My son is 18 months old - and he has not been Christened as I'm not a Christian and I believe that his faith should be his choice when he is ready.
But there are some Christians (including my mother in law) who've said that if he's not Christened and he dies - he will go to hell.
Is this fair and 'Christian'?
2007-03-07 03:53:42 · 84 answers · asked by mark 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I see you have the mother in law from hell,god help you,lol tell her to mind her own business.
2007-03-07 04:05:01 · answer #1 · answered by LYNDA M 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I dont believe so. I agree with what your doing. Faith should be a choice, and not a forced decision. As far as being "christened" this is a Catholic belief that I have yet to find any grounds for in the Bible. All children prior to the age of decision, will be with Christ in Heaven. Look at what happened to David in 2 Samuel...hes son with Bathsheba died prior to being baptized/christened, and yet David...a man after Gods own heart, only prayed over him while he was alive. After that, he prayed no more. His advisers were perplexed, and when they asked him about it..he says that his son can no longer come back to him, but he must go to his son. Which implies that his son is in Heaven waiting for his father to join him. As far as what your mother in law saying being fair and Christian, i can only assume that she is catholic, and that is her belief. Id say wait until your son is ready, if he decides, to become a Christian before accepting marriage with Christ in baptism.
2007-03-07 04:04:07 · answer #2 · answered by Underdog 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
He won't go to Hell unless he grows to an age of accountability where he is mature enough to realize that he was born into sin just like everyone else and needs to repent of his sinful nature, even if he hasn't knowingly done anything wrong! A child cannot begin to fathom the need for repentance, water baptism, sanctification and being filled with the Holy Ghost, so if something tragic were to end his life at such an early age, he would rest safely and be gathered unto God after the Judgment. Your mother-in-law's opinion (in my opinion!) is slightly misinformed and her brazenness with the "going to hell" statement concerning your son isn't very Christian-like.
2007-03-07 04:31:03 · answer #3 · answered by bigvol662004 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ok, no where in scripture does the Bible even talk about "christening"! A person should be Baptized by being fully immersed in water (this is how it was always done in the Bible) and it should not be done until the person understands what they are doing. If your son at 18 months can explain to you why he needs to be baptized then go for it (LOL, yeah right huh?!?!) otherwise there is no need! Jesus Christ does not send babies to hell for not understanding baptisim! If your MIL really believes this then she doesn't know God or understand HIS MERCIES!
2007-03-07 04:13:06 · answer #4 · answered by suzyalexisandgabe 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That is a very large Christian belief, but would you want to christen your son to a religion who's god would send an innocent child to purgatory? My suggestion is what I did with my oldest. Instead of christening or baptizing, we dedicated him to God - not Christianity - this was done in a small baptist church and my mother was pleased. Will your child go to Hell? That's a matter of belief not fact.
2007-03-07 04:04:26 · answer #5 · answered by Trish 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That sounds very unfair of your mother in law.
Your son will not go to hell at all just based on the fact he was christened. And to be honest, 'believers baptisms' mean so much more and are very spiritual as it is the commitment of the person.
Also, I have a lot of respect that you are not pushing your faith onto your son and he wil be allowed to make the decision. I think it will mean so much more to you as a parent when you see him giving his life to Christ, because HE wants to.
Don't woory, God is with him every step! And your son will not go to hell if he dies just because he wasn't Christened.
2007-03-07 04:02:13 · answer #6 · answered by Cookie_Monster_UK 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Friend if your child die today, he will go to heaven, there is no bible whatsoever for Christening a baby, That is a teaching the catholic church brought in. When you child get old enough to know right & wrong Then is the time to get saved & baptized. Some church also dedicates a baby back to God, We do that not as saving them but showing God that we thank God for our child & in turn we dedicate him back unto you, but there is no salvation in that either. Don't listern to people, By the time everyone tells you what you need to do with your child, his skin will be warped from so much water. Let Your child grow, & he or she will have to make that decision to serve God. We can only bring them up in the knowledge of the Lord, But we can not save them, God does that.
2007-03-07 04:01:54 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Most Christians believe that infants and small children would be well taken care of by Jesus if they have the misfortune of dying so young. Christening of very small children in the opinion of most Christians is more of a dedication ceremony -- the kids are too young to make up their minds.
Becoming a Christian is basically accepting Jesus Christ as your personal saviour and accepting his gift to you (eternal life by acknowledging that he died on the cross for your sins). This is the basic tenet of Christianity. As you have found out, there are a lot of interpretations of other doctrine and as adults, we have to read the Bible and understand it to the best of our abilities.
2007-03-07 04:02:58 · answer #8 · answered by Santa C 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No...your child will not go to hell because he hasnt been Christened...that doesnt save a baby...Babies are innocent so if they do die they will automatically be with Jesus...however when they get old enough to understand what Christ is and what he did for us then he will be able to make the life saving decision on rather or rather not to accept Christ as his Lord and Savior...then that will depend on rather or not he goes to Heaven or Hell.
You said your not a Christian...so if you die tonight where do you think you will go?
2007-03-07 04:01:27 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
No, and it is those judging people who show no love for their fellow man who will go to hell if their is indeed one. The sad thing is, even these hardcore condemning Christians will often, when a biblical text is brought up, say 'you can not take that literally.'
So many of the Christian faith have took the words of Jesus and put their own meaning to them. When Jesus said there is no way to heaven but through him, where could even the most twisted mind relate this to - If you do not believe in me in this life, you will suffer eternally. I think Jesus was speaking of the love and forgiveness he showed to everyone.
Even the beginning Bible scholar must know that Jesus intentionally did not speak literally and loved using parables, it is sad that so many evil hearted people turned his words into what they have.
2007-03-07 03:59:34 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
If you are not a Christian, then presumably you do not believe what Christians believe. So why ask? I submit that no one knows whether there even IS such a thing as hell, and that parents should decide whether or not they want to go through a ritual such as baptism (Christening); it's not your mother-in-law's decision to make.
2007-03-07 03:59:25 · answer #11 · answered by MOM KNOWS EVERYTHING 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