Help me:: discuss baptism

This isn't what you want to hear, but the greatest importance of Baptism to Christians is that it was a powerful marketing tool. For 2000 years the church got people to baptize their infants and grow them up in the faith. The priests instilled the constant fear of hell to keep them faithful to the sacraments. Remember the first obligation of any entity (church included) is to its own survival.

If Baptism is so powerful, why doesn't it make a difference? Some unbaptized are better people than the baptized and vice versa. Same thing with all the sacraments. Shouldn't the "sacrament of Marriage" confer grace that would help people stay married? But Xians have an equal percentage of divorce.

It seems completely absurd that only that tiny percent of humans who have been exposed to Baptism would be "saved." It's incredibly ethnocentric and arrogant of all these Christians who are proud and self-satisfied with their status. It's all just an accident of birth.

I realized I was a heretic when I agreed with Luther's idea that grace covers the soul like snow on a dung pile. But now I'm worse than a heretic. I'm furiously pissed off that God the creator has misled basically everybody on earth. All the religions have some truth and beauty but I can't enjoy any of it. It's like i'm already in hell. Bitter and cursing God.

 

Hopefully I can answer your questions...

The point of Baptism
Baptism is a symbolic ceremony of your dedication to Christ. It's a bit like swallowing the pill in Total Recall, or The Matrix. Or, it's a bit like a wedding ceremony. You don't actually need to be baptised to receive the holy spirit (they can be achieved through prayer) but Baptism is a perfect opportunity for it to happen, if it hasn't already.

What Baptism Symbolises
Baptism basically symbolises Christ's death, and when yo go under the water you (symbolically) die of your old life of sin. When you return out of the water, you are reborn and have been baptised with The Holy Spirit, who then lives inside you and helps to keep you away from sin in future. Christians who have been baptised don't stop sinning (all humans are sinners); but people often feel the prescence of The Holy Spirit and they become less sinful because of him.

How to be Baptised
To be baptised you need to be fully submerged in water, and you need someone to be with you when you do it to lead the ceremony and pray for you (someone who has been saved themselves). Babies cannot be baptised; baptism at birth is merely a naming ritual and helps parents dedicate their child to God. To be baptised, you must make a personal decision to be baptised. It must be a free choice, or it is not baptism.

Why Christ was Baptised
Christ was baptised to set an example and to show us what to do ourselves. Christ never instructed us to do anything he didn't do himself. It was also an example of Christ's amazing humility!

Is Baptism Necessary to Be Saved?
Christians' opinions on this differ greatly. I believe it is necessary, because it says it over and over in The Bible. But there are also parts that don't mention it as a necessity. Which takes precidence over the other is hard to say. But If you are a Christian, it is surely something you would want to do anyway to show your dedication, if you truly do believe in Christ and dedicate your life to him.

 

Dude, we are both moved around by God. God probably writes similar things with us or something.

Lol, if it was 7 years ago, some christian would say that me and libertine were the same person....

 

Damn! I was really hoping we'd turn out to be the same person.
It sounds like you get laid more often than I do.