Two weekends ago I visited a church which happened to be doing a baby baptism that day. I don't like baby baptisms.
For several reasons which I won't get in to, I disagree with baby baptisms. That Sunday morning it was further confirmed. After little baby had water sprinkled over his head and parents agree to raise him on the straight and narrow, little baby is presented with a wooden teddy bear-shaped wall hanging with baby's first initial. Cute. Then big sister gets a stuffed bunny because she's so wonderful and cute. Everyone is all smiles and after the service pictures are taken of little baby's special day. It was life-changing, right?
What is infant baptism? Why do it? I see people that never come to church (except maybe Christmas and Easter) who bring their babies in to be baptized. Is it their rabbit foot, with confirmation as the lucky penny? In the Bible people got the Holy Spirit and a change of heart; I really don't think John the Baptist was giving out 'I <3 JC' keychains to people lined up by the river.
I know that some people do it with the best intentions and I know that some people recognize their infant baptism as their baptism, but when did we decide to take the decision out of the hands of the one who is getting baptized? Baptism symbolizes many things, a change of heart, a decision, a new life, a cleansing... but does little baby really capture all of those things? Or any?
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Fear. Up until the past hundredish years infant mortality rates were very high. Infant baptism ensures that if a child dies before maturity it will go to heaven. I was raised Annabaptist so I learned to believe this was wrong. I still feel this way. I feel it limits God to say someone needs a human to enact a ritual before God recognizes a person and is willing to let them in to heaven. Is it not written a child is born without sin? How then could a soul without fault or blemish be denied entrance to heaven?
ReplyDeleteApologies for blowing up your blog his morning. I'm in a rough place and this allowed me to focus on something other than myself. Thank you.
hahah don't worry about that, it's nice to think someone actually read it and had something to say :)
ReplyDeleteand it's interesting, I think that even though it may have started that way, I don't know that that is the reason it has continued. I don't think my parents baptized me out of fear, but out of belief. In the United Methodist church it's called prevenient grace. Here's an article with a brief description:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prevenient_grace