Re-baptism cannot possibly be valid, for a number of reasons, all scriptural. I'd appreciate some responses from Calvinists on this one.
2006-12-02 10:17:29 · 11 answers · asked by ccrider 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
So far it's not a sin, so I'm getting wet. I'm well aware of the you-can't-make-a-choice-as-an-infant argument, and I'm not even going to argue it. Calvinists?
2006-12-02 10:31:37 · update #1
If you were baptized validly when you were a baby, you had an indelible mark put on your soul. Any future baptisms is just getting wet. We must believe that it marks the soul no matter when it was done.
2006-12-02 11:46:54 · answer #1 · answered by Midge 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not a Calvinist but I can tell you that baptism as a child is not intended as the public announcement of your decision to follow Christ. That's just not possible as an infant is it? Rather, it is a public announcement by your parents that they will raise you in a Christian home and dedicate themselves to raising you according to Godly principles.
The baptism of an adult is a bit different, it's the public declaration of a private decision.
2006-12-02 18:31:40 · answer #2 · answered by arewethereyet 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Baptism is a conscious act of obedience by someone who has been born again. Since it's a conscious act made by the will of the individual, being baptized as an infant is a moot point because they are incapable of repenting and of making any choices. Nowhere in Scripture does it tell us to baptize our infant children. If you chose to be re-baptized it would hardly be considered a sin. This would prove your obedience to Jesus Christ and show that you are making a conscious act to repent of your sin and be identified with Jesus Christ.
2006-12-02 18:26:36 · answer #3 · answered by utuseclocal483 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Re baptism is not a sin, if you were baptized without knowing or acknowledging the meaning of it, then you were just getting wet. Believers Baptism is what the Bible teaches, not infant baptism.
2006-12-02 18:22:16 · answer #4 · answered by impossble_dream 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
I am Catholic. You enter the sacrement of baptisted as an infant in Christ and belong to God. Simular to the circumcision in the Old Testement. You then follow a Christian life with the other sacrements. Then you may even die with Christ with the sacrement of Anointing of the Sick. Catholics will accept a Bapstist and other baptisms.
We believe that Christianity is not a one time thing but a way of life and that is why we have our sacrements which are a wonderful thing to recieve the sacrements and become closer to Christ.
2006-12-02 18:28:54 · answer #5 · answered by cursed lamanite 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Infant baptism means nothing to salvation. You had no choice in the matter. Now you do. Accepting Christ comes first. Baptism is just an outward profession of an inward decision.
2006-12-02 18:39:17 · answer #6 · answered by azar_and_bath 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
If you are "well aware that you cannot make a choice as an infant" then what makes you think for one moment that getting bapized(an outward expression of YOUR inward faith) as an infant is valid at all.
Since you cannot make the choice as an infant you cannot hardly have an inward faith. YOU MUST CHOOSE, not your parents. Your parents belief will not get you into heaven, and you cannot ride on their coat tails.
2006-12-02 18:45:05 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
It is not a sin. Sometimes when we are baptized when we are young we have a tendency to stray from the Lord. There is nothing wrong with publicly showing you are re-dedicating yourself to God.
2006-12-02 18:27:08 · answer #8 · answered by jim h 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Baptized as an infant is just getting a bath. You need to accept Christ to be saved, then get baptized.
2006-12-02 18:28:20 · answer #9 · answered by light_pierces_darkness 3 · 2⤊ 2⤋
this is something i had to research for myself many years ago--i too, had been baptized as an infant--and then God told me to get baptized as an adult--i didnt understand until i understood why we are baptized in the first place--Baptizm is so that one can speak out loud his firm committment to GOD and to HIs Son, Jesus and his belief in the Holy Spirit. i realized that as an infant i had no choice in the matter --it was NOT a statement being made public on my part--but on the part of my parents--which meant that my infant baptizm was really a dedication ceremony. i belive because my parents did do this ceremony that God made himself real in my life--that he went out of his way to do this in response to my parents faith in this baptizm/dedication--but I as an adult had to speak out loud and in public my firm committment to GOD--and this would be similar to a marriage in that it was a life time committment to Love honor and obey God--and that i was doing this on my own--under my own power.
so i say to u--if u understand what your baptizm is--you will know the answer to your question.
it is like standing up and being counted for JESUS--standing up publiclly--no matter what the cost--i hope this helps you.
2006-12-02 18:33:09 · answer #10 · answered by IMListening2U 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