Infant Baptism and then some

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Stepmomof2

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I am not sure this is the right place to post this… and if not- please accept my apologies
I recently have gotten into a little bit of a disagreement with my sister in law about infant baptism, which has now turned into a great big mess… She is not Catholic and made the comment that only those “born again” can be saved, and an infant baptism is nothing more than a baby dedication and wasn’t based in scripture… I did some research here and sent it to her- then it got ugly… Claimed that we (Catholics) twisted scripture and have shallow obediance to man made rules- how can I respond to this- or should I even try? She claims my husband and I are too sensitive about our religion when they say things- and that we don’t have true faith- “Faith is in God, not your religion”- I do have faith in God, and feel that the Catholic Church is the one True Church- is it wrong to say that we have Faith in the Church as well? This is a consistent “discussion” at all family gatherings, and I just want to be able to explain our beliefs a little bit clearer… Any help would be much appreciated…Blessings to all
 
Generally, I wouldn’t try once someone starts getting obstinate, but you know your family better than us.

If she has any eye for typology at all, then she would recognize baptism as the fulfillment of circumcision Col 2:11-12 which was done to infants at 8 days old (cf. Gen. 21:4, Phil 3:5). Other ancient types like Moses passing through the waters of the Red Sea do not have the adults telling little children - nope! You can’t come through! Also, the Biblical text commands the disciples to go forth and baptize all nations. It is your S-I-L who is adding “except for the babies” to the text.
 
You might want to ask her where it is written in the Bible that infant baptism is forbidden. Then ask how they came about making a rule that infants shouldn’t be baptized-- where do they get the idea from? When she is done explaining it based on her interpretation of scripture, then ask her how it is that she came up with that interpretation and how she knows it’s correct? If she explains to you in anyway that someone else told her then point out the definition of religion:
  1. The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, esp. a personal God or gods.
  2. Details of belief as taught or discussed.
Then calmly point out the fact that she belongs to a religion just like everyone else that makes up rules based on the assumption that their interpretation of the Bible is the correct one. You may also want to add that there are thousands of denominations of Christianity that all have different interpretations of the Bible, and all of them think they are correct. What makes her’s so special and what makes her’s correct? You probably won’t get through to her, but at least you will either plant a seed in her mind or she’ll stop bugging you about it.
 
Stepmomof2 said:
I am not sure this is the right place to post this… and if not- please accept my apologies
I recently have gotten into a little bit of a disagreement with my sister in law about infant baptism, which has now turned into a great big mess… She is not Catholic and made the comment that only those “born again” can be saved, and an infant baptism is nothing more than a baby dedication and wasn’t based in scripture… I did some research here and sent it to her- then it got ugly… Claimed that we (Catholics) twisted scripture and have shallow obediance to man made rules- how can I respond to this- or should I even try? She claims my husband and I are too sensitive about our religion when they say things- and that we don’t have true faith- “Faith is in God, not your religion”- I do have faith in God, and feel that the Catholic Church is the one True Church- is it wrong to say that we have Faith in the Church as well? This is a consistent “discussion” at all family gatherings, and I just want to be able to explain our beliefs a little bit clearer… Any help would be much appreciated…Blessings to all
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Baptists and Catholics both acknowledge the commandment “Honor thy Mother and Father”. Bitter disputes between family members defy this commandment. If you do discuss religion with you sister-in-law, demand to be listened to and respected - it will go a lot further than point-by-point dissection of theology.

Faith is personal. Simply state that it is personally important to you that infants are baptized so that they can better experience God’s love. Tell your cousin that she can disagree, but she has to respect this personal belief and attempt to not undermine it. All the reductionist arguments against Catholic theology can’t dismiss what you truly feel in your heart!
 
A fundamental error made by all Protestants is that they believe the New Testament is a systematic instruction book in Christianity. It isn’t. It is the written record of the spiritual life and experience of the Catholic Church for about the first 50 years or so of her existence after her founding by Jesus Christ in A.D. 33 in Jerusalem. Protestants, since the 16th century, have tried to make it into an instruction book.

Christianity is based not on the Bible, but on the teaching of Christ and the Apostles as taught to and through the Catholic Church. The Church wrote the New Testament and compiled the Bible. She is about 364 years older than the NT as gathered into one ‘book’ and joined with 46 writings of the Greek Septuagint OT to form the Bible. The 27 writings of the New Testament are the Catholic Church’s own writings!

Instead of discussing infant baptism, I’d ask her what her beliefs are based on. The answer has to be the NT. Then lead her gently into a discussion of where and how we got the NT and when.

Here’s a little book that will help. Where We Got the Bible is available from Catholic Answers and from Amazon. It is also on line.

catholicapologetics.info/apologetics/protestantism/wbible.htm

It should be sufficient to tell her that the Catholic Church has been baptizing babies since the Apostles walked the earth. But it probably won’t be:p. (Read Marco Polo’s link.)

