batism

Jules1986 · February 2012

Hello! My fiance' and I are getting married at my Catholic church. He is not baptized but would like to be. My church will not baptize him without having him without converting (which is a lengthy process). We just want him to be baptized. Is there anywhere, any church that will simply baptize him without converting/becoming a member?

PhoneCardLady · February 2012

First of all, baptism is usually a requirement for membership in a church. I have not heard of any denomination that will baptize a person without becoming a member.

If you and/or your FI believes that baptism will get you into heaven, it will not. Only salvation by accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour will do that.

I am not trying to be negative here, or am I against anyone's religion. I am just trying to state the facts.

emarston1 · February 2012

Out of curiosity, why does he want to be baptized if he doesn't believe in it? Does he have to be baptized in order for you to be married in the Catholic church?

I doubt any church is going to baptize someone without them converting. A baptism is one of the sacraments (aka big deals!) in the Christian religion and I doubt any church is going to just do them for the heck of it.

LOTON01 · February 2012

I agree with all PP. However, you can get married in a church that doesn't require you both to be catholic.

Jules1986 · February 2012

I didn't say he didn't believe. He believes in God and is Christian. He was dedicated as a child in the Salvation Army Church. he now would like to be baptized, however while I was raised Catholic, there are parts of the religion I don't identify with. He and I are Christian and plan on finding a church we both feel connected to, but he was interested in getting baptized before the wedding. it's not required by my Catholic church, just something he wanted.

baileyleev · February 2012

there are lots of non-denominational churches that he can be baptized in pretty quickly, assuming that he meets their requirements (able to give his testimony, etc.)

And this is certainly a wonderful and exciting event in the life of a Christ-follower.

I would suggest to be looking for a church now and when you find one you both like, find out the process to be baptized there. Our chuch does baptisms once every couple months, and all that you need to do is go to a few prior meetings, meet with a mentor and sign up!

If he wants to be baptized in a catholic church, I am almost positive you will not find one that will do it without conversion.

Meegles4 · February 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_michigan-detroit_batism?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:88Discussion:147e0cc4-28eb-45ea-9b10-7eb3a1ae16a9Post:503047eb-5942-4b70-8127-a940c9781606">Re: batism</a>:
[QUOTE]<strong>there are lots of non-denominational churches that he can be baptized in pretty quickly, assuming that he meets their requirements (able to give his testimony, etc.</strong>) And this is certainly a wonderful and exciting event in the life of a Christ-follower. I would suggest to be looking for a church now and when you find one you both like, find out the process to be baptized there. Our chuch does baptisms once every couple months, and all that you need to do is go to a few prior meetings, meet with a mentor and sign up! If he wants to be baptized in a catholic church, I am almost positive you will not find one that will do it without conversion.
Posted by baileyleev[/QUOTE]

I have to say, I'm sort of confused. Isn't "giving testimony" a bit like converting? Isn't it about stating your beliefs, which presumably would line up with the church's that you're being baptized in? Maybe it's not called converting, but in my mind, it still is.

To the OP, I think if FI wants to be baptized because he shares a certain church/religion's faith, then that's great. If he's wanting to be baptized just so you can get married in the church, then that's not as great in my mind. From your post, it sounds a bit like the latter, because you're asking for a church that doesn't have lots of requirements, when your FI should really care about what the church teaches when thinking about where to be baptized. Also, baptism isn't a universal thing. What I mean is that if you're trying to get married in the Catholic Church, and your FI goes and gets baptized as a Lutheran because it's quicker/easier, then you may still have an issue of the church not marrying you because he's not Catholic. He's Lutheran at that point. As PPs said, most churches are fine if only one member of the couple has been baptized in that religion, so if you're baptized in the religion of the church you're getting married in, you should be fine.

ETA: I didn't see your second post/response. In that case, it's nice your FI is looking for a faith home. You guys should "shop around" and find a place you both like. Perhaps that will end up being where you decide to get married instead of your home, Catholic, church. Good luck!

baileyleev · February 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_michigan-detroit_batism?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:88Discussion:147e0cc4-28eb-45ea-9b10-7eb3a1ae16a9Post:5eb9d213-19b8-40b8-8a5e-5f5ca0c8a465">Re: batism</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: batism : <strong>I have to say, I'm sort of confused. Isn't "giving testimony" a bit like converting? Isn't it about stating your beliefs, which presumably would line up with the church's that you're being baptized in? Maybe it's not called converting, but in my mind, it still is. </strong>
Posted by Meegles4[/QUOTE]

<div>No, giving your testimony would be sort of "telling your story," why you are being baptized how you came to know Christ, etc. </div><div>
</div><div>I suppose if he wanted to stay catholic and be baptized somewhere else this wouldn't work, that's why I stated it they way I did. If he wants to be baptized because that is what he feels the next step is in his journey, if he's accepted Christ as his Savior and this is next than it wouldn't matter where he did it, any non-denominational church would allow him to be baptized there with these motives. </div><div>
</div><div>
</div>

Jashley05 · February 2012

Hi there! Just quick thought, I know you said you wanted to be married in your Catholic church, but what about a different church? I was never baptized, that's a whole other story for another day though. My husband is Catholic and I'm a little bit of everything (family is Jewish and I went to Catholic school my whole life). With that said, we couldn't get married in the Catholic Church, but it was important to both of us that we needed to get married in a church. I also didn't want to rush into getting baptized for the wedding, but to do that in my own time. So we looked into other options and the Methodist Church will marry you if you are not baptized and you don't have to be a member. We actually got married in a Presbyterian Church and loved it! I wished we lived closer because we would probably join.

FYI - if you are not a member of the church, you will probably have to pay a premium to have the ceremony there.

Jules1986 · February 2012

my Catholic church has no problem marrying us even though he's not Catholic/baptized. We just can't do a full mass since he cannot receive the offering. He does attend this church with me, however, and it's a beautiful church I've been a member of for years so I do want to get married there. We've also already started the process with the church. But I appreciate the suggestion :-)

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