I thought I would throw this one on, too: me getting baptised. I've been thinking about doing it again. My mom said she would support that because this day was more of a confirmation and promise on her part to raise me as a Christian. I said, "But remember that big party you had afterward and everyone got me all those gifts?" She said, "We'll just have another party." I laughed and said...okay. Of course, I'm kidding.
8 comments:
Why would you want to get baptised twice?
Some people believe that babies do not understand baptism. You must be able to say it with your mouth and believe it in your heart in order to accept Christ. I thought my baptism stuck when I was little but when even my mom, whose religion baptizes babies, said she doesn't think it is really a baptism because you are too young to know what is going on, I thought "hmmmm...." I thought she would think it was unnecessary and I was being brainwashed into thinking I needed to be baptized again. Instead, she agreed and said that as a baby, it is seen as more of a confirmation.
I still don't know if I'm going to do it or not. I would see it as reaffirming...kind of. That is my little struggle with it. Again, this is all individual. It is sad, though, that most of my family would see me as some kind of freak if I did get baptized as an adult.
Also, I equate it to renewing your wedding vows. Why do it twice? to reaffirm. In fact, I could get baptized once a year if I wanted to reaffirm my faith in Christ.
Really, it is up to the individual. Are you picking up what I'm putting down?
This is true, and also it is a command from Jesus to be baptized. You are baptized with the Holy Spirit, which gives you more faith, and the baptism by water is an outward expression of an inward faith and commitment to follow Christ. As a child/infant we are incapable of making this decision, but as an adult the commitment can be thought through and taken. This is a true commitment. Your words put it best when you say that the first baptism was a dedication by your parents to raise you with Christ in your life.
It is kind of like being "born again", how can you really be born again? You can't re-enter the womb and come back out, but you can be born anew through Christ. Just as it says in the Bible. A second chance to life, free from the confines of sin and death. Eternal life and forgiveness are the new components that Christ offers...freedom from old testament laws. It is by grace we are saved, not by law. Being
baptized expresses that outwardly...something we could not possibly understand, let alone accept as an infant.
Catholics do a form of that. They acknowldege one baptism for the forgiveness of sins but later have first communion then as a young adult, confirmation.
Right, the confirmation. Did you have to do all of those steps/sacraments at once when you became Catholic?
Yes. It took quite a long time (like several months) and that was the "shortened" version. For most Catholics it takes 16 years, at least, for them to reach confirmation. We also did marriage "counseling" with our priest. That was interesting, but it got very redundant after a while. It wasn't necessarily preaching the values of the Catholic church, just compatability surveys, things like that.
Wait--I just re-read what you asked. No, it wasn't all at once. It was a shortened version of Catechism (sp?).
I think you have to get marriage counseling before getting married in my church, too, but I don't know about other stuff (sacraments). I think you probably have to be a Christian and perhaps baptized. Maybe my pastors or church leaders will pipe in and add something but I doubt it.
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