Do Fundies Baptize Themselves

[StellaMarie]

I have a kid in my class whose family left the Catholic church for a "Bible Church" when he was about 8 years old but have, inexplicably, brought each of their children back to be confirmed. He argued that people can be baptized more than once if they want to and informed us his mother has been baptized four times at the Bible Church now. His explanation was that if you have sinned a lot or feel far away from Jesus or just want to be baptized again, then you just ask the pastor. Apparently, that is how they roll over there. I suspect he has had additional baptisms over there as well and is just not telling us since we said it is unnecessary.

I guess they want to cover their bases? It's an interesting approach, to be sure!

I went to a liberal, non dominionist Presbyterian church for a while and that is more or less what they do-- infant baptism, and maybe later the kids join the church officially, but not any sort of big ceremony, at least at our church. The methodist church I attended as a kid was mixed on infant baptism--mom was raised baptist, so none of us kids were baptized as babies. I was 'sprinkled" when I was confirmed at about 12 or 13... I haven't ever attended a "dunking" church as a member.

I was raised in similar Presbyterian churches and we had "sprinkle" (LOL) baptisms as infants and confirmation in 8th grade, I believe. I was kind of jealous of my Catholic friends, as their confirmation process was much more involved and lengthy and seemed more "important." Not to mention the lucky Jewish kids who had parties! [Obviously, my "liberal" upbringing failed me. ;)]

[RosyDaisy]

Yes they do, and it's usually by immersion for teens/young adults A lot of non-fundies practice this as well. I believe in baptism by immersion, and I'm not fundie. My church practices this as well.

[louisa05]

I guess they want to cover their bases? It's an interesting approach, to be sure!

It is really not fair to the kids. This kid acts out, is unhappy to be in confirmation class instead of having fun at the fundie-lite Bible church, and has a youth pastor over there that is devoting his time to undoing on Sunday everything we teach on Wednesday.

I don't agree with the theology or practice of fundie-lite Bible churches, but if you have chosen that for your family, then you need to be all in rather than trying to stick a 13 year old's feet on both sides of a fence. He is confused unnecessarily. He announced to us last week that we will never see him in our church again the moment confirmation is over...so I strongly feel like he should not be confirmed at all. But it is not my decision to make.

[Anny Nym]

It is really not fair to the kids. This kid acts out, is unhappy to be in confirmation class instead of having fun at the fundie-lite Bible church, and has a youth pastor over there that is devoting his time to undoing on Sunday everything we teach on Wednesday.

I don't agree with the theology or practice of fundie-lite Bible churches, but if you have chosen that for your family, then you need to be all in rather than trying to stick a 13 year old's feet on both sides of a fence. He is confused unnecessarily. He announced to us last week that we will never see him in our church again the moment confirmation is over...so I strongly feel like he should not be confirmed at all. But it is not my decision to make.

Uhm..... ?!

This boy seems to be very confused and he´s obviously having a even more confusing family... Are they still members of the church´s congregation? What does your pastor say in this case?

[BrownieMomma]

It is really not fair to the kids. This kid acts out, is unhappy to be in confirmation class instead of having fun at the fundie-lite Bible church, and has a youth pastor over there that is devoting his time to undoing on Sunday everything we teach on Wednesday.

I don't agree with the theology or practice of fundie-lite Bible churches, but if you have chosen that for your family, then you need to be all in rather than trying to stick a 13 year old's feet on both sides of a fence. He is confused unnecessarily. He announced to us last week that we will never see him in our church again the moment confirmation is over...so I strongly feel like he should not be confirmed at all. But it is not my decision to make.

I am so very surprised the kid is coming for confirmation. I wonder what the parents are thinking, maybe one parent is not as on-board with the bible church? Or grandparent influence?

My experience with SBC and non-denom charismatic and pentecostal is outright hostility to the Catholic church. I have heard it derided from every pulpit, and in most unkind terms. Nothing turns me off faster than a preacher who starts Catholic-bashing.

It's odd to me that the kid is being sent for confirmation at all. Poor kid. He must be catching hell over there at the bible church.

