I was baptized by a baptist preacher when I was 18; now I am 20 and want to join the Catholic Church. Is my baptism valid?

[eegardner]

Trinitarian is recognized…my wife is going RCIA…she was Baptized SBC…she is not “rebab” She will be anointed of course…but no water

Exactly right! In the RCIA sessions that I have been a part of, very few need to be baptized because of other Christian baptisms. In the last 3 years we have had about 30 people come through our RCIA program and no more than 4 have needed to be baptized. And maybe 2 conditional baptisms because they could not remember if they had a valid baptism.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

Too bad a second baptism doesn’t wash away sins. I’d be the first on that baptism line. Would give me a cleaner first confession.

We had a woman come back to the Church after many years away. She needed to be Confirmed and have her marriage corrected. Her unbaptized husband was with her. She noted stated he had come to support her, but wasn’t interested in converting. He broke in to ask when he had said that, and signed up for RCIA.

They went through RCIA together. She joked that it was unfair that she had to confess for 30+years, while he got a free pass with his baptism.

 

[TrueLight]

We had a woman come back to the Church after many years away. She needed to be Confirmed and have her marriage corrected. Her unbaptized husband was with her. She noted stated he had come to support her, but wasn’t interested in converting. He broke in to ask when he had said that, and signed up for RCIA.

They went through RCIA together. She joked that it was unfair that she had to confess for 30+years, while he got a free pass with his baptism.

Exactly!

 

[AntalKalnoky]

Too bad a second baptism doesn’t wash away sins. I’d be the first on that baptism line. Would give me a cleaner first confession.

There can be One and Only One true Baptism. (Sorry I got serious on your joke; I’m a joker too; Please forgive me, joker!.) Only Jokers can forgive another joker maybe.

 

[James924]

This vaguely reminds me of an instance in early church history in whcih a similar question was debated regarding Christians who had been baptized by heretics. That, I believe, set the standard for Church teaching on this issue. Anyone remember this?

 

[Dcngman]

I was baptized in a Interdenominational church when I was 14 using the Trinitarian formula of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; but was re-baptized when I entered the Orthodox Church last year. I wanted to be baptized according to the Orthodox rite even before my priest told me that our Bishop insisted that all catechumens from non-Catholic churches had to be re-baptized. This is because, although many non-Catholic and non-Orthodox churches baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; they do not view the rite of Baptism as both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches do. For these other churches baptism is a public confession of one’s conversion and not an entrance into the Mystical Body of Christ. I am not familiar with the Catholic rite of Baptism; but the Orthodox rite is very intense and includes the renunciation of the devil and false teachings that the person has previously held to. Personally I would advise any catechumen from a non-Catholic or non-Orthodox Church to be re-baptized in order to receive the blessing and fullness of the Baptismal Rite. I would highly recommend that you speak with your priest about the differences between the Baptist view of Baptism and that of the Catholic view.

 

[bmadamsberry]

A Sacrament is only valid if the one administering it has the proper matter (in this case water), form (in this case “I baptize thee in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.”), and intent (in this case the remission of original sin + any personal sin and initiation into the Church).

I don’t understand how the baptism would be valid unless the Minister intended to remit original sin + any personal sin and initiate the neophyte into the Christian Church.

The intent on the part of the baptizer is to do as the Church does (whether he or she knows what that actually is or not). The intent is not the remission of Original Sin (which is good, because a lot of Catholics don’t understand what the Catholic Church believes in regards to Original Sin).

 

[bmadamsberry]

All Sacraments must meet three criteria for validity: form & matter and disposition.

Form: The baptizer must, in some way, baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Those names must be in there and understood as separate persons (instead of three names for one person)!

Matter: Water, which flows in some way across the head.

Disposition: Any person, Christian or not. They must intend to do as the Church does (whether they understand what that actually is or not). There must also be some kind of intent on receiving baptism. This can be taken upon by a parent or guardian when the person is a baby or is incapable of doing so, or by the person himself when he or she comes of age.

Here is a blog post over the validity of baptism.

Hope that helps.

 

[eegardner]

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

818 “However, one cannot charge with the sin of the separation those who at present are born into these communities [that resulted from such separation] and in them are brought up in the faith of Christ, and the Catholic Church accepts them with respect and affection as brothers … All who have been justified by faith in Baptism are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers in the Lord by the children of the Catholic Church.”

1271 Baptism constitutes the foundation of communion among all Christians, including those who are not yet in full communion with the Catholic Church: “For men who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in some, though imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church. Justified by faith in Baptism, [they] are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers by the children of the Catholic Church.” “Baptism therefore constitutes the sacramental bond of unity existing among all who through it are reborn.”

1272 Incorporated into Christ by Baptism, the person baptized is configured to Christ. Baptism seals the Christian with the indelible spiritual mark (character) of his belonging to Christ. No sin can erase this mark, even if sin prevents Baptism from bearing the fruits of salvation. Given once for all, Baptism cannot be repeated.