A Good Difference Between Catholic Baptism and Evangelical Protestant Baptism

[Peter_Dawson]

A fallen-away Catholic friend had a baby by his girlfriend out-of-wedlock. He was slowly leaving-behind a very dissolute life, when his girlfriend bore his baby out of wedlock. His Catholic family urged him to get his baby baptized. He chose an Evangelical Protestant church near his home for the baptism. The pastor there said, "Sure! Absolutely! But, you’ll have to sit in the pews, while the child’s mother holds the baby during the baptism.

He asked, “Why?”

The pastor’s answer was, “Because you are not married to the child’s mother.”

My friend answered, “What!!! WHAT!!! That’s like painting a ‘B’ on the baby’s forehead. Parishioners, and our families, will talk about that, and call my child a ‘b------,’ for the next 20 years!!!”

So, my friend came to me, and explained the problem.

I set up a baptism in his local Catholic church.

My friend was true to his baptismal promises. Though he is still not married to his girlfriend, he has been taking his child to CCD for years, now. She has received Communion and Confirmation, and goes to confession. He goes to church with her, but does not receive communion.

Not bad, right?

Since then, I have befriended another evangelical minister. I told him about this case, and he smiled and said, “Oh, I just had to do that to one of my unmarried male parishioners. He had to sit down during the baptism, while the child’s mother and godparents stood at the baptismal font.”

 

[Cat]

A fallen-away Catholic friend had a baby by his girlfriend out-of-wedlock. He was slowly leaving-behind a very dissolute life, when his girlfriend bore his baby out of wedlock. His Catholic family urged him to get his baby baptized. He chose an Evangelical Protestant church near his home for the baptism. The pastor there said, "Sure! Absolutely! But, you’ll have to sit in the pews, while the child’s mother holds the baby during the baptism.

He asked, “Why?”

The pastor’s answer was, “Because you are not married to the child’s mother.”

My friend answered, “What!!! WHAT!!! That’s like painting a ‘B’ on the baby’s forehead. Parishioners, and our families, will talk about that, and call my child a ‘b------,’ for the next 20 years!!!”

So, my friend came to me, and explained the problem.

I set up a baptism in his local Catholic church.

My friend was true to his baptismal promises. Though he is still not married to his girlfriend, he has been taking his child to CCD for years, now. She has received Communion and Confirmation, and goes to confession. He goes to church with her, but does not receive communion.

Not bad, right?

Since then, I have befriended another evangelical minister. I told him about this case, and he smiled and said, “Oh, I just had to do that to one of my unmarried male parishioners. He had to sit down during the baptism, while the child’s mother and godparents stood at the baptismal font.”

May I ask what denomination this was?

I was evangelical Protestant for 47 years, extremely involved (over-involved!), and in all that time, I never saw an evangelical Protestant denomination that baptizes infants. It’s totally against what many evangelical Protestants teach about baptism, which is that baptism is for believers only, and is an outward sign of an inner change.

Forgive me for dwelling on this, but I am somewhat particular about making sure that evangelical Protestant churches are correctly described on this board. Just like Catholics don’t like to have misconceptions floating around about our Church, evangelical Protestants are the same way.

I do know that there are some changes recently in which churches are calling themselves “evangelical.” Here’s the latest list from National Association of Evangelicals: nae.net/index.cfm?FUSEACTION=nae.members

I see in this list several denoms that may practice infant baptism, so perhaps it was one of these denoms.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

A fallen-away Catholic friend had a baby by his girlfriend out-of-wedlock. He was slowly leaving-behind a very dissolute life, when his girlfriend bore his baby out of wedlock. His Catholic family urged him to get his baby baptized. He chose an Evangelical Protestant church near his home for the baptism. The pastor there said, "Sure! Absolutely! But, you’ll have to sit in the pews, while the child’s mother holds the baby during the baptism.

He asked, “Why?”

The pastor’s answer was, “Because you are not married to the child’s mother.”

My friend answered, “What!!! WHAT!!! That’s like painting a ‘B’ on the baby’s forehead. Parishioners, and our families, will talk about that, and call my child a ‘b------,’ for the next 20 years!!!”

So, my friend came to me, and explained the problem.

I set up a baptism in his local Catholic church.

My friend was true to his baptismal promises. Though he is still not married to his girlfriend, he has been taking his child to CCD for years, now. She has received Communion and Confirmation, and goes to confession. He goes to church with her, but does not receive communion.

Not bad, right?

Since then, I have befriended another evangelical minister. I told him about this case, and he smiled and said, “Oh, I just had to do that to one of my unmarried male parishioners. He had to sit down during the baptism, while the child’s mother and godparents stood at the baptismal font.”

I have to ask so why didn’t or hasn’t he gone to Confession himself and returned to receiving Holy Communion with her? Why has he not Married her, it seem they have been “together” for a long time?

 

[Peter_Dawson]

I have to ask so why didn’t or hasn’t he gone to Confession himself and returned to receiving Holy Communion with her? Why has he not Married her, it seem they have been “together” for a long time?

Hi, Brother.

The man and his gf have been living together monogamously for about 15 years.

The gf, a Catholic, would marry him in 2 seconds if he permitted it.

I have been gently urging him to marry, for years.

I think that he is afraid, because in his childhood his mother and father argued with extraordinary violence over his father’s suspected (and in fact real) marital infidelity. In other words, badly burned, he is now gun-shy.

 

[Peter_Dawson]

May I ask what denomination this was?

