Tennessee Mother Faces Possible Jail Time For Baptizing Children

March 30, 2012 12:51 PM

File photo of a baptism. (credit: AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images)

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Shelby County mother is facing contempt-of-court charges and possible jail time for baptizing her two children without the knowledge or consent of her ex-husband.

This week the Tennessee Court of Appeals said Lauren Jarrell must face a criminal contempt hearing for violating a court order that said major decisions regarding the religious upbringing of her two children should be made jointly with her-ex-husband.

The mother and her ex-husband, Blake Jarrell, are both Christian — he’s a Methodist and she’s a Presbyterian.

Court records say the father thought the children should be baptized once they are older. He has asked that his ex-wife be found in criminal contempt for baptizing the children without his knowledge or permission.

If convicted, she could face 20 days in jail and a $100 fine.

Tennessee Mother Faces Possible Jail Time For Baptizing Children

OnePercent

Good, the father should have to provide consent for something like this, they are his kids too and the mother shouldn’t be able to force them into her religion without his agreement on the matter.

Alan Combs

“By Their Fruits Shall You Know Them”. Neither, IMO, are Christian.

Daisy

Their behavior certainly isn’t oriented in Christianity.

%#@* I WILL get the kids Baptized, whether you like it or not. ^%#@ and now I’LL retaliate: You’re going to jail.

Funny, my associations w/Baptism have to do w/becoming part of my Christian community; Godparents: Christening gown etc. Not having my Dad resentfully order my Mother hauled off to the slammer.
Carol

I agree with Alan. They are not shining Christ’s light to the World.
John Doe

He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.

RioSam

They are both selfish for using their children to aggravate/antagonize each other. Her for not consulting him, knowing he would object. And he for suing her for baptizing their children. Afterall, he could very well conduct his own baptism when he feels it’s appropriate. Literally speaking, no harm has been done!

Daisy

Your observation and proposed solutions are very sensible. If either of these parents chose to look at things w/so much maturity, they wouldn’t be divorced.

And their kids would not have a lifetime of untangling “Baptism and Mommy goes to Jail” enmeshed confusion.

tim

I can see why they got a divorce. Some people are just idiots.
Carla

I hate to judge these people but the parents are DEFINITELY not acting very Christian and not setting a Christian example for their children. If the mother had the children baptized all the father has to do is have them baptized again when they are older. ANYONE who would condemn this woman to spending jail time for following thru with her beliefs needs to be thrown out of his seat as Judge!!!!!! ABSOLUTELY INSANE!!!!!

Carla

I must also say that this action does not witness as a good influence on the children but it is actions of this type that continue to make Christianity in the true form a bad name!!!!! What a shame that we can’t see this! Until we unite as Christians we will continue to be made fun of by the secular world.

trixlette

It’s worth the jail time and the $100 to ensure your children’s spiritual future. I think when children are the result of two different religions, they should be immersed in both. Other than to dig his claws into his ex-wife I don’t see the problem, BOTH religions baptize. He wasn’t a part of it, so he wants to punish her. I would argue, since Baptism is a part of BOTH faiths, this would not ordinarily be a major decision, just a regular decision in the course of life.

Ohiomom

Baptism in no way “insures” a spiritual future according that book that both claim to follow, called the Bible.

Gordon Campbell

Read it again,heretic.
Welcome Black Carter

Should read “Infant baptism”
womanwithin

Actually the Bible says “repent and be baptized,” newborns are born with the stigma of “original sin,” but is not in a position to repent. Both John the Baptist and Jesus were baptized as adults, and not with a cup of water.
Jenna

I agree Ohiomom- I was baptised at age 8 and definitely left the church while in my teens and early twenties. I was re-baptised just a couple of years ago, at home- in my bathtub. I was only able to make the SERIOUS choice as an adult. I truly decided I wanted to follow Christ. By being pushed to be baptised at such a young age, did NOTHING for me spiritually. The only thing it probably did for my parents was give them cause to have “bragging rights”. But I will NOT make my children get baptised at all. If they are interested I will tell them it is a serious thing, its a commitment to follow Christ, and it is not for show.
DrWho

In the Bible’s book of Acts, “whole households” were baptized, inferring that children were baptized, and Apostles were in charge of those services. Do you suppose they did wrong? (Of course not.)

