In the Catholic Church a child can be baptized if only one parent is Catholic. Just ignore the warped notions of baptism offered above. Protestants have reduced the holy sacrament of baptism to a mere human gesture, but we know that a sacrament is a mighty work of God that fills us with grace and changes us spiritually. We also know that Christ said you cannot be saved without it, and that the true Christian Church has baptized babies for 2,000 years. So make your arrangements for your child, allow him/her to become a member of the Church and a child of God.
2007-09-24 08:29:15
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answer #1
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answered by PaulCyp 7
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Baptism is the start of a Christian life and the God parents should want to promote that life and help the child understand what is means to be a practicing faithful Christian, so no matter the "sect" both persons involved in the Baptism should be willing to take this on.
2007-09-24 15:30:39
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answer #2
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answered by Perhaps I love you more 4
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Baptism is a "ritual" a person undergoes after they believe the gospel. Seeing as it is impossible for a child to comprehend the gospel, let alone believe it, makes this a useless ritual.
Bottom line; there is only one baptism and one faith, according to the apostle Paul, and this one baptism is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. One who undergoes baptism by water who does not believe the gospel is just getting wet.
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2007-09-24 15:28:54
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answer #3
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answered by Hogie 7
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I personally do not believe in infant baptism. I believe it is covenant that you enter after you reach the age of accountability. The guidelines for each church will vary. Usually the question will be does one parent object? Then it is less likely the church will agree.
2007-09-24 15:45:53
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answer #4
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answered by Isolde 7
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When you get a child baptized you are taking the responsibility to bring that child up teaching them about God and Jesus. This can be done by one parent or two if the other parent is willing to help. When the child is old enough to make their own decisions about God and Jesus they can reaffirm their baptismal vows.
2007-09-24 15:36:28
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answer #5
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answered by 9_ladydi 5
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Baptism, according to the bible requires nothing of the parents, and it only requires that the one receiving the baptism be aware that they are simply showing in an outside manner, the results of an inward change in their heart.
So, if the child is aware that they have chosen Jesus Christ over the alternative of eternal death, then that is all that is needed for a baptism to be performed.
Now, if you are asking about rules and regulations that men have put on baptism, you would have to ask the followers of that man or men, or the man or men themselves.
God states that it is an outward showing of an inward change, accepting the baptism of the holy spirit, not of man and his rules and regulations.
2007-09-24 15:32:17
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answer #6
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answered by cindy 6
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The Bible states that we are to repent of our sins and be baptized by immersion (that's what the Apostles did) in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin. Then we will receive the Holy Ghost Acts 2:38) which is the power and authority of our Creator to help us overcome our trials and tribulations. We know we have it when we speak in tongues.
Infant didn't come about until the mid 400's to get the Roman catholic church deeper into the pockets of the people. The clergy charged for everything. If you were a rich man back then and you died, the clergy would find the corpse to be a heretic and claim all of the possessions of the deceased. It was quite a scheme to get rich.
2007-09-24 15:31:16
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answer #7
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answered by michael m 5
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Baptism is for one who has put their faith in Christ.Salvation MUST happen before total 100% Emursion of baptism takes place
2007-09-24 15:28:30
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answer #8
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answered by Anonymous
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Yes.
The Catholic Church requires the consent of the father for a bapstism. If the father is deceased, then only does the consent of the mother carry authority. If both parents are deceased, then the responsibillity falls to the godparents of the child.
Here are some quotes regarding infant baptism, to counter the inevitable un-biblical fundies who try to discount it.
The conjunction of water and the Holy Spirit brings us to John 3:5: "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." The Catholic Church understands this combination to represent the water of baptism that brings to us the Holy Spirit, which is to say his grace. "Bible Christians," avoiding the plain sense, say that Christians misunderstood this verse from the earliest years right up to the Reformation. Instead of "water and the Spirit" being read as a unit (baptism), they should be read independently: water (baptism) and the Holy Spirit (accepting Christ as Lord as Savior). Only the second is functional; the former is decorative—commanded by Christ but nevertheless not really doing anything to the recipient.
Turn to Acts 2:38, where Peter says, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Notice the sequence: First comes repentance; then comes baptism—which effects the forgiveness of sins—and then, as a consequence of that forgiveness and therefore of baptism, comes the gift (the grace) of the Holy Spirit. This verse makes sense only if it is understood as saying that baptism is not a mere symbol. If baptism were just an ordinance and not a sacrament, why would Peter bother to include it in his instruction?