Remember that Jesus didn’t leave us a book; He left us the Catholic Church as our teacher. He didn’t tell anyone to write anything. The Church wrote the NT and produced the Bible. It’s historical fact. The Church was – and still is – guided by the Holy Spirit. Jn 14:16-18, 14:26, 15:26, 16:7-15.

Jim Dandy
 
Stepmomof2 said:
I am not sure this is the right place to post this… and if not- please accept my apologies
I recently have gotten into a little bit of a disagreement with my sister in law about infant baptism, which has now turned into a great big mess… She is not Catholic and made the comment that only those “born again” can be saved, and an infant baptism is nothing more than a baby dedication and wasn’t based in scripture… I did some research here and sent it to her- then it got ugly… Claimed that we (Catholics) twisted scripture and have shallow obediance to man made rules- how can I respond to this- or should I even try? She claims my husband and I are too sensitive about our religion when they say things- and that we don’t have true faith- “Faith is in God, not your religion”- I do have faith in God, and feel that the Catholic Church is the one True Church- is it wrong to say that we have Faith in the Church as well? This is a consistent “discussion” at all family gatherings, and I just want to be able to explain our beliefs a little bit clearer… Any help would be much appreciated…Blessings to all
Click to expand...
… my dear friend ,

… perhaps let it cool down for a while but hit the rosary beads for them also ??? , jesus gave ius the church and told us to hear and listen to that church which is the catholic church , the bible was given us by the catholic church long after jesus and the apostles were gone from here , this is why we follow the church – the church came first and christ commanded all to hear that church , and the church gave us the bible so we love it as the sacred word of god also , but as scripture tells us the word of god is also in apostoloic tradition , and christ speaks through the popes until the end of time through their magisterium , but no pope can change or contradict scripture – though he can change some apostolic traditions with his keys , we only know god as the holy trinity through he churches apostolic tradition too if any oppose this saced tradition , the catholic church is the voice of christ in this world thru our popes under the conditions i state , the pope is not infallible as such either – it is the holy spirit that infallibly speaks thru the popes as stated , it is necessary to have an infallible pope this way to determine issues of morality which can not be figured out by reading the bible for one thing , many very complex moral issues arise all the time now we can see – all the time too , on infant baptism there are many arguments but i’ll add one big one not commonly known – everyone and babies have the fundamental right to life , baptism is essential for life , you must be baptised to have eternal life in you and go to heaven , we choose absolutely all for our young ones based on what is good for them and ultimately we choose what gives them life when thought through , can we really choose eteral death or leave it up to our children to choose eternal death in hell ??? , no , of couse not , we insist our children choose life and eternal life , it’s common sense when you think , why do parents obsess over the babies body and mind but get confused when it comes to the soul ??? , sounds to me like satan has hoodwinked many people here to win more souls for hell , hope this helps ??? ,

… may god bless and love you 👍🙂 ,

… john …
 
Stepmomof2 said:
I am not sure this is the right place to post this… and if not- please accept my apologies
I recently have gotten into a little bit of a disagreement with my sister in law about infant baptism, which has now turned into a great big mess… She is not Catholic and made the comment that only those “born again” can be saved, and an infant baptism is nothing more than a baby dedication and wasn’t based in scripture… I did some research here and sent it to her- then it got ugly… Claimed that we (Catholics) twisted scripture and have shallow obediance to man made rules- how can I respond to this- or should I even try? She claims my husband and I are too sensitive about our religion when they say things- and that we don’t have true faith- “Faith is in God, not your religion”- I do have faith in God, and feel that the Catholic Church is the one True Church- is it wrong to say that we have Faith in the Church as well? This is a consistent “discussion” at all family gatherings, and I just want to be able to explain our beliefs a little bit clearer… Any help would be much appreciated…Blessings to all
Click to expand...
There’s a wonderful book of the treatises of St. Francis de Sales, Doctor of the Church, which he wrote as part of a mission given him to convert the Calvinist protestants. It’s called The Catholic Controversy. I’m not saying that you should get it for your sister-in-law, just suggesting that if you read it, you might better understand how to reach her if need be. Or you could get her a copy, too 🙂

Best wishes!

– Nicole
 
Thank you all so much! I appreciate your advice and thoughts! Your answers have brought me peace that I am not misunderstanding or misrepresenting our beliefs and Faith and that I am justified in asking her to not disrespect our faith because she doesn’t understand it… for some reason I always second guess myself with her…
MarcoPolo- I am pretty excited that the link you suggested was the one I actually sent her - these are the verses that she feels we twisted as Catholics… which means I am looking in the right place to find answers if I don’t have them 😃 …
Jim Dandy- I love your comment about Jesus leaving us the Church and will use it in future “discussions”
I will definately look into the books mentioned…
Again- Thank you all for your help!!!
Blessings to all-
 
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