How sad this story is, from a Christian point of view.

mewp

they are both protestants. what is the big deal?

OnePercent

They are not of the same denomination though. Some denominations feel that baptising children is incorrect because the children are not choosing to do it themselves but are being forced into it by the parent. The whole idea is that it is a matter of choice on the part of the one being baptised, not his or her mother.

Moreover, she obviously violated the terms of their custody agreement or the courts wouldn’t be getting involved in the first place. Therefore she is in the wrong no matter how you spin it .
krp

So the Methodist considers the Presbyterian baptism “just water”, and the Presbyterian calls the Methodist baptism “just water;” I repeat mewp’s question: “What is the big deal?”

Pensieve

You are a hundred per cent correct. God will reward this woman in Heaven for her faithfulness, and jail time is a small price to pay.

I’m betting the guy is the one who divorced his wife, which is against what Jesus clearly taught in the first place.

John T

Yessirree! Deceit and breaking promises made in Court is surely the kind of behavior God will reward!

jgrig2

ALL branches of Christianity teach there is to be ONE baptism applied to an individual in his or her life. Even mormons (not christian, but certainly a christianish sect) do not practice multiple baptisms, they just baptize each other in the place of others.

Al

You obviously don’t have a clue what ALL denominations teach.

Divorced Dad

I think you’re missing the point. The court order states that they will jointly make decisions together. She broke the court order and was in contempt of court. I had a similar experience with my ex wife. We are both Catholic and both were in agreement to baptism (as a baby). Only, my ex wife never told me when the baptism was scheduled and I missed an important religious milestone for our daughter. My ex was fined $250 (no jail time). These parents could have used a mediator to come to a compromise. I’m confused though…I don’t see how this is national news.

Christian

I understand that you missed what was for you an important milestone in your daughters life, but was it really worth it to drag your ex-wife to court over something like this?
Al

Of course it was worth it, Christian. Otherwise, the ex-wife would have just continued to do what SHE wanted to do without regard to her obligations to her ex-husband.
Al

I’m not saying it was the “Christian” thing to do — that turning the other cheek business. However, that’s something I had trouble buying in to and never really accepted it.

joe

The court should exercise its supreme authority and declare this baptism “null and void” (after the appropriate fees are paid, of course) and enforce an injunction against the church from performing any future baptisms without prior court approval and the posting of public notice. Quite frankly, I’m surprised the court hasn’t severed this womans parental rights for the careless disregard for the safety a well being of these children. I’d be willing to bet she hasn’t even consulted he ex as to bedtime, and dinner menus. The whole thing is scandalous.

Al

I hope that made you feel good. Otherwise, it has no value.
krp

Your comment is time stamped too early to be an April Fools joke.. What jurisdiction does any court have to declare a baptism null and void? What jurisdiction does any court have to enjoin churches to perform baptisms? The woman is Presbyterian, are you saying that the Appeals Court of Tennessee has the power to tell the entire worldwide Presbyterian church what it can and cannot do as pertains to its own rituals and teachings? That would be no different that ObamaCare forcing birth control and abortion on the Catholic Church.

It’s just water. The only thing that is scandolous is your comment.

FedUp Florida

You’re a kook. No, really, you are. Loon.
Justice

Baptizing babies and young children is ANTI-BIBLE! You can’t choose salvation for others, not even your children. Baptism is done AFTER you choose to follow Jesus and accept him; you can not do this for your child.

Catholics and others do so much nonsense (like praying to a dead woman named Mary who is still rotting in her grave) it’s disgusting!

