Baptism

[Daehawk]

Ive only seen baptisms performed when I was a child at my own churches but when it came time for me I chickened out as I was very shy. I have a general idea of what may be expected but need a couple questioned answered.

1. Can I simply set up an appointment for myself as an adult and not also become a member of the church. I do not have it in me to attend weekly services. Im fine at home.

2. Is there a fee for a non member? Im guessing there is a donation but I have no idea what a normal donation would be. I cant toss money away right now.

[Jaymann]

Just don't go for one of those where they do it in a lake and hold you under.

[Smoove_B]

I'd be pretty impressed if you could get a church official to baptize you after you tell them you have no interest in being a member or participating in the the congregation. Then again, maybe a big donation would fix that.

Consider being baptized Russian Orthodox. You'll get all the sacraments at once - totally cover all your bases.

[Holman]

Baptism means different things (and follows different rules) to different denominations.

Catholics and some Protestants baptize babies with a trickle of water on the forehead. Evangelicals of different stripes baptize teens or adults in a bathtub (ours was always built-in behind a curtain up behind the pulpit) or even in a river. There's no single standard.

Baptism does signal the intention of joining a religious community. If you approach a church and request baptism, they're going to see you as a convert. (How could they not?) Some churches will invite or expect you to attend educational sessions first, while others might perform the rite for a stranger in the hope that they'll stick around afterwards.

I've never heard of a fee for baptism.

The question is, what does it mean to you? What do you want from the ritual? It's just water unless you define it, so your definition of the act is what matters.

[Kraken]

In the sect that I was raised under, baptism = joining the church. However, infants were routinely baptized as a symbolic thing. I honestly don't know if I was or not. The church ultimately kicked me out so the point was moot.

[McNutt]

A coworker of mine was part of a y iunger evangelical church. He's currently in Peru trying to convert their people. If anyone asked him he would gladly baptise them.

As said earlier, it's different for different denominations. Is any of your family practicing Christians? You could have one of them do it.

[Daehawk]

Baptism is basically symbolic. I was raised baptist but want to baptized in the Methodist sprinkle way. Dont care to be dunked. Methodists are simply Baptist who are afraid of water we used to joke.

I wish to be baptized because I was saved as a child in church but was too shy to be baptized. I see it as completing my saving if you will. Dont feel whole without it. I had my entire life ahead of me and thought I would have plenty of time. I may still. But Im 50 now..my life has passed .But after losing my wife I feel I should go ahead sooner rather than later. It will be next year most likely as Ill need to use all my money right now on living. My wife was baptized by dunking as a kid but said she would prefer sprinkling now days. I thought as it would always be a dunking I may never do it. But I told her if I did get one then I can do a sprinkling one day.

Well I think on it these days and I worry about not getting it . Should have when I was a kid. But now I want to as an adult to complete me I guess you'd say. But I have no intention of joining a church. Id make that clear to any place. We were fine at home. I dont care to be around people and I see churches and such as money grubbers and places filled with people intent on telling you how to live. Its happened at our past church where a few / family ran the entire place...down to running off good preachers and bringing in their own stupidity.

God can hear you without a church and he doesn't care if you dress nice on Sunday or stay home and pray in your pajamas. Thats my belief. But I cant baptize myself at home.

EDIT: I just realized I didn't put this in the religion area. Should it be moved? If so thats fine.

[Zarathud]

If you want a good answer on this, start talking to the local priests/pastors.

[Drazzil]

Ive only seen baptisms performed when I was a child at my own churches but when it came time for me I chickened out as I was very shy. I have a general idea of what may be expected but need a couple questioned answered.

1. Can I simply set up an appointment for myself as an adult and not also become a member of the church. I do not have it in me to attend weekly services. Im fine at home.

2. Is there a fee for a non member? Im guessing there is a donation but I have no idea what a normal donation would be. I cant toss money away right now.

Why? Just a heads up, according to most christian religions baptism won't save you if you take your own life. This kinda sounds like a cry for help.

[Daehawk]

Lol not in the least. Thats not on my plate ever. I WANT to be with my life in eternity not be banned from that forever. Nope just part of finishing things that need doing and being ready on that day. When you get into your late 40s then 50 you start seeing things you left for later waiting on you to actually do.

Baptism doesn't even have anything to do with Heaven. Its just something to me.

