thoughts on baptism???

Question

Heres' a thought....If you don't get baptized you are not recognized as a Christian/Catholic, therefore you are not welcomed into heavan? Is this correct? If so...and a poor infant has died before being bapitized....they are not accepted into heaven?

I have 2 kids. Age 4 and 2 and will not baptize them because i think its unneccessary for me to choose what they should believe in at such a young age. When they are 18...they can make their decisions based on experience of life and learning....I personally do not believe in the "stories" being told. I'm an atheist...I should have made that clear, but I was just curious as to what others thought of this ridiculous thought that you are not allowed into heaven if you don't recieve forgiveness or what not...who knows what happens to our souls?? NOBODY!

I'm sorry I should re phrase my commetn. I'm not too sure what I would really be...I believe there is a higher power but I don't believe in ANY of the B*ll S**T that man (and by that I mean humans) changed rules and made rules and twisted things to fit their own needs and or desires....A power yes...humans no.

Answer 1

Being baptised doesn't let you into heaven. You get into heaven not through words or actions. It's a matter of the heart. If you put your faith in God and trust Him with all your heart, soul, and mind, you are a child of God. Baptism is a public proclomation of your faith and relationship with God.
If a baby dies, with our without being baptised, God judges the heart. He knows whether the child would accept or deny His love if the baby had been given the chance to know the love of God.
I hope I've helped you!

Answer 2

There are three main ways the sacrament of baptism is practiced--immersion, afusion, and aspersion. Immersion means the whole body is dunked into the baptismal. Afusion is pouring water over the body as with a pitcher, and aspersion is sprinkling.

In some christian religions you must be baptized into that religion, however most christian religions recognize baptism as a sacrement that is only practiced once during a person's life time. There are two sacraments, the other being the holy eucharist, or last supper. Some churches practice the eucharist weekly, others anually, or more or less often.

What is the real purpose of baptism? It ought to be a personal identification with Jesus Christ, a ritual symbolic of his easter death and resurrection. For that reason, infant baptism makes little sense. It makes less sense yet that God would curse an infant whose parents did not believe in infant baptism.

But then, pretty much all religions believe things that make little sense. I don't mean to start a religious war here, just pointing out the facts.

Answer 3

The Bible does not teach that you must be baptized (in water) to get into Heaven. The statement you made "If so...and a poor infant has died before being bapitized....they are not accepted into heaven?" this is NOT a true statement.

We must trust in Jesus Christ for the foregiveness of sins to be saved. If we accept Jesus and are able to get baptized (in water) we should, but if for some reason we die before we are baptized, we will not go to hell. Trusting in Jesus is enough to be saved from hell and have the promise of eternal life.

What you have stated is a roman catholic belief and does not fit with what the Bible teach.

I am a Born Again Christian, not a catholic.

Answer 4

It may be that, as a Catholic if you are not baptized, you are not recognized , but that is not true of Christianity.
Of all the instances of baptism events in the bible besides Christ himself, all of them are examples of non-believers becoming believers. No-where does it say or even infer that babies must be baptized other than "households" which of course would mean everyone in there.... and these are households of former non-believers. It doesn't say that if you are born into the house of a believer, that you must also be baptized as a believer.
That being said, it is considered an act of obedience to be baptized. So take that as you will, however since babies are incapable of understanding salvation, obedience or baptism in general, they would NOT be rejected of heaven should they die before being baptized.
Also - baptism in and of itself is NOT a means to salvation - therefore the point is moot anyway.

Answer 5

In the Bible...older people were baptized, not infants. Even Jesus didn't get baptized until he was an adult. He was baptized by his cousin John the Baptist.
It is widely assumed that once a person has grown to the age of understanding that he or she would make the decision on their own to be baptized...to ask God to forgive their sins, and make them born again!
Baptism is that...washing the sins away.
An infant is not at the age of understanding..or being able to make a willful decision to surrender to God, and ask for forgiveness and salvation. Infants do not go to hell.

Answer 6

Baptizing with assistance from water is lack of life to the international, being cleanses of all sins and raising up a sparkling individual in Christ, Baptism with assistance from fireplace is the Holy Spirit of God, which empowers us. i'm now to not particular about the "new age" faith under no circumstances fairly gotten into it that a lot, even if the Bible says both Baptism so some distance as fireplace replacing water, imagine i'd believe the Bible more advantageous than the 'new age' ideas..

Answer 7

We are all loved by God, even Babies who have not been baptized. They have never sinned. God would never deny them heaven because they were not Baptized.
As for an adult, there is Baptism of water - the usual way in which you become a Catholic/Christian.
There is also Baptism of blood when you die a martyrs death for the faith before you can get baptized and Baptism of desire. This is for those who never heard about Baptism but live a decent life, or those who life a holy life in another religion like the Jewish religion and who do not accept Jesus. They live another faith the best they can. God rewards them for their faith lives. They can also merit heaven.

Answer 8

No! Children who don't know God or can't fully understand God and the depth of His word are accept into Heaven because they are innocent. There is a passage in the Bible that talks about an age of accountability. (This of course is just what i believe. I think Catholics believe that infants should be baptized but I'm not sure).

Answer 9

infant baptism means nothing, its just water to them. They can be "dedicated" to God in the church as infants or children. The baptism is after you repent and accept Jesus. It is to show publically that you accept Christ and are not ashamed. It is like the initiation ceremony. It is commanded so as soon as you accept Jesus you must be baptised. You cant ignore it because it is a command, not a suggestion. Babies will go to heaven because they are innocent and dont know the difference between right and wrong yet. When the child is old enough to accept responsibility and know what hes/she's doing and to accept consequences then he or she is accountable for the sins they do and for rejecting or accepting Jesus as their Savior. That is why the Jews have those BarMitzvas because when they turn 15 they are responsible for their own actions. A 3 yr old who shoots someone dead is different than a 17 yr old who shoots someone dead.

Answer 10

While we should preach that all men are commanded to repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38), adding any other requirement to salvation by grace becomes "works" in disguise. Even though numerous Scriptures speak of the importance of water baptism, adding anything to the work of the cross demeans the sacrifice of the Savior. It implies that His finished work wasn’t enough. But the Bible makes clear that we are saved by grace, and grace alone (Ephesians 2:8,9). Baptism is simply a step of obedience to the Lord following our repentance and confession of sin. Our obedience— water baptism, prayer, good works, fellowship, witnessing, etc.—issues from our faith in Christ. Salvation is not what we do, but Who we have: "He that has the Son has life" (1 John 5:12).