[maybeizfundie]

It depends entirely on the church.

My parents were baptized 3 times, actually, in various churches ('cause in many of these churches, their method is the *only* right method and other methods are invalid).

My Reformed fundie friends baptize infants, and it's part of their whole "covenantal" scthick. Mennonites/Amish baptize adults. Baptists and independent fundie groups vary--for some, it's normal to baptize very young children who have expressed faith, and others wait until older teens and adult.

It also means different things to different groups. In evangelical circles, it signifies spiritual regeneration/resurrection. In the cult my parents joined, it signified a covenant promise to the church.

[manda b]

In my church you get baptized as a public sign of your faith.

[lilwriter85]

I just taught baptism with my confirmation kids in Catholic Church. Indeed, anyone can baptize someone but it is only supposed to be in an emergency. The classic example is that an unbaptized person is dying in your arms and asking to be baptized. Grandparents wanting a baby baptized when parents do not would not be considered such a situation. Believe it or not, the Catholic Church would respect the parents' wishes in such a situation. Grandma or grandpa should refrain unless the baby is about to die and the parents request it then and no priest or deacon is available.

I have a kid in my class whose family left the Catholic church for a "Bible Church" when he was about 8 years old but have, inexplicably, brought each of their children back to be confirmed. He argued that people can be baptized more than once if they want to and informed us his mother has been baptized four times at the Bible Church now. His explanation was that if you have sinned a lot or feel far away from Jesus or just want to be baptized again, then you just ask the pastor. Apparently, that is how they roll over there. I suspect he has had additional baptisms over there as well and is just not telling us since we said it is unnecessary.

My father was in this situation with his youngest brother. He was 18 when his brother was born. When my dad's brother was a month old, my grandparents were gone for a day, and my great grandmother was at the home babysitting. My uncle was sick and crying. My dad drove my great grandmother and uncle to a hospital. My uncle was ill with a high fever and my great grandmother immediately suggested an emergency baptism, which my father did with a cup of water.

[friers57]

Even in a diocese, Confirmation age varies widely. I have seen 7th grade, our church (and most around here) confirm in January of 8th grade (preparation begins in 7th grade), and my parents church confirms in 10th grade (preparation begins in 9th grade).

My diocese doesn't do confirmation until 11th grade. Its SO much later than every other diocese around us, but having it later gives all of the kids a better chance to understand what they are doing and why. (And yes, every year kids do drop out because they decide that confirmation is not the right choice for them.)

[busdrivingmom]

My diocese doesn't do confirmation until 11th grade. Its SO much later than every other diocese around us, but having it later gives all of the kids a better chance to understand what they are doing and why. (And yes, every year kids do drop out because they decide that confirmation is not the right choice for them.)

I think kids should have the choice. My daughter is beginning the prep for Confirmation and if she came to me and said I don't want to do this, I would totally support her. I didn't make my Confirmation in 8th grade (its a long story) and I hopefully will be next Spring at 38 yrs old. And it is my choice and not being forced by my parents, although they are happy I am finally doing it.

[PennySycamore]

lilwriter85,

My grandfather was baptized in the hospital by a Methodist (UMC) pastor before he died. I don't know how old my granddad was but he was old enough to receive Medicare. He was sprinkled, of course. My dad always said that if Paul could baptize people in prison then non-immersive methods had to be OK.

Years later, when my parents' Southern Baptist church had turned fundie on them (it had been rather progressive), they left and joined a Methodist chapel near their house. My parents loved that church.

[ADoyle90815]

My brother was baptized by my dad in the hospital when he nearly died of pneumonia at a month old. My dad was a lay Catholic because he was raised that way, and that emergency baptism was considered valid enough for my brother to have a Catholic wedding even though we never went through first Communion and Confirmation. My SIL at the time was still a practicing Catholic, but sometime after my niece was born and baptized, she started attending a different denomination. I've also mentioned that my youngest cousin was a micropreemie, so my uncle baptized him by sprinkling in the hospital as most babies who were that premature died in the NICU. He still has developmental disabilities due to his premature birth.

