Would a Catholic joining your church need to be baptized again?

Question

If a Catholic converted to your faith, would he or she need to be baptized again? Would your church consider his or her Catholic baptism valid?

Or would your church be like the Catholic Church and say it is not necessary because you are already a baptized Christian?

Answer 1

Hopefully there is not any church that would require a person to be re-baptised. A person is not baptised to a religion; they are baptised to Christ. If someone re-baptises someone, then they are insulting God, saying that he didn't do it well enough the first time around.

Answer 2

I was born into a Catholic family and baptized as a baby. I have since accepted Christ and now attend a non-denominational Christian church. Personally, I don't really care that I haven't been "properly" baptized. My God knows that I consider Jesus Christ my Messiah and my life is evident of His grace. I am new in Him and my God knows my heart, who cares if I take a symbolic bath or not?

(Let it be known that I am not against baptism, and I want to go to the Jordan River to be baptized where Jesus was, but I don't have any doubts that if I die before I am baptized I will go to heaven, or that I am a Christian.)


****Seriously, do you guys think Jesus cares whether or not we are submerged in water, sprinkled, or completely dry? Someone can easily go through a baptism and appear as though they have it together, but they may not trust in the Lord. Just as someone can live their whole life for God and never be baptized. Jesus knows us inside and out, church rules and traditions surely do not matter more to Him then our hearts.

Answer 3

Yes. They need to be completely submerged in water and in the name of Jesus Christ.

I've only heard and I don't know for a fact that catholics are only sprinkled with water. Baptism is to represent burial. Who only covers someone with a hand full of dirt when they die.

Answer 4

Protestants believe that infant baptism is unscriptural, since the Bible states we are to believe, repent and THEN be baptized. An infant cannot believe or repent; therefore, a Catholic wishing to convert to Protestantism should be baptized, following a public confession of belief.

Answer 5

The Bible is very clear about baptism. There are two points we all need to understand. (1) Baptism is to take place after a person has received Jesus Christ as Savior, trusting in Him alone for salvation. (2) Baptism is to be by immersion. The word baptize literally means to "immerse / submerge in water." Baptism by immersion is the only method of baptism that adequately illustrates what baptism symbolizes - believers dying, being buried with Christ, and being raised to newness of life (Romans 6:3-4).

With those two key points in mind, what about those who were baptized unbiblically? For the sake of clarification, let's divide this into two categories as well. First, in the instance of someone who was baptized before he/she became a Christian. Common examples of this are those who were baptized as infants, or those who were baptized later in life, but did not truly know Jesus as Savior when they were baptized. In these instances, yes, such a person definitely needs to be rebaptized. Again, the Bible states that baptism is post-salvation. The symbolism of baptism is lost if a person has not truly experienced salvation by faith in Jesus Christ.

Answer 6

My church would not re-baptize them.