Mike Carrington

At times like this I would love to be on jury duty to thwart the j@ck@ss courts.
Davidtoo

The father is correct and she SHOULD be prosecuted for contempt of court and CONTEMPT FOR THE BOND BETWEEN FATHER AND CHILDERN.
d skelton

The story does not mention the ages of the children, however, one should consider that the children might have made the decision for themselves! Whatever that may be, either way, the two parents are not setting a very good Christian example.

harriet

Your comment — that the two parents are not setting a very good Christian example – is the very best of all the comments on this ariicle.

krp

To a Presbyterian, a Methodist baptism, is just water. To a Methodist, a Presbyterian baptism is just water. Why should the father care?

Answer: he doesn’t. He is just seizing the opportunity to score points against his ex-wife and use the court to do so.

Rumple 01

Children can’t always make the decisions for themselves. Example, should an American parent not teach their child English so as to allow the child to chose for themselves what language they want to learn on their own? Of course not!It is perfectly normal for parents to educate their children with what they know, this includes religion and spirituality.
The problem with the scenario is that the mother should have included the father in the conversation of baptism, afterall the child is both their’s not just hers and not just his. I agree that the parents may not be setting a very good Christian example since they aren’t respecting one another. But based on the article it seems the mother is worse.

http://damianpenny.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/13363/ DamianPenny.com

[...] Mother Faces Possible Jail Time For Baptizing Children,” reads the headline for this story from Charlotte’s CBS affiliate. The real issue is not baptism, however, but flagrantly [...]
James

This is more sad than anything. A struggle for power and the father can’t set a positive example for his children.

And it is being done in the name of Jesus.

John McElroy

Sized it up correctly, power and control; children the weapon of choice.
Dad’s Deserve Respect

Excuse me, but is was the mother who did not set the proper example. To keep her from continuing to do whatever the heck she wants to do in the future it is proper to punish her. The father is not doing anything, the court is.

there_is no_god

Whats the big deal.. It’s all made up hocus pokus anyway.

brad

Yep
Robert

Remember what Psalm 14:1 says, “The fool says in his hear, “There is no God”". Just remember there is no such thing as an atheist as atheism itself is self-defeating. An atheist is a person that believes there is no God. In order to know this the atheist has to be all-knowing. As no human can make that assertion, they cannot also make the claim that there is no God. All athiests are just agnostics and many do not realize it.

Ohiomom

Very true Robert. And I’ll add the trouble is that it take sa thinking person to understand what you said.
YourBrainOnFox

You don’t have to know there is no god. You just have to believe there is not one. I don’t know for certain that there’s not a meatball somewhere on Mars. I would have to be all-knowing to know that. Do I have a reason to believe there’s a meatball on Mars? Nope. So I’m an ameatballist.

Do you believe there’s a meatball on Mars?
krp

Robert. IF they were both members of the same church, then the father would have a beef. Because they are members of not just different churches but also different denominations, each one would consider the baptism of the other church, “just water”.

I do agree with your last comment, but I would say that an atheist is an agnostic that has to prove that they are the smartest guy in the room when they cannot. No human can make the assertion that there is no God, and no human can make the assertion that there definitely is a God. God is Infinite.The human mind cannot comprehend infinity. To paraphrase Kurt Godel and his Incomplete Theory, there exist things that they can neither be proven nor disproved with a finite number of postulate, no matter how numerous they are . There are 66 books in the “Bible”. 66 is a finite number. The existence of God can neither be proved nor disproved.

