<p>I know that having done chaplaincy work in a hospital, chaplains have been called to the OB floors to baptize babies who were not expected to live, and not necessarily Catholic babies. Because if they are Catholic babies, they also need to be given the sacrament of the sick, which only a priest can do, so we’d be calling the priest. Anyone can baptize, and I know that nurses have done it if the chaplain can’t make it in time. </p>
<p>I do have a Methodist friend, whose baby had a pre-diagnosed heart condition that was incompatible with life for more than a week or two at most. Within hours of the baby being born, he was baptized in the hospital by their pastor. This is just one anecdotal story, but it has happened.</p>
<p>“For mainline Protestant churches, like my own Methodist Church, infant baptism is primarily symbolic. It primarily represents a commitment by the parents to raise the child as a Christian. The church does not teach that water baptism is essential for eternal salvation”</p>
<p>Exactly true Hunt. I’m a mainline Protestant and this is exactly how we view baptism. Hubby was raised Catholic and I didn’t know what to make of it when D1 was in intensive care at birth and my MIL was frantic to have her baptised. I didn’t learn till later what her reasons were.</p>
<p>For some protestants, the urgency may simply be a matter of having the opportunity to baptise the child, as a ceremony marking its life, rather than any fear of damnation or anything like that. For some babies, a quick baptism can be an affirmation of life, if that makes any sense.</p>
<p>While I agree that baptism can be an affirmation of life, so can bedside prayer services and blessings, which I’ve also done. Some parents/families feel extraordinarily passionate that babies must be baptized before they die, and not just the Catholics.</p>
<p>Teriwtt - I, too, am Methodist, and Zoosermom and Hunt have the right of it to my understanding. If I had a critically ill infant in the NICU, having it baptized would not be an imperative to me, having the infant anointed and prayed over might be, but that is different. I was taught the “age of accountability”, individuals have to reach a certain level of mental competence before they are “eternally” accountable.
Baptism is a sacrament, thought adviseable for church membership, but we aren’t checking people’s baptismal certificates at the door. Jesus himself said ‘today you will be with me in Paradise’ to the, presumably, unbaptized thief on the cross, which is part of the argument that baptism is not an absolute necessity.
Off to read the links.</p>
<p>Also Teriwtt, what the denomination as a whole holds as doctrine, and the beliefs of individual members are often different. I don’t think the UMC is telling those parents that baby has to be baptized, we’re are way too all encompassing for that!</p>
<p>“While I agree that baptism can be an affirmation of life, so can bedside prayer services and blessings, which I’ve also done. Some parents/families feel extraordinarily passionate that babies must be baptized before they die, and not just the Catholics.”</p>
<p>Oh, absolutely. I didn’t mean to call that into question. Sorry!</p>
<p>“Expecting to find solid reasoning behind any religious practice is probably a mistake. “Reason” is generally not the reason to do it.”</p>
<p>On the contrary, one can reason within any logical system given facts, and the ability to make logical inferences. The facts and inferences should be based on the Bible (or someone can tell me that the Catholic Church disavows the text) with reasoning using that text.</p>
<p>I suspect those parents urgent insistence at having their baby baptized has some roots somewhere, perhaps from a previous denomination that one of the parents belonged to, but it is real. </p>
<p>It is interesting to use the age of accountability as a rubric. I served on a committee at my church many years ago to explore lowering the age at which children receive their first communion. At the time it was fifth grade. We didn’t want to suggest a specific age because we felt there was too much ambiguity in what is necessary to understand in order to partake. For us to suggest that at a certain age, children (or anyone) ‘gets’ it, minimizes God’s grace. In fact, in our dialogue, we realized that if we require children to ‘know’ or understand certain things, we needed to hold adults to the same standard. And no one thought that was appropriate. So we felt it was up to each individual family to decide when the time was appropriate for their child’s first communion. Some churches allow for infant communion based on the belief that no one can fully understand the mystery behind the Eucharist and how the elements are turned into the body and blood of Christ. </p>
<p>However, after all was said and done, there were still members of our church who felt we’d gone the opposite way, that the first communion should be associated with the affirmation of baptism… in 8th grade. Most of them could only come up with, “Cause that’s the way it was when I was a kid.” So people do hold onto practices for familiarity sake, even after research and dialogue have proven those practices flawed in light of the church’s theology. Frankly, after the work I did on this committee, I became convinced that none of us can fully understand, at any point in our lives, how the sacraments work, so why make that a condition of receiving the sacrament.</p>
<p>“I suspect those parents urgent insistence at having their baby baptized has some roots somewhere, perhaps from a previous denomination that one of the parents belonged to, but it is real.”</p>
<p>Another possibility is that many people don’t have a very strong grip of the doctrines of their own denomination, much less the theological nuances. In this particular case, they know that babies are supposed to be baptized, so they feel urgency about doing it in that situation. For most Protestants, at least, the exact significance of infant baptism is probably a nuance.</p>
<p>“It is interesting to use the age of accountability as a rubric. I served on a committee at my church many years ago to explore lowering the age at which children receive their first communion”</p>
<p>We had a similar situation in my church a couple of years ago. Children generally receive Communion at the time of confirmation, around 9th grade. There was a family who joined the church and believed that baptism conferred the right to receive communion so their children took Communion at ages 4, 7 and 11. It was a very big deal, particularly when the little one developed the habit of spitting the host. We only partake a few times a year, not at every service like the Catholics do, so it’s a very big deal to us. YOu can imagine the outcry. The pastors shrugged and ignored it. Not a popular stance.</p>
<p>Yeah, we have no minimum age for communion. If the child wants to walk up to the rail with mom or dad, that is fine. We consider that a part of the nurturing and instruction in the faith that parents are promising to continue at baptism. Most of the children go to Children’s Church during the main service, which does communion in the chapel on COmmunion Sundays (1st Sundays). The children conduct the service, with the children’s director doing the message, and one of the associate pastors ducks in to actually administer communion. </p>
<p>Our big controversy that comes and goes from time to time, is the age for confirmation. Our church still does it at 6th grade, but some UMC churches have switched to 8th grade, the thinking being that kids will stay in Sunday School longer. Once they go through confirmation, parents stop making the effort to get them up to church.</p>
<p>I suppose that how you view children taking communion may vary depending on how your denomination views communion. If you are Catholic, the doctrine of transubstsantiation says that the elements actually become the body and blood of Christ. In most Protestant churches, the elements are considered symbolic only.</p>
<p>“In most Protestant churches, the elements are considered symbolic only.”</p>
<p>Yes, and in my church, the prerequisite of truly informed partaking is enormously important and most believe that a four-year old can’t be truly informed.</p>