[Grifman]

A couple of points, all from my perspective a theologically conservative Protestant Christian:

1) Any pastor worth his salt is going to ask you why you want to be baptized. If they don't feel your reasons are not the right ones, they will most likely turn you down. That's not being elitist - baptism is a serious thing, and one should understand why they are doing it, and whether they are doing it for the right reason. And no one should charge you for a baptism. Run away from any church that does.

2) You say you want to feel complete and worry about not being baptized. It doesn't work that way. Baptism isn't required for salvation and it isn't going to get you into heaven. Christian baptism is a public statement of your personal commitment to follow God/Christ. If that commitment isn't there, then it's an empty meaningless action.

2) As such, a part of that commitment is becoming a member of a local congregation. Yes, God can hear you at home, but you are incorrect when you say that he doesn't care whether you go to church or not. Scripture describes the church as a body, with all of us having gifts that we can use to serve one another and our community. It's pretty hard to be part of a body if you aren't there. Scripture also says that Christians should not forsake assembling together for prayer and worship. If you want to follow God, it has to be on his terms, not yours. The Bible knows nothing of a "Lone Ranger" Christian.

Feel free to ask if you have any other questions.

[Sudy]

Just a heads up, according to most christian religions baptism won't save you if you take your own life.

Baptism alone won't save you from anything. But any Christian religion/denomination that believes suicide is unforgivable/revokes one's salvation clearly misunderstands the limitlessness of God's mercy. How could he have no compassion for someone sad or desperate enough to commit such an act?

[Scuzz]

If you have no actual desire to go to church then you might as well just look for an internet ordained priest to baptize you, as it will have no meaning, either to you to to God, if there is such a person.

[Sudy]

I don't think we can decide what has meaning to Daehawk or to God. Whether Daehawk can find someone to baptize him who can meet his requirements is another matter. But someone having had poor church experiences doesn't invalidate their spiritual seeking.

As others have stated Daehawk, you're going to want to speak with some clergy. Different churches and denominations are going to have somewhat different takes on baptism and its requirements. If you don't have any local church communities that you're comfortable with (this may be very valid), this could be challenging. Some regions don't have a lot to choose from.

While I've had my own issues with the church experience, different churches can be very different. Perhaps your starting goal could be to try to find one whose community you can participate in somehow, even if it doesn't mean showing up every Sunday. I'd like to think a good community will find a way to help and accommodate you, starting with where you are now... but I know it's not always that simple.

[Grifman]

I don't think we can decide what has meaning to Daehawk or to God. Whether Daehawk can find someone to baptize him who can meet his requirements is another matter. But someone having had poor church experiences doesn't invalidate their spiritual seeking.

No one here is deciding what this means to Daehawk. As for God, I can only speak as to what I believe that he has told us about the purpose and meaning of baptism. Since it is something related to God, it obviously has some meaning to him. If so, then we should seek to understand what that meaning is. But if baptism can mean anything and everything to anyone, then it means nothing.

And I don't think anyone here is seeking to invalidated Daehawk's spiritual seeking. I think it is great that he is considering baptism, even seeking it. I would not discourage him from asking a pastor about it. But baptism is a Christian tradition, and as so it is defined by that tradition. Anyone seeking it should know what it means within that tradition so that they can make an informed decision.

[Sudy]

I apologize, I should have been clearer that I was replying to Scuzz's comment. I don't usually use the quote feature if I'm replying to the post directly above.

[dbt1949]

You could visit the Projects in New Orleans.
That's called Baptism under fire.

[gameoverman]

I was born into a sort of Catholic family. We went to church on Xmas, Easter, and for events like weddings and that's about it. My mom told me my uncle, my dad's brother, once secretly took me to church to have me baptized since I guess my mom and dad had no plans to do so. He was a good uncle and my parents mostly got along great with him except my mom never forgave him for that. She told me this story when I was explaining to her why I no longer had any interest in religion. I think maybe she was trying to see if I felt more connected to it if I knew I was baptized. I didn't.

I guess my point is to consider what it actually means to you before you do anything. I was baptized but it didn't mean jackshiat to me. One, because I was a baby when it was done. But two, because once I was old enough to understand what it meant I already had decided I wanted no part of religion. I have to wonder why a religious ceremony has significance to someone with no interest in joining the religion that would perform the ceremony.

It is symbolic, but what meaning does a symbol have if the person in question has no regard for the source of the symbolism?

That said, for all I know there is a sort of generic religion out there that'll dish out things like baptisms to whoever wants one. So it might be doable even if it seems sketchy to me.