ClumBaby

EXACTLY. All BS!!!!
Phil

Even assuming that the universe spontaneously comes into existence from nothing, someone had to create the framework. The greatest thing is love, so God must be love. Then why are we here in this terrible world? Could it be that the original design was messed up by humans choosing sin, which has terrible consequences. Could it be that God wants us to choose Him and to be reconciled with Him so we can be with Him forever? But who is God? How do we know? Well, God would have to rveal Himself directly. We have clues in the design of the universe, but beyond that we need direct revelation. Thousands of years of revelation to the Jewish people both give commandments we should follow to live as God wants and prophecy that there will be a redeemer who will come and rule forever. Christians believe that Christ fulfills these prophecies, and directly reveals who God is (a God of love,mercy, truth, and justice) and how to live. Lots of things masquerade as love, but God showed us true love. I would challenge the agnostics to get beyond talking points and actually study what Christians believe. I’m Catholic and recommend the Cathechism of the Catholic Church in conjunction of course with the Bible. My guess would be that you will be surprised at what Christians believe and what people say they believe.

Hari Seldon

If convicted, she could face 20 days in jail and a $100 fine.

At what cost to taxpayers? Either let it be a civil matter only or make the penalty a fine only. Serving jail time will not benefit anyone, will be bad for the child and will cost the taxpayers way way way too much money with no benefit.

Andrew P.

I agree. But what if this woman is unable to pay a fine, and forcing her to do so will put her children worse off?

I think either a fine, or some sort of community service program if a fine is not possible, but either way I don’t think taxpayers should be on the hook for an internal family dispute.

Al

The woman has obviously spent considerable money on this already — it’s been to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

I hadn’t thought of the cost to taxpayers to house her in jail. Maybe the law should allow for a fine in the amount of what it would cost to hold her in jail for 20 days. Anyway, this is a teachable moment for her. The court needs to be able to do whatever it takes to teach her — and then hope that she learns the lesson.

Juan Figuroa

So the government’s now collecting money off religion? Baptize your children, pay the government a hundred bucks. That’s obscene.

John T

Go back and read the story, try for comprehension this time. You can do it.

JDog

It’s the same baptism, just different and not dissimilar denominations. Doesn’t matter which one they are baptized in. Confirmation is a different story.

k in Denver

obviously, the father is not actually practicing his religion, just power tripping on it.

Daisy

Exactly. Too bad she didn’t get King Solomon for a court judge; he knew how to sort out this sort of dilemma. The father is willing to destroy his children in order to get his way. If this mother goes to jail, or is forced to pay a fine over this particular issue, how on earth are the children going to understand that Baptism is a Good Thing?!
Dad’s Deserve Respect

Excuse me, but is was the mother who did not set the proper example. To keep her from continuing to do whatever the heck she wants to do in the future it is proper to punish her. The father is not “doing” anything, the court is.

Lee

Biblically speaking, one can only make the decision for himself whether or not to be baptized.

JDog

Not true. The Roman Centurion had his whole household baptized, and NT also talks about proxy baptisims. I would be curious to know what scripture you refer to…

Daisy

I wish I was nice enough to be curious, but I’m not because I know you’re correct.
Lee

JDog, that is incorrect. Yes, Cornelius “called together his kinsmen and near friends” to hear Peter preach. And they heard PETER commanding them to be baptized, the same as Peter had done on the day of Pentecost.

The term “proxy baptism” occurs nowhere in the Bible; neither does the concept.

As for what Scripture I refer to, I could look at the consistent pattern throughout; but Acts 2:41 is one such clear example: “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized.” Prior to being baptized, they had to “gladly receive the word.” It’s no different in any case.

DK Allinger

As an atheist I point to this as an example of degenerate, disgusting and demented government. Government is not your friend, never will be and always, always, is wrong.

Government is men and women providing services at the barrel of gun. If they really cared about you and your property, they wouldn’t be the first to use deadly force and confiscation. ———

Al

Did you mean to say you’re an anti-Christ? Or an anarchist? Do you also call yourself Robert Curtis?

Joe C

Who the heck cares? It’s just water! It’s no different than giving them a bath. If he’s upset that it’s ‘magic’ water, he should have to prove in court that the water in question really was magic. Alternately he could take the kids to a wizard and have him undo the spell. So ridiculous.

