Where And When Were You Baptised?

Discussion in 'Faith & Religion' started by Lon Tanner, Aug 28, 2021.

  1. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
    Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    13,054
    Likes Received:
    24,625
    I can’t say that I disagree with you in any way Faye.

    That said, all Baptisms should be held as a more personal thing rather than how many or who witnesses the act. I’m following in the footsteps of Jesus and in doing so, it is an act that I make for the Father and no one else.

    Still, most humans like ceremony so if for that sake I’m helping to instill a little more trust while placating the mass’s need for an act of submission to an authority for however long or short timed that might be then so be it.

    Note: Which is by the bye, what most secondary or more baptisms are all about: It’s an act of submission to the authority of a particular sect or church.
    There are however those who have fallen away from their faith and upon regaining it they feel the need to be re-Baptised. I see no harm in it and if it makes someone feel like they’re going the extra mile for God then go for it.
     
    #16
    Michael Stewart and Faye Fox like this.
  2. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    24,327
    Likes Received:
    42,630
    Although I was baptized in a Grace Brethren Church, which was Anabaptist, I was not asked to be re-baptized when I later joined a Church of Christ congregation or, later, an American Baptist congregation.
     
    #17
    Faye Fox likes this.
  3. Faye Fox

    Faye Fox Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2019
    Messages:
    6,086
    Likes Received:
    12,253
    Were you allowed to speak and teach in both congregations?
     
    #18
  4. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    24,327
    Likes Received:
    42,630
    I was a deacon and interim pastor in the Church of Christ, and a deacon and secretary/treasurer for the American Baptist Church, and I headed the Wednesday evening Bible study. Their only concern was that I was baptized as an adult, and the Baptist Church might have had a problem if it were a sprinkling rather than a full baptism. Baptisms in the Grace Brethren Church were full dunkings, three times, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
     
    #19
    Bobby Cole and Faye Fox like this.
  5. Marci Miller

    Marci Miller Very Well-Known Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2020
    Messages:
    368
    Likes Received:
    590
    I don't understand why we gotta get baptised over and over depending on which faith we are at the time. I would think once would be enough in the eyes of God. It's man that messes everything up all the time.
     
    #20
  6. Betty Jones

    Betty Jones Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Nov 12, 2017
    Messages:
    349
    Likes Received:
    474
    iwas baptized in a baptisimal pool in a baptist church when i was 12 ----1945 in mass.
     
    #21
    Michael Stewart likes this.
  7. Joseph Carl

    Joseph Carl Very Well-Known Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    May 26, 2019
    Messages:
    180
    Likes Received:
    334
    Marci, I'd like to offer an answer to your question of " why we gotta get baptized over and over depending on which faith we are at the time," though I don't expect everyone here to like my views.

    There are many opposing religions doing baptism and they can't all represent the one and only true God since they represent different gods and different belief systems. Here's a good example:

    The God of the Bible is not the same god as the one Mormons worship. To be baptized by the LDS church is a commitment to polytheism and a whole host of beliefs contrary to Christianity or the Holy Bible. In a similar matter, Jehovah's Witnesses do not follow the triune God of the Holy Bible. Anyone being baptized by these churches are following a cult religion, not Christianity. So be it if you stay there. But if one changes their beliefs to become a Christian, then a new baptism would be warranted in order to profess one's new faith. Understand, God's commandment for baptism is a confession of repentance and faith in "him", not someone else or something different.

    Another example is infant baptism exercised by the Catholic Church (and a few misguided Protestant church denominations). This is done to supposedly wipe out original sin, however there is no Biblical support for this within the Christian faith. It's a man-made church tradition that counters all scriptural references to baptism being a public confession of faith - something a baby can't do. Arguably, it does no harm, but it does not satisfy God's commandment for us to be baptized.

    In short, one proper baptism in the Christian faith should be sufficient for a lifetime and multitude of churches. But there are churches posing as Christian that are not, baptizing members in a faith that does not represent God, or in a manner that does not represent Biblical baptism at all.

    For the true Christian churches that require a new baptism in order to be a member of their church, I'd have a problem with that too. Once one becomes a saved Christian, they become part of God's church family - baptized or not. The baptism is a public expression of the one true faith in Christ, not a church building or organization.
     
    #22
    Michael Stewart and Ken Anderson like this.
  8. Joanna Newton

    Joanna Newton Very Well-Known Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2021
    Messages:
    262
    Likes Received:
    355
    When I was baptized, the church truly lived up to its name- a community church for people of various religions.
    Long after, I heard it became Methodist-Episcopalian, and then Methodist.
    But back in the day when my hometown existed as it was when I lived there, it's shown on this decorative plate:
    church.jpg
     
    #23
  9. Hal Pollner

    Hal Pollner Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Feb 11, 2018
    Messages:
    6,161
    Likes Received:
    4,368
    When I was baptized in San Pedro in 1948, Pastor Sward just sprinkled some water on my head and said some holy stuff, and that was it. None of that dunking me in a river or stream...that's ridiculous!

    Hal
     
    #24
  10. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
    Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    13,054
    Likes Received:
    24,625
    Forgot your floaties huh?
     
    #25
    Beth Gallagher likes this.
  11. Joanna Newton

    Joanna Newton Very Well-Known Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2021
    Messages:
    262
    Likes Received:
    355
    I'm with you, but some religions believe that's the correct way of doing it.


    Also, if I can ask- not specifically to Hal, but anyone here- over the years/decades, various people I knew said something that was presumably a quote from the Bible, naturally I can't recall it but stating a person is only supposed to be baptized once. Is that accurate?
     
    #26
  12. Von Jones

    Von Jones Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2015
    Messages:
    6,507
    Likes Received:
    8,957
    I was baptized once as an infant at a Lutheran church and the second as an adult at an American Baptist Church. My mother was not too happy when I joyfully told her. I believe it hurt her but through the years she was a witness as my faith blossomed over the years.
     
    #27
  13. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    14,881
    Likes Received:
    27,873
    I think that when an infant is sprinkled, that it is more symbolic of the parents dedicating their baby to the Lord, but when a person is old enough to make that decision for themself, then the baptism is truly a new beginning for them.
    Even though I didn’t think that I needed to be re-baptized again years later, it was a requirement of becoming a member of the church (for anyone), so they just baptized anyone who wanted to join the church, regardless of personal commitment.
     
    #28
  14. Joanna Newton

    Joanna Newton Very Well-Known Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2021
    Messages:
    262
    Likes Received:
    355
    Interesting info, thanks!!

    From my personal experiences, infant baptism was about making the child a part of "God's community." Although I did hear of religions/churches who had the approach of "original sin."
    While most people I knew throughout my life didn't butt into other people's business, one neighbor (a super lady who was also my Godfather's wife) was appalled that I wasn't baptized til I was 9 months old.

    I never heard of the 'getting/being saved' concept til around 20 years ago.

    It's going to drive me batty til I remember that quote I mentioned, but one person it came from was an older family member- as his parents were two different religions, varying degrees of practicing, he never knew if he'd been baptized.
    Another was a somewhat unusual local- he said his first time wasn't with the right heart (he actually said he got baptized as an adult because he thought it would help him get more women!!!), and using the same quote he asked me if it would be ok to be baptized again. I didn't really know the answer.
     
    #29
    Michael Stewart likes this.
  15. Marie Mallery

    Marie Mallery Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Jul 13, 2021
    Messages:
    10,287
    Likes Received:
    9,330
    I remember reading that too but I can't can't find the quote.
     
    #30

Share This Page