Infant baptism (”paedobaptism”) has come up in a few contexts lately–some conversations, some radio shows, some blogs, etc. I’d like to put down some thoughts.

1.) It’s Important

It’s important to figure this out. We shouldn’t just shrug and say, “Oh well, people disagree.” If infant baptism is valid, then we credobaptists (believer’s baptists) are withholding something from our children–not treating them as God would have us. But if baptism is something that a believer does, then those who were “baptized” as infants are not obeying the Lord in his command to be baptized. Either way, we are missing something. God commanded this practice for a reason; if we take His commands seriously, we should do our best to understand them correctly. We should go to the Scriptures, and do our best to understand them correctly. Keep reading →

July 22, 2008 2:15 PM

A fraudster who took a photo of his baby surrounded by £40,000 of stolen cash, has had the image used in evidence against him.

Ady Bunu, 34, took the shot of his young son after netting the cash in a cash machine scam in East Yorkshire. Keep reading →

Tuesday, 8 May 2007
Jack Waterford

EMILY POST , I am not. The knife and fork, came late into most of the root systems of my family tree and the scars on the face of some of my ancestors bear witness. Napkins came in first with our bushranging. I am not normally held out to be any model of courtesy, manners or proper behaviour by anyone. But I do claim an expertise of sorts on rules of conduct and relationship for spiritual affinity. Keep reading →

Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers January 2, 2008
By Doug Carroll

Paul Martinez came all way from Orange, Calif., for a baby’s baptism.

He got one, too — in the dirty, icy waters of Lake Michigan.

Click here for a photo gallery of the polar plunge in Sheboygan

Click here for a video of the polar plunge in Sheboygan

“I scream like a little girl when the hot water goes out in my shower, let alone this,” said Martinez, 36, one of those who heeded the call to jump in the lake Tuesday as part of the annual New Year’s Day Polar Bear Plunge in Sheboygan.

“This is so not normal for me,” he said. “But I’m coming back every year. I’m addicted now.”

The event, which has been staged since 1971, drew a few hundred intrepid souls to North Beach on a sunny, 21-degree day that felt much colder with gusty winds. Many of the participants brought cameras or a support crew to testify to their folly.

“It’s … not … cold … enough!” went the group cheer before Justin Bohn, president of the Polar Bear Club, counted down by bullhorn to the 1 p.m. start.

Most agreed, however, that it was colder than last year’s plunge, when the high temperature was 46 degrees. Many of Tuesday’s participants emerged from the lake with algae plastered to them.

“Maybe we’ve got Milwaukee to thank for that,” said Tom Jens, 56, of Sheboygan Falls, a dairy farmer who was part of the first frigid dip years ago with fewer than a dozen pals from the University of Wisconsin-Sheboygan.

“We’ve had years where we’ve had more ice,” Jens said. “That would have been nicer. If you’re gonna go in, you might as well have it cold, right?”

Veteran “polar bears” grieved the loss of the Sheboygan Armory as the event’s base camp, saying it wasn’t the same to convene at Dave’s Who’s Inn, 835 Indiana Ave., and then drive several blocks to North Beach. The armory, within walking distance of the beach, closed about a year ago.

“At the armory, it was like a polar bear death march,” said Christian Lindau, 18, of Sheboygan, a sixth-year “polar bear.” “It was a big gathering point for a lot of people.”

Dave Repinski, the owner of Dave’s Who’s Inn, said his place became headquarters for before and after parties only within the past week. He said he plans to open the upstairs next year to families with children, which would give the tavern a capacity of 550.

Even with “bears” everywhere, hoisting beers and watching the Wisconsin-Tennessee Outback Bowl football game on TV, it was a mannerly zoo.

“These people are fantastic,” Repinski said. “Everyone has been in good spirits.”

Martinez accompanied his friend Paul Koene to Sheboygan Falls for the baptism of Koene’s 11-month-old daughter, Stella Rae. Koene, 39, who has lived in California for 10 years, extended a polar-bear challenge even though he never had taken the plunge.

“This morning he had the look of a dead man walking,” Koene said of Martinez. “It’s one of those things that if you do it, you check it off the list.”

