Should You Christen Your Child?
Many people rarely go to church except for weddings, funerals and Christenings.
Should these people christen or baptize their child? A Christening or baptism is where a child goes through a ritual to enter the Christian church.
Not physically entering the church but becoming a member of a particular church and its beliefs.
In some traditions, the word "christening" is reserved for the baptism of infants only.
Many people today such as Quakers and the Salvation Army do not see baptism as necessary, and do not practice the rite.
Even some Christians do not practice this rite also.
Many people against the ceremonies believe by giving a child a baptism you are basically telling them what to believe in, which in this day and age is pretty shocking.
If you were raised in a particular religion and then later went on to develop your own beliefs that contradict that religion, this could become a confusing time.
All of your family have guided you into a religion but you are now questioning or not wanting to follow that religion anymore.
This is where problems can occur.
Because of this many people believe in letting the child choose which religion he or she believes in later in life.
This makes perfect sense really, as a child who is only a few months old knows nothing about religion so why should they be labelled under one? If you are from a religious back ground and you are feeling the pressure to baptize your child in this faith then it might cause a family backlash if you refuse to go through with the traditional service.
So what can you do?Well if are a serious believer in your faith and go to church regularly then passing this onto your child cannot harm the child as long as you realise that one day they may turn their back on this faith.
This should not be taken personally because every person has the right to believe it whatever they choose.
Also these days' schools are full of multi cultural kids from many different types of religions and these are being taught in schools.
This is good as it teaches a child the many religions and gives a child more choice when it comes to following religion.
A blessing ceremony or ritual is one option for those who believe a baptism is not the way to go.
It doesn't have to be religious, just a celebration of the child being born.
Once that child is older and if they want can choose their own faith and arrange to have a proper baptism.
One thing is for sure you shouldn't allow yourself to be pressured into anything.
If in-laws and family are pressuring you I would question this.
If your family do not respect your wishes I would ask them to seriously consider their own religious beliefs.
We all have free will and with the ever evolving world we all have a right to bring up our children the way we want to, regardless of religions which date back hundreds of years.
Should these people christen or baptize their child? A Christening or baptism is where a child goes through a ritual to enter the Christian church.
Not physically entering the church but becoming a member of a particular church and its beliefs.
In some traditions, the word "christening" is reserved for the baptism of infants only.
Many people today such as Quakers and the Salvation Army do not see baptism as necessary, and do not practice the rite.
Even some Christians do not practice this rite also.
Many people against the ceremonies believe by giving a child a baptism you are basically telling them what to believe in, which in this day and age is pretty shocking.
If you were raised in a particular religion and then later went on to develop your own beliefs that contradict that religion, this could become a confusing time.
All of your family have guided you into a religion but you are now questioning or not wanting to follow that religion anymore.
This is where problems can occur.
Because of this many people believe in letting the child choose which religion he or she believes in later in life.
This makes perfect sense really, as a child who is only a few months old knows nothing about religion so why should they be labelled under one? If you are from a religious back ground and you are feeling the pressure to baptize your child in this faith then it might cause a family backlash if you refuse to go through with the traditional service.
So what can you do?Well if are a serious believer in your faith and go to church regularly then passing this onto your child cannot harm the child as long as you realise that one day they may turn their back on this faith.
This should not be taken personally because every person has the right to believe it whatever they choose.
Also these days' schools are full of multi cultural kids from many different types of religions and these are being taught in schools.
This is good as it teaches a child the many religions and gives a child more choice when it comes to following religion.
A blessing ceremony or ritual is one option for those who believe a baptism is not the way to go.
It doesn't have to be religious, just a celebration of the child being born.
Once that child is older and if they want can choose their own faith and arrange to have a proper baptism.
One thing is for sure you shouldn't allow yourself to be pressured into anything.
If in-laws and family are pressuring you I would question this.
If your family do not respect your wishes I would ask them to seriously consider their own religious beliefs.
We all have free will and with the ever evolving world we all have a right to bring up our children the way we want to, regardless of religions which date back hundreds of years.
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