I was evangelical Protestant for 47 years, extremely involved (over-involved!), and in all that time, I never saw an evangelical Protestant denomination that baptizes infants. It’s totally against what many evangelical Protestants teach about baptism, which is that baptism is for believers only, and is an outward sign of an inner change.

Forgive me for dwelling on this, but I am somewhat particular about making sure that evangelical Protestant churches are correctly described on this board. Just like Catholics don’t like to have misconceptions floating around about our Church, evangelical Protestants are the same way.

I do know that there are some changes recently in which churches are calling themselves “evangelical.” Here’s the latest list from National Association of Evangelicals: nae.net/index.cfm?FUSEACTION=nae.members

I see in this list several denoms that may practice infant baptism, so perhaps it was one of these denoms.

Hi, Cat. I think that both churches – the church of the pastor my friend went to for the baptism, and the church of my friend across the street – are unaffiliated “Evangelical Bible churches.” I don’t think that they are part of a larger conference or denomination.

As far as I know, both of those pastors are fallen-away Catholics, too.

 

[djrakowski]

Hi, Cat. I think that both churches – the church of the pastor my friend went to for the baptism, and the church of my friend across the street – are unaffiliated “Evangelical Bible churches.” I don’t think that they are part of a larger conference or denomination.

As far as I know, both of those pastors are fallen-away Catholics, too.

That’s really strange… I was associated with independent, Bible-only Protestant churches for nearly a decade, and I’ve never heard of such a church accepting infant baptism. The ones with which I’m familiar insist on baptizing people who’ve accepted Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior, and view infant baptism as yet another way we, as Catholics, have strayed from what they regard as the true gospel.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

Hi, Brother.

The man and his gf have been living together monogamously for about 15 years.

The gf, a Catholic, would marry him in 2 seconds if he permitted it.

I have been gently urging him to marry, for years.

I think that he is afraid, because in his childhood his mother and father argued with extraordinary violence over his father’s suspected (and in fact real) marital infidelity. In other words, badly burned, he is now gun-shy.

OK, I just had to ask. The pastor of the parish should talk with him and then with him and his GF. It seem they have a stable relationship.

 

[Peter_Dawson]

That’s really strange… I was associated with independent, Bible-only Protestant churches for nearly a decade, and I’ve never heard of such a church accepting infant baptism. The ones with which I’m familiar insist on baptizing people who’ve accepted Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior, and view infant baptism as yet another way we, as Catholics, have strayed from what they regard as the true gospel.

Well, strange or not, it’s true. I, personally, discussed the issue with both pastors. The one who predicted that the father would not be allowed to stand up at the font – that pastor called me, when my friend that child’s father told him that the baby would be baptized in a Catholic church instead. The second pastor is another personal friend, for about 5 years now. He assured me 4 hours ago that he just did exactly the same thing to the unwed father of another infant.

Perhaps both pastors do infant baptisms because both are themselves fallen-away Catholics, and perhaps they are unaffiliated because they do infant baptisms. I don’t know all of the details.

I’d name their churches, but the folks who run this site don’t want us naming names. It leads to ugly scenarios.

 

[Cat]

Well, strange or not, it’s true. I, personally, discussed the issue with both pastors. The one who predicted that the father would not be allowed to stand up at the font – that pastor called me, when my friend that child’s father told him that the baby would be baptized in a Catholic church instead. The second pastor is another personal friend, for about 5 years now. He assured me 4 hours ago that he just did exactly the same thing to the unwed father of another infant.

Perhaps both pastors do infant baptisms because both are themselves fallen-away Catholics, and perhaps they are unaffiliated because they do infant baptisms. I don’t know all of the details.

I’d name their churches, but the folks who run this site don’t want us naming names. It leads to ugly scenarios.

Thanks for the information. There are lots of non-denominational (non-affiliated, as you call them) churches and they all teach a slightly different version of how Christianity should be practiced by believers.

 

[Peter_Dawson]

OK, I just had to ask. The pastor of the parish should talk with him and then with him and his GF. It seem they have a stable relationship.

I agree, Brother. This guy used to be quite an animal, in the personal behavior department. I can’t post most of the things he has done. In the years since that behavior, he has completely turned himself around. He still believes a little too much in patriarchy in the home, for my taste, but that’s about his only defect, aside from being “gun-shy.”

 

[hilde_the_dog]

CAT the Christian Reformed Church does and its on the list. It evangelical non-fundamentalist. Yes its possible to to evangelical and not a fundamentalist. I grew up in it and was baptized when I was two weeks old.

 

[Ganyssa]

May I ask what denomination this was?

I was evangelical Protestant for 47 years, extremely involved (over-involved!), and in all that time, I never saw an evangelical Protestant denomination that baptizes infants. It’s totally against what many evangelical Protestants teach about baptism, which is that baptism is for believers only, and is an outward sign of an inner change.

Forgive me for dwelling on this, but I am somewhat particular about making sure that evangelical Protestant churches are correctly described on this board. Just like Catholics don’t like to have misconceptions floating around about our Church, evangelical Protestants are the same way.

I do know that there are some changes recently in which churches are calling themselves “evangelical.” Here’s the latest list from National Association of Evangelicals: nae.net/index.cfm?FUSEACTION=nae.members

I see in this list several denoms that may practice infant baptism, so perhaps it was one of these denoms.

I was Church of the Nazarene for years, and although they did not do infant baptism (as far as I know) for years, my daughter was baptized as an infant 7 years ago. Dedication was still offered as an option, though.