Martinez said he called a former high school coach for a pep talk beforehand. Keep reading →

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) ―When Elisabeth Anne Huls was baptized over the weekend, she wore a white cotton gown that’s been in her family for 124 years.The gown and accompanying petticoat cost $10 for a seamstress to make back in 1883. Agnes Munz, Elisabeth’s great-great-great-grandmother, paid to have the dress made for the first of her four children.

Her investment paid off as 21 children — members of five generations — have worn it. Elisabeth, who was born Oct. 18, was the second in the fifth generation to wear the gown.

Marcia Huls, Elisabeth’s grandmother, said she expects the gown to be worn for future baptisms. Through the years, mother-of-pearl buttons on the back of it have remained intact, along with drawn thread work and embroidery. Keep reading →

[Episcopal News Service] A historic ecumenical agreement mutually recognizing the sacrament of Baptism was signed by the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil, the Roman Catholic Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Presbyterian United Church and the Syrian Orthodox Church during a November 15 celebration at the Mosteiro de São Bento in São Paulo, Brazil. More than 400 people attended the celebration.The agreement was the result of several years of dialogue between the five Christian denominations through the National Council of Christian Churches (CONIC).

In the document, the churches agree that “the Baptism instituted by Christ is fundamentally a free gift of God,” and “accept the Baptism as basic link of the unity that is given by the faith in the same Lord.”

The churches have agreed that “re-baptism” is not necessary when a Christian changes affiliation from one church to another.

“This mutual recognition was well received in ecumenical circles, especially within the World Council of Churches,” said the Rev. Canon Francisco de Assis da Silva, provincial secretary of the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil. “This is the first time that the mutual acceptance of Baptism has been instituted by a multilateral agreement, including the Roman Catholic Church.”

The document was signed by

The Rt. Rev. Geraldo Lyrio (Roman Catholic Church)
The Most Rev. Mauricio Andrade (Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil)
Pastor President Walter Altmann (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil),
Pastor Moderator Manoel de Souza Miranda (Presbyterian United Church of Brazil)
Mons. Antônio Nakkoudda (Sirian Orthodox Antioch Church).

Original source:
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_92100_ENG_HTM.htm

By Katya Cengel, The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal

RHODA, KY - Ten minutes from the tiny town of Smiths Grove, Ky., past the fields and the Jet Stop convenience store, is a little community called Rhoda.

Not a lot goes on here, but on warm Sundays between noon and 3 p.m., one of its otherwise empty roads is often lined with parked cars. Below the road, by Beaver Dam Creek, families dressed in their Sunday best gather under the shade of oak and hickory trees.

They have been coming for generations from as far as Bowling Green, Ky., 20 miles to the southwest. Robbie Cooper’s great-grandfather, grandfather and mother came here. Now Robbie, 11, is here, waiting to be baptized.

Trial by water

While other children splash in the shallow water on the top of the concrete dam, Robbie stands to the side clutching a white handkerchief. In a few minutes he will use the handkerchief to cover his mouth as his grandfather and namesake, Robert Carter, dunks him in the water.

The handkerchief is Carter’s, who says he remembers the day he was baptized here 36 years ago. At age 22, he says, it was a new experience, “something I’d never felt before.” Robbie’s mother, Anna Sanders, was also baptized here when she was 11.

His grandmother, Alice Carter, remembers her father baptizing people in the creek before it was dammed, before pews, a pulpit and a changing room were constructed in 1964, creating the Beaver Dam Creek Baptizing Center.

River baptism, Alice Carter says, is simply “our belief.”

It is a belief they know is waning as churches that practice baptism by immersion increasingly turn to the more convenient, less polluted and safer indoor baptismal fonts.

But at Kyrock United Baptist Church in Edmonson County, Ky., where family members belong and where Robert Carter used to preach, “we’re trying to hold on to what we believe and what we know,” she says.

What they know is that Jesus was baptized outdoors in the Jordan River. To go inside for baptism would not be following the Bible, says Bill Leonard, professor of church history and dean of the Divinity School at Wake Forest University.