Al

I’m betting you posted as “joe” at March 31, 2012 at 4:48 pm. If so, I continue to hope that you’re amusing yourself.

Robert

This is a perfect example of how those who profess Christianity as their faith do not live it. The dad should be glad that his children are being raised in a Christian environment and welcome the fact that is children have been baptized. To do something like this shows the corrupt nature of us humans and how far we have truly fallen from our Father. This father should instead be living and showing the example of Jesus in situations such as this. Would Jesus care if they were baptized in one faith or the other, no, He would only care that the children accepted him and were baptized.

Mitch

You really are a sad little man.

Robert

That is really all you have to post? At least post why you make such a comment and back it up with at least an attempt to support your view of why I “am a sad little man.” Your post was really not worth posting on here, try again.

A Drew

Good post Robert!

Mencken Baken

“For centuries, theologians have been explaining the unknowable in terms of the-not-worth-knowing.” ~ H. L. Mencken

—- http://911essentials.com
mcc

The only thing that happens when you get baptized is you get wet. This is a waste of the taxpayers money. Prebytrerians and Methodists are the same religion, just different expressions.

Joe Wotring

Amen!
Mike

That’s a pretty ignorant approach to the understanding of baptism. To the true believer, baptism leaves an indelible mark on the soul signifying that we now belong in a convenant with God. It can never be erased or undone. What this Mother did was save those kids souls. I applaud her.

mcc

To the true believer, salvation comes through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. Baptism is an outward, symbolic act to testify to that fact. But it doesn’t save you.
Lee

“Baptism doth also now save us” (1 Peter 3:21).

But I guess you don’t truly believe that, mcc?
Al

What the woman did was violate a court order. And, in the process, poke a stick in her ex-husband’s eye, deliberately provoke him, and start a fight. Somehow I don’t see her un-Christian act as something to applaud.
Justice

YOU CAN NOT ‘GIVE’ SALVATION TO OTHERS BY DIPPING THEM IN WATER!

YOU GET BAPTIZED AFTER ACCEPTING JESUS CHRIST, THE ACT OF DUNKING DOESN’T SAVE YOU, YOUR ACCEPTING JESUS DOES!

THIS IS AS STUPID AS PRAYING TO A DEAD WOMAN (MARY) OR ‘PRAYING’ THE DEAD INTO HEAVEN…CATHOLICS NEED TO READ THE BIBLE AND STOP WORSHIPING THE ANTI-GOD POPE.

http://beerbynumbers.wordpress.com jbmhsv

As a divorced father, I completely agree with this. I am not a Christian and do not believe in organized religion (not saying I don’t believe in God, mind you). If my ex were to do something like this without my consent, I would be outraged. This is not a matter of religion, but rather, indoctrination. If my child so chooses (when she is old enough to understand), I would have no issues with her being baptized given that I was informed prior. This woman has not only violated the paternal bond, but has violated a core tenet of the legally binding divorce decree. Remove all religious implications from this and it is a simple violation of a legally binding contract. The legal result of such an offense is a contempt of court conviction.

gundyman

Yay, common sense does exist! Good on you jbmhsv.
elmcc

God hates divorce. Nuff said.

Chrissakes

God put divorce in the Bible. He digs it.

Shelly Watson

@jbmhsv You can have whatever views you wish, but stop asking me to pay for your degenerate philosophy that government is the answer to complex social problems. Taxing people to pay for the mentally decrepit, self imposed by believing in fairy tales, myths and magic men in the clouds, is tyranny and I don’t want to pay for any of these delusional religious cult members.

jjl

Best said comment. People want government to solve all of their problems, just a child looks to their parents. Grow up government groupies.
OnePercent

So how would you suggest divorced couples resolve their disputes without the help of the courts? Maybe they should just fight to the death? One of the basic functions of all government throughout history is to resolve disputes in a civil and legally binding manner. Stop focusing on the religious aspect of this case, the woman is in trouble because she willingly violated a court order.
Sm Land