[ImLawBoy]

I'm going to move this over to R&P, since it's pretty clearly about R.

[Skinypupy]

You could always go hit up the Mormons. They'll baptize anyone with a pulse...and even that's not a requirement these days.

[Blackhawk]

At least I hope it isn't about P!

[Zarathud]

When you’ve got Holy P, it’s time to see a doctor.

[Tao]

Personally I consider myself an Apathetic Agnostic so I am not looking to convert anyone, having said that found this link which does a decent job of relating to what you, Daehawk seem to be inquiring about. https://hillsong.com/faith/baptism/, although it seems to be coming from a very Christian sort of Born Again perspective.

[Default]

Why the urge to get baptised? It's just a symbol of your change in spirituality. It doesn't convey any favor or cleanliness of spirit. It's signifying a change in your beliefs and behavior.

[Kraken]

I don't believe in...well, any of it...but if it will bring you some peace and get you interacting with people, I say go for it.

[Grifman]

Why the urge to get baptised? It's just a symbol of your change in spirituality. It doesn't convey any favor or cleanliness of spirit. It's signifying a change in your beliefs and behavior.

Symbols and ceremonies are important or else people wouldn't do them.

[Default]

Why the urge to get baptised? It's just a symbol of your change in spirituality. It doesn't convey any favor or cleanliness of spirit. It's signifying a change in your beliefs and behavior.

Symbols and ceremonies are important or else people wouldn't do them.

Yeah, but the whole point is making a public statement of "before" and "after". If you aren't going to change anything, just go to the nearest river and baptise yourself. If you go through the process to get baptised ( classes, counseling and such), they are assuming that you are going to be interested in attending their particular church. If you just want to get dunked for the sake of being dunked, I'm not sure who would go along with that. It's kind of like calling up a church and wanting to get married, but being unwilling to join it. You aren't going to find a lot of ministers willing to participate.

[stessier]

Why the urge to get baptised? It's just a symbol of your change in spirituality. It doesn't convey any favor or cleanliness of spirit. It's signifying a change in your beliefs and behavior.

Depends on the denomination. Catholics believe baptism removes the stain of Original Sin and bestows the gift of God's grace.

[gameoverman]

Why the urge to get baptised? It's just a symbol of your change in spirituality. It doesn't convey any favor or cleanliness of spirit. It's signifying a change in your beliefs and behavior.

Depends on the denomination. Catholics believe baptism removes the stain of Original Sin and bestows the gift of God's grace.

Maybe I misunderstood, but I thought Daehawk wanted the baptism with no religion attached. The problem as I see it is that a baptism is one of those things that only has meaning if you're a believer. Baptism only means something in the religion, if you aren't a part of that religion then where does the meaning come from?

If he meant he is a believer but he just wants the baptism and then to have them leave him alone after that then that's different. In that case the only problem I think he might have is finding a church that doesn't view that attitude in a negative way. "Gimme the baptism then I'm outta here" probably won't go over well with a lot of people who take that stuff seriously enough to perform baptisms.

[stessier]

Why the urge to get baptised? It's just a symbol of your change in spirituality. It doesn't convey any favor or cleanliness of spirit. It's signifying a change in your beliefs and behavior.

Depends on the denomination. Catholics believe baptism removes the stain of Original Sin and bestows the gift of God's grace.

Maybe I misunderstood, but I thought Daehawk wanted the baptism with no religion attached. The problem as I see it is that a baptism is one of those things that only has meaning if you're a believer. Baptism only means something in the religion, if you aren't a part of that religion then where does the meaning come from?

If he meant he is a believer but he just wants the baptism and then to have them leave him alone after that then that's different. In that case the only problem I think he might have is finding a church that doesn't view that attitude in a negative way. "Gimme the baptism then I'm outta here" probably won't go over well with a lot of people who take that stuff seriously enough to perform baptisms.

I was just commenting on the highlighted portion. I should have been clearer.

I agree with all you said though. You have to be a Believer to have what I mentioned have any meaning.

[Jaymann]

The Universal Life Church has got you covered. No hassle or judgment, and anybody can become a minister.

[Alefroth]

Maybe I misunderstood, but I thought Daehawk wanted the baptism with no religion attached.

He doesn't want no religion attached, he just wants no commitment attached. He specified the religion he wants.

[Blackhawk]

It isn't the religion he seems to be avoiding. He wants the religion. It's the social aspects of it that he doesn't want. The community.