[Shirley Blest]

i can only answer this from an independent baptist point of view, but according to our beliefs, baptism was only needed once, after you publicly professed faith.

now, you could still get baptized multiple times, however. say, if you were baptized in a church and later there was a special baptism in a river (especially the river jordan in israel) then it was perfectly fine to go ahead and do it.

i'm not sure how pentacostals view baptism, as we kinda viewed them as being weird lol. is there maybe an elder or someone at the church to ask? i hadn't heard of that before, so i'd be interested to know their view on baptism.

So I wonder how that would translate for me in my now Baptist church? I was baptized as a Jehovah's Witness...wonder if that would still hold true?

[browncoatslytherin]

So I wonder how that would translate for me in my now Baptist church? I was baptized as a Jehovah's Witness...wonder if that would still hold true?

i guess that would depend on how they view your salvation. if they think you were genuinely saved, they might accept it. if not, they'll want you to do it again. if they do accept that you were saved when you did it, they still might want you to do it again, if only for the sake of having it done in their church or in a christian church as opposed to a kingdom hall or wherever you were baptized.

so, in other words, best to ask them directly. :P every congregation can be different.

[Firiel]

So I wonder how that would translate for me in my now Baptist church? I was baptized as a Jehovah's Witness...wonder if that would still hold true?

Since most mainstream Christians don't believe Jehovah's Witnesses are Christians, I would guess a pastor would encourage you to be baptized again. A more fundamentalist church might insist upon it while a more typical conservative church might just recommend it.

[BrownieMomma]

So I wonder how that would translate for me in my now Baptist church? I was baptized as a Jehovah's Witness...wonder if that would still hold true?

IIRC SBC considers JW a cult, so you'd need to make a "true" profession of faith and be baptized.

ETA - you could attend there and participate but anything to do with voting on the budget or sending delegates, you'd have to be a member, which means an acceptable baptism.

[Rebelwife]

I think kids should have the choice. My daughter is beginning the prep for Confirmation and if she came to me and said I don't want to do this, I would totally support her. I didn't make my Confirmation in 8th grade (its a long story) and I hopefully will be next Spring at 38 yrs old. And it is my choice and not being forced by my parents, although they are happy I am finally doing it.

I agree. Our church offers confirmation classes beginning in 9th grade, but they are pretty up front that they feel that is the absolute youngest they'll take and they are perfectly fine with the kids waiting - it's supposed to be a personal choice. My (now sophomore) daughter was confirmed last year and I was kind of surprised she wanted to do it. She told me she was going to the class and would decide at the last minute whether or not she wanted to be confirmed.

I'm Episcopalian and they recognize all baptisms, and confirmations from any liturgical churches. I was confirmed in the Catholic Church in 8th grade and when I went through the process to join the ECUSA I was "received" because of that.

[louisa05]

I am so very surprised the kid is coming for confirmation. I wonder what the parents are thinking, maybe one parent is not as on-board with the bible church? Or grandparent influence?

My experience with SBC and non-denom charismatic and pentecostal is outright hostility to the Catholic church. I have heard it derided from every pulpit, and in most unkind terms. Nothing turns me off faster than a preacher who starts Catholic-bashing.

It's odd to me that the kid is being sent for confirmation at all. Poor kid. He must be catching hell over there at the bible church.

We suspect it is to please grandparents. He is the third child in the family (and the youngest) and they did the same thing with the older two. Since they were baptized in our parish, our priest has decided to allow it on the grounds that the church will always be there for them if they choose to come back as adults. The older two (one out of high school and one a senior) were older when the family left and still had connection to the parish. This one does not. And I am absolutely certain he is catching hell at the Bible church which is probably part of the reason for his hostility with us. At this point, due to his declarations about never being part of the church, I feel he should not be confirmed.

[TurtleBelly]

My friend and I grew up United Methodist. We were sprinkled around age 6 or 7. I fell away from church eventually, but she married a more conservative fellow who felt Methodists were too liberal. While they attend a non-denom occasionally, her husband also fancies himself a "home minister" for his own and neighboring families despite his education and chosen vocation in cattle ranching. They recently posted video of a DIY baptism in the backyard in a horse watering trough. Apparently their kids and neighbors' kids were requesting it after recent "sermons," so the guy watched YouTube vids to learn how, then administered them himself.

