Did anyone NOT baptize their kids?

[Planogirl]

DH was raised in the Catholic Church and his family are still devout members. I decided to have DS baptized and did so in the Catholic Church in case DH went on to expose him to their teachings or DS decided to follow the faith. Neither has happened so far but baptizing him didn't hurt him.

I was baptized in the Lutheran Church as a baby for much the same reasons.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

I was baptized, but I probably shouldn't have been. My mother was baptized Russian Orthodox, raised Catholic, and married Episcopalian. My father was baptized Lutheran, raised primarily Methodist (with a little Baptist) and (obviously) married Episcopalian. I was baptized Presbyterian, because my parents were friends with the minister. I never went to church with my parents (outside of weddigns and funerals), and only occasionally with my grandparents or friends. I certainly would not identify myself as Presbyterian (I'm agnostic).

I have pretty much zero intention of baptizing my own children, but my mother says I should (because she looks at a baptism as just another baby shower). I am very serious in my belief that religion is an individual choice and that parents should do nothing to influence their child with regard to it. In fact, I believe its important for parents, to the best of their abilities, to make their kids aware of all the different options (including the complete lack thereof) available to them for religions and then stand back.

 

[JennyMominRI]

No, My kids were not baptized..They have been the the Kingdom Hall (JW)Lutheran, Catholic Church many times and to Temple many times..ONe of the 3 self identifies as Jewish..As an adult they can make the choice to join a religion or not.. Whatever makes them happy

 

[wvrevy]

I was baptized as a child but am not a Christian (much to the chagrin of my family). DH and I chose not to have DS baptized because we feel that his religion is his choice and it would have been hypocritical of us to go through the motions just to make other people happy.

Change "DH" to "DW" and "DS" to "DD" and I could have written that paragraph.

 

[piglet too]

DH is, but I nor our 3 kids are. (Both of my sisters are though. By the time I was born my folks decided it should be up to me)

I have only once wondered if I needed to do something for my kids. When my one DS almost drowned, I thought about this very subject. But I realized that if DS did not pull through, that God was going to be there with open arms to welcome him.

While at a funeral this past fall, the Methodist minister kept going on and on about how if you accept Jesus as your savior, then you are going to be in Heaven, and how accepting Jesus as your savior was the only way to get there. My DS was so sad because he said to me "Mommy, Jesus is not my savior (this was after asking what it meant) so does that mean I would not be in Heaven if I had died in the pool?" My heart broke for him because after listening to this woman go on and on for 10 minutes like that, my son truly thought that since she was a "church lady" that she was right and that he would be in some bad place. I explained to him how DH and I felt about it and he agreed that God would never have turned him away.

 

[Freyja]

I had my kids baptized, but I don´t think I would do it again. That being said, I think we´ll still have the next baby baptized, but just so it won´t be the "odd one out".

 

[Kath2003]

I was baptized as an infant and I am not, nor have I ever been, a Christian. I won't be baptising my children into any religion.

 

[NY Disney fan]

I have pretty much zero intention of baptizing my own children, but my mother says I should

I am agnostic. I will be baptizing my daughter on March 29th due to extreme, and I mean extreme, family pressue (both sides of the family). I need to grow a pair.

 

[robinb]

I am agnostic. I will be baptizing my daughter on March 29th due to extreme, and I mean extreme, family pressue (both sides of the family). I need to grow a pair.

How does your spouse feel?

 

[Tiggernut_jadie]

umm....what does ivf have to do with baptism? (my 3 are, as well)

DH and I are dunked, me at 14, he at 18 (and he's one of those "elder's kids"). Our children will be baptized when they choose, if they choose. We pray that they do. The twins have both discussed it, but we feel they need to be older.

I do understand the posters that have mentioned they would be disappointed if their children chose to be baptized, when they themselves don't believe. See, we all choose what we believe to be truth. So, the "non-believers" (for lack of a better term) have chosen their truth. If their children choose a different truth, it might seem as though they are doubting their parents intellect, reasoning, what have you. However, as a "believer", I would be happy for their children. KWIM?

Just out of interest how would you feel if your son or daughter said they wanted to become a Muslim?

I was baptized, but I probably shouldn't have been. My mother was baptized Russian Orthodox, raised Catholic, and married Episcopalian. My father was baptized Lutheran, raised primarily Methodist (with a little Baptist) and (obviously) married Episcopalian. I was baptized Presbyterian, because my parents were friends with the minister. I never went to church with my parents (outside of weddigns and funerals), and only occasionally with my grandparents or friends. I certainly would not identify myself as Presbyterian (I'm agnostic).

I have pretty much zero intention of baptizing my own children, but my mother says I should (because she looks at a baptism as just another baby shower). I am very serious in my belief that religion is an individual choice and that parents should do nothing to influence their child with regard to it. In fact, I believe its important for parents, to the best of their abilities, to make their kids aware of all the different options (including the complete lack thereof) available to them for religions and then stand back.

I HEAR you on this one....this is pretty much how I feel about my DD. That said, as an athiest, I have some sympathy with those who have said they would be disappointed if their son or daughter wanted to be baptised!