For the Baptist, Pentecostal and Reformationist congregations who mainly practice outdoor baptism, he says, it symbolizes burying the old life and resurrecting a new one. “Living” or running water is often viewed as an essential part of the ritual because it signifies new life, Leonard says.

For Robert Carter, the reason is simpler: “You want to stay with what you know is real.”

Keep reading →

Here’s an outline of the process for making the proper arrangements at Old Mission San Juan Baustista in San Juan Baustista, CA.  Again — this is specific to just this specific church — but, is provided as a guide to help educate you as to other practices and requirements that you might want to be aware of or be able to ask your church about.

Baptism (For Registered Parishioners):

• Submit completed “Baptism Inquiry” form.
• Parents must attend pre-baptism class. Date of class will be scheduled upon receipt of completed “Baptism Inquiry” form.
• Godparent(s)* must take pre-baptism class at their local parish, or with parents in San Juan Bautista.
  • Bring Mission San Juan Bautista a letter from their parish indicating that they have completed the class(es). Make sure their name(s) appear in the letter.

       *It is important that Godparents meet the following criteria:
         1. Over 16 years of age
         2. Confirmed and Practicing Catholics
         3. If married, must be married through the Catholic Church  

Download the Godparent Eligibility Certificate for more information.
(you will need Acrobat Reader in order to view this form) 

• Copy of child’s birth certificate.
• $25.00 donation

Baptism (For Non-Parishioners):

• Obtain a “Letter of Permission” from your local parish to baptize your child outside your local parish, and your parish priest also agrees to travel to San Juan Bautista to perform the ceremony.
• Parents must attend pre-baptism class at their local parish.
• Bring Old Mission San Juan Bautista a letter from your parish indicating that you both have completed the class(es). Make sure both of your names are in the letter.
• Godparent(s)* must take pre-baptism class at their local parish, or with parents in San Juan Bautista.
  • Bring Mission San Juan Bautista a letter from their parish indicating that they have completed the class(es). Make sure their name(s) appear in the letter.

       *It is important that Godparents meet the following criteria:
         1. Over 16 years of age
         2. Confirmed and Practicing Catholics
         3. If married, must be married through the Catholic Church   

Download the Godparent Eligibility Certificate for more information.
(you will need Acrobat Reader in order to view this form)

• Copy of child’s birth certificate.
• $25.00 donation

 Mission San Juan Bautista will schedule the baptism for the month following completion of pre-baptism instruction, and receipt of all documentation and the donation. For example, if class is completed and paperwork and donation are received in March, the baptism will be scheduled for sometime in April.

 Pre-Baptism Classes are held on the second Saturday (9 am) of the month in English and the second Tuesday (6 pm) of the month in Spanish by appointment only. Please call the Parish Office (831-623-2127) to register for a pre-baptism class.

original source:
http://www.oldmissionsjb.org/baptism.html

Baptism was performed by totally immersing the convert, in water — typically in a stream, river or lake. Baptism of a new Christian was a major watershed in their life. Many individuals are described in the Christian Scriptures (New Testament) who heard the Gospel, were immediately converted and quickly baptized.

There are dozens of passages in the Christian Scriptures that mention baptism. Although some verses appear conflict with others, a general picture emerges:

-          Infants and children were not baptized. Baptisms were performed on youths or adults — individuals who had reached the age of accountability — who had already converted to Christianity, and accepted Jesus as Lord.

-          Baptisms were generally done in the name of Jesus only, not in the names of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

-          The Holy Spirit was believed to enter and dwell within each person after baptism, (assuming that He was not already in place before the ritual).

-          Baptism was regenerative. That is, the person’s sins were wiped clean by the ritual itself.

-          In biblical passages that describe baptism, the author often implied that the ritual was necessary in order for a person to be saved and enter Heaven after death. But elsewhere in the Christian Scriptures, other criteria for salvation are implied: good works, belief in Jesus as the Son of God, belief in Jesus’ Resurrection, etc.

Although Jesus’ disciples frequently baptized converts, it is not clear whether Jesus himself performed baptisms. The Bible is ambiguous on this point.

original source:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_bapt.htm