@one percent You need to widen your view of what government is and what voluntary association is as opposed to people with guns telling you what to do. If you’re never studied philosophy you will continue to go on and on thinking government is the answer to all your problems. I really don’t have time to explain to you, or really care to, but because I wish all to awaken to the reality that gov. is not the answer, check out freedomainradio.com with Stefan Molyneux
OnePercent

@ Sm Land – government is a necessary evil, resolving disputes between conflicting parties is one of its primary functions. Even primitive societies have some form of judicial system to resolve disputes so that people don’t resort to killing each other to solve their problems. I am not sure what you are advocating for, but outside of a legal recourse to resolve conflicts between angry parties things can get ugly really quickly. Ever heard of the Hatfields and the McCoys?
Sm Land

@OnePercent You spend most of your day and life living in a voluntary society. You choose where you live, what you do for a living, who you marry or divorce, what you eat and so forth. Voluntary relationships are far better than being told what to do by some unknown, unseen group that couldn’t care less for you.
When people ask who will build the roads, keep you safe and other questions, one can only refer them to the former issues such as slavery. People wondered what all the slaves would do for a living once they were freed or what women would do when given the vote.
If I told you in 1950 that in the future the need for mail service would be obsolete, I wouldn’t be able to explain email or messaging. The same is true for voluntary relationships which always are better than being told what to do. This doesn’t happen overnight and most are not contemplative enough to even entertain these concepts. Only through exchange of ideas, as this, can one begin to make the change.

Wally Kanoski

You say your child could be baptized when she was old enough to understand. So you are abdicating your parental responsibility? I’ll bet you’ve indoctrinated her with all kinds of inconsequential stuff — like what baseball team to root for, or what automobile manufacturer produces the best cars — leaving none of that to chance. How about sticking metal objects into electrical outlets? Will you let her figure that out on her own, or will you step up and give her guidance? How about holding hands when crossing the street, and looking both ways before crossing the street — did you give her direction, or let her go off on her own? But something with eternal value — responding to the prevenient grace of Almighty God — you say, “Let her figure it out on her own.”

Jayne

Well said Wally, everyone who has issues with a belief system always say “Don’t indoctrinate the kids to God.” These self same people don’t realise that they do their own indoctrination at the same time of no God or anti Godliness all the while saying to you, “I let my child decide”.

Joe Wotring

Someone needs to go to Hell for this outrage!

Chrissakes

I’m working on it.
Ralphie

I would rather go to Hell then spend eternity with Christians….all that worthless singing….Hail Satan!

rascal69

Can I be on that jury? Is the jury allowed to issue warrants for the arrest of judges and leave them sitting in jail for several months before we determine what to do with them?
Jess

Christian FAIL on all sides. This is why we aren’t supposed to take other Christians to court, but work things out in private. It reflects poorly on who we are.

Al

“[W]we aren’t supposed to take other Christians to court”? Where the hell did you come up with that? Setting aside the current issue, without going to court, how does one manage to get a divorce? Oh, you’re going to tell me that Christians shouldn’t be getting divorces, aren’t you?

Karl

The husband is way out of line in this case. He may pay some child support but the mother is entitled to see that her children are broght up properly. Why didn;t the husband get involved. Apparently he has no use for his children otherwise he would have been a bigger part of their lives. The mother is right in this instance, the ex-husband is wrong.

Sammy

You have trouble reading don’t you. Where did you get the idea that he wasn’t trying to be involved? Many mother use the children to punish the father and refuse to allow him to be involved. The divorce decree instructed the mother to include the father. She refused to do that. The case is she violated the decree and needs to be brought into line and stop being a road block in the father’s being in the children’s life.
Al

And the father isn’t entitled to see that HIS children are brought up properly?

