Atheists Choose

[hickoryhouse]

USA Today

[Censored by Laurie]

Just completely ruins Dirty Dancing and Wind for me.

[oldguystudent]

On the flip side of this, what's the justification of baptizing 12-year-old children? My church hounded me from the age of 12 until I graduated high school with that, and I never did it. I was truly the oddball out because everybody got baptized at that age. Now, many moons later, some of my friends who were baptized are still in the church, some aren't. Whichever way they eventually went, all of them have since told me that they got baptized because it was the thing to do and that they were too young to understand what they were supposed to be committing to.

If we take marriage so seriously that we place a minimum age on it, shouldn't baptism, which is essentially a marriage to God, be taken even more seriously and pursued at an age of greater understanding?

[KingDL1]

On the flip side of this, what's the justification of baptizing 12-year-old children? My church hounded me from the age of 12 until I graduated high school with that, and I never did it. I was truly the oddball out because everybody got baptized at that age. Now, many moons later, some of my friends who were baptized are still in the church, some aren't. Whichever way they eventually went, all of them have since told me that they got baptized because it was the thing to do and that they were too young to understand what they were supposed to be committing to.

If we take marriage so seriously that we place a minimum age on it, shouldn't baptism, which is essentially a marriage to God, be taken even more seriously and pursued at an age of greater understanding?

I think it is tradition, or a throw back most religions you became a man around that age. Life spans were shorter, people were married by 14 that sort of thing.

[UNT90]

That is one of the good things about the Catholic religion. They do it before you are one year of age, taking all the peer pressure out of the situation.

[forevereagle]

I find it interesting that Atheists get together as a scheduled event to not worship and share what they don't believe. They even perform ceremonies to celebrate what they don't believe. Sounds like they are organizing a non-religion. When will be the first argument over the non-doctrine that results in a split in the non-church into two non-denominations?

[oldguystudent]

I find it interesting that Atheists get together as a scheduled event to not worship and share what they don't believe. They even perform ceremonies to celebrate what they don't believe. Sounds like they are organizing a non-religion. When will be the first argument over the non-doctrine that results in a split in the non-church into two non-denominations?

I actually was thinking along the same lines. It does seem silly to emulate the rites and ceremonies of that which your eschew. Kinda' like Christmas trees and Easter eggs on the Christian side of things. Both the de-baptising and Christian holiday rituals adopt the practices of entities they respectively reject.

[UNTLifer]

I was baptized as an infant, but chose to be baptized as an adult when I was old enough to make an informed decision on my own. My children were dedicated as infants and will be baptized when they so choose.

[Censored by Laurie]

I was baptized as an infant, but chose to be baptized as an adult when I was old enough to make an informed decision on my own. My children were dedicated as infants and will be baptized when they so choose.

Serious question: Is that "when" a mandate?

[MDH]

I was baptized a 2 weeks and confirmed at 13...that's right, a 13 year old confirmed that he is fully aware and accepting of what Christianity is.

[UNTLifer]

I was baptized a 2 weeks and confirmed at 13...that's right, a 13 year old confirmed that he is fully aware and accepting of what Christianity is.

I was also confirmed at 13 or 14, but it wasn't really that meaningful to me at the time.

The "when" is not a mandate.

[hickoryhouse]

I was baptized a 2 weeks and confirmed at 13...that's right, a 13 year old confirmed that he is fully aware and accepting of what Christianity is.

I as well was confirmed at 13, maybe 14. I cared about it deeply at the time and then later I took different path and explored all that interested me in the world of religion.

Wether confirmed or baptised, I don't find anything wrong with doing it as a young teen. As we have seen many people will decide that the Christian way is not the way for them, and more power to them.

[Quoner]

I'm pretty happy to see the GMG.com crowd tackle the nonexistent issues like changing the age of Baptism.

Up next, why can't our babies eat pie?

[hickoryhouse]

I'm pretty happy to see the GMG.com crowd tackle the nonexistent issues like changing the age of Baptism.

Up next, why can't our babies eat pie?

If the pie has honey in it then the baby will die of botox

undefined

[Green Guy Bass]

That is one of the good things about the Catholic religion. They do it before you are one year of age, taking all the peer pressure out of the situation.

This confuses me.

[hickoryhouse]

This confuses me.

In the catholic faith the baptism has less to do with accepting the religion and more to do with cleansing the person of "original sin". Due to that the catholics will baptise the children at a very young age to ensure that the child is without sin if it were to pass on at an early age.

It is a bit odd, but that is the faith and it has nothing to do with the individual's choice of a religion.

[Green Guy Bass]

In the catholic faith the baptism has less to do with accepting the religion and more to do with cleansing the person of "original sin". Due to that the catholics will baptise the children at a very young age to ensure that the child is without sin if it were to pass on at an early age.

It is a bit odd, but that is the faith and it has nothing to do with the individual's choice of a religion.

I get that, (half of my family is catholic) I just don't get why someone would chalk that up as a an upside of the religion.

[UNT90]

This confuses me.

Then you would really be confused by confession. I swear I had the same 4 sins lined up to tell the priest from ages 12-18.

And I was qouting Oldguy, who was complaining about peer pressure, hence the upside of the baby baptism.

Edited July 23, 2009 by UNT90

[oldguystudent]

Up next, why can't our babies eat pie?

Well, maybe YOUR babies can't eat pie.