[SaturnianCatalina]

I think kids should have the choice. My daughter is beginning the prep for Confirmation and if she came to me and said I don't want to do this, I would totally support her. I didn't make my Confirmation in 8th grade (its a long story) and I hopefully will be next Spring at 38 yrs old. And it is my choice and not being forced by my parents, although they are happy I am finally doing it.

That's actually really great to hear that some dioceses out there wait until the kids are older and give them more freedom to choose for themselves to be confirmed. I was raised Catholic and went to Catholic school, and being confirmed was a requirement for passing 8th grade. That's not manipulative at all...

[nolongerIFBx]

i guess that would depend on how they view your salvation. if they think you were genuinely saved, they might accept it. if not, they'll want you to do it again. if they do accept that you were saved when you did it, they still might want you to do it again, if only for the sake of having it done in their church or in a christian church as opposed to a kingdom hall or wherever you were baptized.

so, in other words, best to ask them directly. :P every congregation can be different.

There are some fundies that insist on baptist baptism. For example, the church I was baptized in was baptist but they didn't have it as part of their church name, thus after I had moved to a different church some thought I should be re-baptized in an IFB church so that I had baptist baptism. Truly ridiculous and AFAIAC it was only to boost their baptism numbers so the pastors could boast to their cronies.

[Jana814]

These 2 examples are great!! I agree that a kid should wait till their older and make that decision for themselves. To the second one that stucks that it was a requirement for passing 8th grade.

[SaturnianCatalina]

^Yeah, there was this one girl in my class who had moved here from England and was already confirmed when she lived there, so the school had a huge to-do about whether she was required to go to the ceremony or not. (Most people who went to that school started there in preschool or kindergarten and went from there, so such a situation was a rare occurrence.) Eventually they decided that she did still have to be there in order to pass. :wtf:

[louisa05]

^Yeah, there was this one girl in my class who had moved here from England and was already confirmed when she lived there, so the school had a huge to-do about whether she was required to go to the ceremony or not. (Most people who went to that school started there in preschool or kindergarten and went from there, so such a situation was a rare occurrence.) Eventually they decided that she did still have to be there in order to pass. :wtf:

Wow.

I taught in a Catholic school and confirmation was part of 8th grade theology class. BUT...about 1/3 of the student body was not Catholic, so while they had to take the class, they weren't at all required to be involved in the confirmation process. A family moved in from a neighboring diocese where kids are confirmed in 4th grade, so those kids did not participate, either and no one asked questions about that. And in the ten years I was there, at least five Catholic kids that I can recall decided not to be confirmed and no questions were asked. When I first started teaching confirmation prep in my parish last year, in the training session, we were told that occasionally a kid decides they do not want to be confirmed and that is okay. It is their choice.

[maybeizfundie]

At the Pentecostal church I've been attending for the last year and a half, there has been one baptism ceremony. Honestly, I don't understand what happened. It's not a one time thing? Some people get baptized every time this is done? I was repeatedly asked if I wanted to participate but I kept saying I've already been baptized in a Southern Baptist Church. That clearly had nothing to do with anything. The Catholic church accepts this as a legitimate baptism and would not ask me to be baptized again. So I was/am confused.

Browniemama--is it a "Jesus-only" Pentecostal church? Some of them take a bit of a different view of the trinity, and by extension the form of their baptism is different. If you were baptized "in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit" and they are Jesus-only, they may consider that invalid and believe that you need to be baptized in the name of Jesus alone.

http://ittsy.com/focusonthefaulty/Pages/oneness.html

As a fellow Christian and charismatic at that, I'd cautiously encourage you to investigate their theology and doctrine a little more. If you've been there a year, I'm sure they're lovely people, as people. But if they are oneness Pentecostal you may find yourself under more and more pressure to submit to their particular formulas for baptism (and for life), because they do believe those things are essential for salvation.