Mojoron

I don’t know which is more depressing, the husband in this matter or you folks think that the kids are ruined forever after getting baptized. Hitler, Mussolini, Marx, and many serial killers were baptized so getting baptized doesn’t mean that they are forever protected from doing bad things, that is up to the individual.

OnePercent

The kids are not ruined forever but it is still a blatant violation of the father’s parental rights, that is the real issue here.
Mike

Uh, Marx certainly was not baptized. He was Jewish.
Dad’s Deserve Respect

I can believe the number of fools who keep blaming the father. IT WAS THE MOTHER WHO IS IN CONTEMPT OF COURT!!!

yan

I speak as one that believes baptism confers the remission of sins.

Is baptism a major religious decision? Certainly the parents think so, but, why should the court agree? Maybe a ‘major religious decision’ that the court should recognize should be, for instance, if one of the parents wants to send a child to a particular religious school, or to a secular school; or whether or not to celebrate a particular religious holiday.

But why should a court care if you splash some water on a kid or not? They should be free to baptize according to their conscience, so long as the other parent’s conscience, rather than merely his prudential judgment, is not offended.

It would be different if one parent were Christian and the other not. Then you can see how the free exercise of religion should give way to the consideration of conscience. If the father were atheist or a different [non-Christian] religion, baptizing the children without his permission is a violation of his conscience rights. But that is not the case here. I think this judge is out of line.

OnePercent

What you are saying is that the father’s consent doesn’t matter in this case, which is patently absurd. I suspect that if this issue were not about baptism but about some other typical parenting decision (such as what school they attend for example) you would see that the mother overstepped her boundaries here.
Al

“[W]hy should a court care if you splash some water on a kid or not?” You’re at least hinting that baptism is of no significance. Then, you suggest that it would be significant if the father were an atheist. It’s either significant or it isn’t — you don’t get to have it both ways.

“[T]he parents think” “baptism [is] a major religious decision.” If for no other reason, that’s a good reason the court should care: the court order “said major decisions regarding the religious upbringing of her [their] children should be made jointly.”

If you had stated that one parent considered baptism to be of major importance and the other didn’t, then you might have a leg to stand on. As it is, your argument is pathetically shallow.

Maria

As a Methodist, we were supposed to ask to be baptized when we were old enough to feel called to be baptized. This happened to me, and it was a very important, moving event for me. I then married into a faith where they practice infant baptism, which I went along with. Didn’t bother me too much. However, now, looking back, I think my children missed that opportunity to feel that they were being baptized at a moment of faith when they fully understood and knew in their hearts they they were called to take that action. The solution is for the older children to request a new baptism if they feel so moved to do so at some point in their lives. God and I understand that baptism is a symbol, a ceremony, about a moment of relationship with God. In my case, the Methodist way, it’s a celebration of “knowing,” from human to God. In infant baptism, it’s a matter of God “knowing” that infant human. Either way is good and important. These parents should chill. I understand the mother, probably raised with infant baptism theology, feels that her children are not safely in God’s hands without it. The father can explain to the children his beliefs and they can find their own solutions as time goes by. It’s not like they were baptized into Satan’s workshop.

Kaybee

I personally agree that baptism should occur when an individual is old enough to understand it and makes that decision for themselves, however I have worked at United Methodist Church for the past 3 years (I, myself, am not Methodist) and they have done several “infant baptisms” since I’ve worked here.
Wally Kanoski

Methodists practice infant baptism.
Allena

“The solution is for the older children to request a new baptism if they feel so moved to do so at some point in their lives.” Having been reared as a Methodist, that’s the way it is with Methodists — who DO have infant baptism. I have no idea why you’d think otherwise.

I was baptised as an infant and then again when I knew what I was doing. My second baptism was also a very moving event for me.

mtich

She’s not facing punishment for baptizing children without father’s consent. She’s facing punishment for disobeying a court order. Poorly written article. This isn’t about baptism.