The head of the apostles is supported by Paul, who said to the Corinthians that "you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified" (1 Cor. 6:11). By washed he was not referring to the Corinthians’ bathing practices, because sanctification and justification are not dependent on hygienic practices. The verb meant that they had been baptized, and it was their baptism that brought them, for the first time, a state of sanctification and justification. Baptism changed them internally, spiritually, as it changes us.
"Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them; and when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying, ‘Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God’" (Luke 18:15–16).
But, one might ask, does the Bible ever say that infants or young children can be baptized? The indications are clear. In the New Testament we read that Lydia was converted by Paul’s preaching and that "She was baptized, with her household" (Acts 16:15). The Philippian jailer whom Paul and Silas had converted to the faith was baptized that night along with his household. We are told that "the same hour of the night . . . he was baptized, with all his family" (Acts 16:33). And in his greetings to the Corinthians, Paul recalled that, "I did baptize also the household of Stephanas" (1 Cor. 1:16).
In all these cases, whole households or families were baptized. This means more than just the spouse; the children too were included. If the text of Acts referred simply to the Philippian jailer and his wife, then we would read that "he and his wife were baptized," but we do not. Thus his children must have been baptized as well. The same applies to the other cases of household baptism in Scripture.
Granted, we do not know the exact age of the children; they may have been past the age of reason, rather than infants. Then again, they could have been babes in arms. More probably, there were both younger and older children. Certainly there were children younger than the age of reason in some of the households that were baptized, especially if one considers that society at this time had no reliable form of birth control. Furthermore, given the New Testament pattern of household baptism, if there were to be exceptions to this rule (such as infants), they would be explicit.
The present Catholic attitude accords perfectly with early Christian practices. Origen, for instance, wrote in the third century that "according to the usage of the Church, baptism is given even to infants" (Holilies on Leviticus, 8:3:11 [A.D. 244]). The Council of Carthage, in 253, condemned the opinion that baptism should be withheld from infants until the eighth day after birth. Later, Augustine taught, "The custom of Mother Church in baptizing infants is certainly not to be scorned . . . nor is it to be believed that its tradition is anything except apostolic" (Literal Interpretation of Genesis 10:23:39 [A.D. 408]).
2007-09-24 16:43:11
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answer #9
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answered by lundstroms2004 6
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Baptism by water was a Jewish custom based upon Levitical law. The traditional rules regarding the construction of a mikvah are
based on those specified in classical rabbinical literature. According to these rules, a mikvah must be connected to a natural spring or well of naturally occurring water, and thus can be supplied by rivers and lakes which have natural springs as their source[4]. A cistern filled by the rain is also permitted to act as a mikvah's water supply. Similarly snow, ice and hail are allowed to act as the supply of water to a mikvah, as long as it melts in a certain manner[5]. A river that dries up on a regular basis cannot be used because it is presumably rainwater which cannot purify while flowing. Oceans for the most part have the status of natural springs.
Several biblical regulations specify that full immersion in water is required to regain ritual purity after ritually impure incidents have occurred. Most forms of impurity can be nullified through immersion in any natural collection of water. Some, such as a Zav, however require "living water,"[2] such as springs or groundwater wells. Living water has the further advantage of being able to purify even while flowing as opposed to rainwater which must be stationary in order to purify. The mikvah is designed to simplify this requirement, by providing a bathing facility that remains in ritual contact with a natural source of water.
John the Baptist baptized people will the knowledge that it only represented a ritual cleansing according to the law, but it was a permanent solution for salvation. Christians adopted this practice because the earliest believers were Jews. However, the purpose was changed from Jewish ritual cleansing to that of following Christ's example. Baptism among Christians today represents being buried in a like manner with Christ, rising up to newness of life in Christ, and the washing away of sin.
Infant or child baptism is not mentioned in the Bible. Only adults who professed belief in Jesus were baptized. Adult cannot stand before God in place of their child if the child has not experienced salvation or the knowledge of what God has done for them. This is a believer's baptism because one has to believe before baptism. An infant, although born with original sin, has not committed sin and is covered by the blood of Christ until they reach the age of understanding.
1 Cor. 7:12-14 tells us: "But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away.
13 And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.
14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy".
We as parents have the awesome responsibility to teach our children about the Lord. The Lord through His holy word instructs about how we should raise our children. Please the following scriptures:
Prov. 22:6
6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Eph. 6:4
4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
When a child is born we take them to church and dedicate them to God not to baptize. We give back to God what He has given and entrusted to us. God Bless
gatita_63109
2007-09-24 16:56:39
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answer #10
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answered by gatita 7
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