Do you have to present your child[ren] to the Lord?

Where in the bible does it say that you have to go to the alter of a church and present your child?

As a parent, if you do not do this are you damned to hell?





A Christian friend keeps insisting I do this, and I disagree completely.

I'm curious to know your opinions or if you have done it yourself or as I have chosen not to do it.

Thanks.

Sarah

DrJ

Is your friend referring to baptism??

The Bible talks about Baptism and some sects, Like Catholicism believe that you should baptize your child.

Is she Catholic?

mudweiser

No she's Pentecostal.

To dedicate your child is when you basically ask the pastor to lay hands on your child and dedicate your child to God.

I don't really have all the information on how it is done, but I know that it is not a baptism.

Sarah

DrJ

ohhhh THOSE guys...

(sorry, that pic didnt come up when I was first in here)

Yeah, I think that's pretty secluded to the Pentacostal church. I have seen similar things in the Protestant Church I was raised in but there it was just a prayer for the baby... nothing that was mandatory for the childs or the parents salvation.

As for you, you probably have bigger things to worry about getting "damned to Hell for" than not doing that

Are you a Christian? Do you want your child to be a Christian?

albear

whats it supposed to represent?
i understand baptism is washing away the sins ....sort of

but to me it sounds like your asking an old man to fondle your kids? - sorry if thats offensive but that is what it sounds like

mudweiser

I'm Agnostic, however I do relate more to being a Unitarian Universalist.

Here's something I got from the net:
To answer your question Dr.J, No I do not want to choose my child's faith. I believe that children should grow in an open-minded environment where children aren't reprimanded for "unholy" thoughts, nagged if they forgot to pray or fear an entity up above.

Sarah

DrJ

Regardless of what religion or belief you subscribe to, I would think it unfair that one's eternal destiny is, in any way, altered due to the actions of another... parent or not.

I would hate to find out that I was right and my parents were wrong but since they dedicated me to their church, I was damned to whatever Hell-Equivalent eternity was awaiting me.

albear

sounds like peer preasure to me, doing it to show other people

DrJ

It sounds to me like your beliefs seem more reasonable than your friends

homesell

A child dedication is the parent(s) of the child telling God that they intend to raise the child up in the truth and knowledge of the Lord.(As did the mother of Samuel) In most protestant churches there is no laying on of hands. Since you admittedly don't know what the truth and knowledge of the Lord is, it would certainly be pointless and meaningless to make this peer pressured gesture.
Regardless, the parent never actually chooses the childs faith. God bids us all to choose on our own. A christian isn't a christian because the parents were, or that they attend a church, or were dedicated, or baptized or "walked forward" at an evangelistic meeting. A christian is one that has been born again by the spirit of God entering and residing in that person. A baby has no knowledge of the word of God.
I'm sorry if you think Christianity is about reprimanding children for thinking unholy thoughts, nagged if they forget to pray or to fear the creator that loves them - this is not what true christianity is about.