodoxy. If the doctrine is "passed down from on high" by some governing council (as is likely to be the case for more formal or fundamentalist baptist sects), your (or the wife's) hands are probably tied. If such matters are more up to the local minister's discretion, there may be room for petition. I sincerely hope that this latter would be the case. Even if the wife is wrong on some ultra-technical level, if she believes it IS necessary, or even if she simply believes it is really REALLY important, I think the church should find room to accommodate her. To fail to do so seems cruel.

Answer 2

I wouldn't want to be terribly dogmatic about this because their are a lot of emotions that go along with a question like that. I would, however, point out a couple things.

1. Presumably you're saying that the man has no ability to believe. If people without faith could be baptized and have their sins forgiven then the most moral thing we could do would be to go to the pool and start forcefully dunking people in Jesus' name.

2. If the man had died instead of just suffered a brain trauma, could we still baptize him? Would it do anything?

3. The thief on the cross died under the old covenant. Baptism is a participation in Jesus death, burial, and resurrection so the thief actually, couldn't have received it at that time. Jesus had the power to forgive sins, which he did a few times while he was here, aparently including this case of the thief on the cross. Given that, I've never quite understood how this example undermines baptism for the forgiveness of sins. If you can explain it, please do.

Note: I don't believe baptism saves people. God could choose to save anyone at any time. Nevertheless, the overwhelming evidence based on the New Testament, examples from Acts, and the beliefs of the early church suggests that for some reason God does choose to forgive our sins AT baptism (not necessarily THROUGH baptism).

Answer 3

He would only be getting wet. Being baptized requires belief (Mark 16:16).

And the thief on the cross was forgiven before the institution of the New Testament.
Hebrews 9:16 For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.

After the death of Jesus, there is not one recorded case of forgiveness without baptism, nor is there any command to be forgiven without baptism.
1 Peter 3:21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

Answer 4

No. Baptism is, as you mentioned, should be done to people that cleary can make a profession of faith in Jesus.

Our church has baptized people that are deaf or slightly mentally handicapped, but we would never baptize someone that can't make some sort of profession.

We do believe baptism is important, yet it is not conditional to salvation. We are told to believe in Christ, repent and be baptized.

Belief and repentance is the primary thing. Baptism is secondary..the proof that a person has had a change of thinking.

Not everyone that has made a profession in Christ and has been baptized is saved. We have people at my church that we have baptized and I would say they aren't really Christians because I don't see any growth or change in them.

In the end, Christ will gather those that are His to him... if this man is one of Christ's ...he will be gathered to Christ even if he was never baptized. ...but he must be a believer in order for Christ to call him one of his own.

Answer 5

The apostle Paul says in Romans that Christianity is a circumcision of the heart, not an outward one. Baptism is an outward act of obedience, which really takes place in the heart. Baptism does NOT save people! Baptised babies do not choose it for themselves and don't know what's going on. Can a Catholic mother say to her daughter, "You converted to Buddism, but because you were baptised, you'll always be Catholic?" NO. Sadly, if this is a permanent brain injury, this man has decided his own fate. It is God who decides how much time we have and what really is fair. As a mother of two special needs children, I know this well!

Answer 6

If you know it is not required for salvation why feel the need to baptize your husband. He is not a believer and it won't change that. It is a decision a person needs to make all by themselves. Even though your husband can't communicate with you or anyone else, doesn't mean he can't communicate with the Lord. If the Lord has chosen him as one of his own, he will change his heart. Baptism is an act of obedience. If your husband doesn't even know he is being baptised, it kind of defeats the purpose. Leave your husband in God's hands and pray about it.

Answer 7

We are each responsable for our own acceptance of Christ and obediance to him. We also are not promised that we will live past the current time, we are not promised additional opportunities.

If someone dies in a lost condition, that person's fate is determined. Just like this, if someone is rendered incapable of reasonong, their fate remains the same as it was when they entered that state. They will be judged based on the life they lived up to that point. Remember, we are not promised additional opportunities to come to Christ. "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (2 Cor. 6:2)

As for the thief on the cross, he lived his life and died before Christ commanded "He that believes and is baptized shall be saved". (Mark 16:16)

The theif lived under the Law of Moses, we now live under the law of Christ.

The death, burial and resurrection of Christ that baptism represents had not yet occurred, so the theif could not have been baptized with this baptism.

Baptism is "in the name of Christ" or according to the authority of Christ. At the time the theif died, Christ had not yet instructed his baptism, so the theif could not have been obediant to a command that had not yet been given.

The theif was at the scene of the death of Christ, where his saving blood was shed. We contact Christ's death (blood) when we are "baptized into Christ" and "Baptized into his death". (Romans 6:3-4, Gal. 3:27, Col. 2:12)

Jesus said, "He that believes and is baptized shall be saved."

What would he have said if he had meant, "He that believes and is baptized shall be saved"?

I believe he said what he meant and meant what he said! I believe Jesus! "He that believes not shall be damned!" (Mark 16:16)

Answer 8

The thief died before the resurrection so he was under the law, not a Christian. Mt 9:6 I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...

Christian baptism is for believers.

Answer 9

Hmmm....Interesting thought. You say you beleine in infant babtism but can an infant really know if they believe or not? The Bible says Babtism should occur at the age of accountability, meaning you have gained enough knowledge to know right from wrong. Can an infant do that?

As for the husband in the Vegative state he could be Babtized but will then need to accept it after he dies and is in Heaven. This does not affect his babtism here on Earth. My religion does Babtisms for the dead in our Temples all over the Earth. We believe that people who died without knowing the truth as well as the ones that lived and died when the truth was taken from the Earth (as it says in the Bible) will have a chance to receive the blessing of babtism in heaven and only need to mave someone here on Earth be babtized by proxy in their name to complete it.

Answer 10

We must all pay for our own sins. If he didn't ask for forgiveness when he was in his right mind, no one can ask for him but the Lord Himself. That decision of salvation would depend on God almighty. Throwing water on him when he don't know why will only get him wet.