 

[thop529]

a lot of holy-rollers told her that her baby wasn't going to heaven because she didn't have him baptized...

Just an FYI, Holy-Rollers don't believe in baptizing babies. We believe in dedicating them to the Lord. They would not be baptized until they become at the age of accountability. That age could be 7 for some and 12 for the other.

As far as the baby not going to heaven, sorry that is a baby, what sins could a baby commit. I know the bible says we are born into sin, but come on, God isn't going to not take that baby in his arms. Whoever told those parents that baby is going to hell for not being baptized is a nut.

 

[jimmiej]

We're Southern Baptist. Both our girls made the decision to accept Christ & be baptized around the age of ten. It was their decision, although they were raised in the church & taught from the beginning that the Bible is God's Word.

 

[k_null81]

I was christened catholic almost immediatley after I was born. I was born with a very serious heart defect. If it wasn't for that I'm not sure if my parent's would have done it and I know personally I woulnd't have persued it. If I ever have children I want it to be their choice.

 

[ford family]

Didn't have my children christened for the same reasom I always politely decline the role of godparent - not a believer.

ford family

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

My DD (she is 9 now) goes to a christian school, but we chose to forego baptism. It was a conscious decision for us. My DH (raised catholic, has negative memories) is very spiritual, but has a hard time aligning himself with any one denomination, and also is kind of against organized religion. Does that make sense? Maybe not, but it works for us. I was never baptized. We were not married in a church, either.

I respect people that do it, almost as a tradition type thing.

 

[Nynaeve]

My DD (she is 9 now) goes to a christian school, but we chose to forego baptism. It was a conscious decision for us. My DH (raised catholic, has negative memories) is very spiritual, but has a hard time aligning himself with any one denomination, and also is kind of against organized religion. Does that make sense? Maybe not, but it works for us. I was never baptized. We were not married in a church, either.

I respect people that do it, almost as a tradition type thing.

That makes sense to me, it's pretty how much I feel.

 

[moppety]

Just an FYI, Holy-Rollers don't believe in baptizing babies.

Is "Holy-Roller" it's own denomination now? I've always taken it to describe a really fervent believer of any (usually Christian) belief.

I was christened Episcopalian, but we never went to church. I chose not to have my boys baptised/christened as I felt it was horribly disrespectful to stand at an altar and make a promise I had no intention of keeping. If later in life my sons choose a religion that mandates this, I will support them 100%.

My mom really pressured me a lot. Mind you the only time she goes to church is if there is a funeral or a wedding, and it has been this way for over 30 years. She wanted the pomp and ceremony I think. She couldn't understand that I wasn't going to disrespect any church like that. Made me crazy.

 

[RoyalCanadian]

I am agnostic. I will be baptizing my daughter on March 29th due to extreme, and I mean extreme, family pressue (both sides of the family). I need to grow a pair.

Please do "grow a pair." I mean that in the kindest sense. I'm a Lutheran minister and I have the honour of presiding at baptismal services on a regular basis. In fact, it is one of the most enjoyable aspects of my ministry.

That said, I have counselled some families to not have their child baptized. They had no intention of raising their child in the Christian church, bringing them to worship, teaching them the creeds of the Church, the Ten Commandments, or the Lord's Prayer. Basically, they had no intention of doing anything that they were going to be promising to do in the baptismal service.

They were getting their child "done" because a relative was pressuring them to do so. The parents didn't attend worship in any church or with any Christian faith group. In fact, neither did the relative doing the pressuring.

We don't believe the child is going to hell if they die without the benefit of baptism -- we know that God's grace is more than sufficient to cover that risk. As someone has already pointed out -- baptism is an outward sign of an inner and invisible reality. I would much prefer that families honour and recognize that reality instead of giving in to the well-meaning but misdirected pressures of other relatives.

And -- as an aside -- BRAVO!!! to the family that recognized and respected the "one baptism" rule.

 

[NotUrsula]

Is "Holy-Roller" it's own denomination now? I've always taken it to describe a really fervent believer of any (usually Christian) belief.

Where I grew up in the Deep South, the term was a derogatory one used to refer to Pentecostals. It came from their sometime custom of rolling around on the floor when taken with the Holy Spirit. It was very specific to those sects only, never used to refer to anyone who was mainstream Protestant.

As to the original question: I'm RC, and my kids are Baptized (or one is, the other will be by the end of next month.) We have a sort of two-stage process. No one believes that an infant is making a decision to join a Church; we do it on their behalf until they reach an age of sufficient reason to decide for themselves. At about age 14 they are called upon to make a decision about being Confirmed.

 

[december]

Where I grew up in the Deep South, the term was a derogatory one used to refer to Pentecostals. It came from their sometime custom of rolling around on the floor when taken with the Holy Spirit. It was very specific to those sects only, never used to refer to anyone who was mainstream Protestant.

I was going to post that, but was afraid to offend someone. Holy Rollers here are devout Pentecostals-long hair, no makeup, no tvs......etc.