Baptism

So I’m staring down the barrel of another clash between Protestants and Catholics. And as usual, it’s incredibly personal. I was baptized when I was a baby into the Roman Catholic Church. Today, I consider myself Protestant. But that’s only if I’m forced to give a word to it. I’m a nondenominational Christian who wants nothing more than to see the reunion of the Church (It will happen one day, just a matter of when). Even though I am no longer Catholic, I don’t feel the need to reaffirm my faith by being baptized again. A friend from church in college once asked me when I was going to get re-baptized. Insinuating that my previous baptism as an infant in the Catholic Church somehow didn’t count. I was so caught off guard that I didn’t know what to say. It never occurred to me that someone would see my baptism as illegitimate. I guess because the main Protestant influence I had growing up (Presbyterian) supported infant baptism, I didn’t see that as something that anyone would have a problem with. And it being a Catholic baptism was never an issue to me because I always have seen the Catholic Church as a different manifestation of Christ’s church—not as a separate entity that somehow falls into a different category.

This is all background to the current issue of baptizing my daughter Ivy. For the first time in my life I have felt like I belonged to a church. I don’t mean, I have a membership there or whatever, but that I am loved, accepted and wanted there (and I don’t have to separate myself from my past in the Catholic Church). So to me, baptizing my daughter there is a must. I want to officially bring her into the community and into the new covenant as a child of God. However, that is not the tradition of my church. There aren’t official statements that I know of that say that infant baptism is prohibited, but I’m pretty sure that’s the unofficial rule. I could also be dead wrong because I have yet to clarify the issue directly with the pastors or elders. When I do, I will update this and let you all know (I know you’re on the edge of your seats ;)).

By defending infant baptism, I’m not therefore saying I disagree with believer’s baptism. I can’t judge what God has convicted in the hearts of others, and I can’t foresee the ways that he will work to change the opinions of me and my fellow Christians. I am just expressing my desire to baptize my daughter into the Church, regardless of whether she has made it to the “age of reason” (who’s to say when that is anyway?).

I could write a whole book that outlines a biblical defense of infant baptism. If you want that, consider reading this or this. The early church practiced infant baptism. There are lots of citations I have found supporting this. If you’re interested go here. The Bible is not 100% clear on the issue. If the Bible isn’t 100% clear on the issue, it seems to me that it would be okay in that instance to look to church tradition. I’m not saying tradition is a higher or equal authority to scripture, but I am saying it should be considered when scripture is ambiguous.

I really have a hard time with people who only accept “believer’s baptism” as a legitimate baptism. All of the great reformers (Calvin, Luther, etc.) held to the practice of infant baptism. I mean, their opinion doesn’t seal it for me, but I know some people rely heavily on the viewpoints of these men. They are the reason the church split, are they not? But they hung onto the practice because it was the right thing to do (though it did mean something different to them than to the Catholic Church).

Ideally, I would like to see my baby baptized in front of our church family, and in front of my biological family. I can’t think of anything more beautiful than my daughter being brought into the Christian faith surrounded by Catholics, Protestants, and her parents that love her dearly—and in the baptismal dress that has been worn in my family for four generations. Only time will tell if that is something that can happen. But I’m hoping and praying…

Family

Some people paint paintings, some people throw clay. Some people write music and some write books. Everyone has an art. Mine is metaphor. I have a deep appreciation for metaphors and occasionally come up with my own that are interesting. I don’t usually have great words to explain them with (such as in a poem or something) but the ideas are still there and are occasionally profound. I say that metaphor is my art, not so much because I am good at seeing or coming up with them, but I’m good at appreciating them. Being a parent has opened my eyes to new metaphors. One being the way we relate to our parents and the way we relate to God. This is an old metaphor, I know, but I’m seeing it with new eyes (and not even necessarily because I’m a new parent…just because I’ve been thinking about it a lot). Anyway, I was thinking the other day about my parents and parents in general. Thinking about my teenage years in particular. You know, the time when almost no one likes their parents (or at least won’t admit to it). I especially had trouble with my parents—anyone who knew me then could attest to that. But it truly didn’t matter how much my parents put me through (or I them). When it comes down to it, if I was really in a bind there’s no one I would rather turn to than them. Even when 99% of the time I felt like they didn’t have my back, they would still be the first people I went to when I really needed something. Unfortunately, our biological parents are imperfect and running to them when you really, truly need something doesn’t always end how we would want it to (as I learned many times). But the bond is still the same. And I think about God and how many rough times I’ve had with him. How many times I’ve been angry, doubted his goodness, and felt completely abandoned by him. But it’s in my DNA to run to him when I am truly desperate. I don’t think I’m the only one who does this either. People who don’t consider themselves all that religious will still call on God when they really need something. We relate to God in a way that is very similar to how we relate to our parents. I think that’s why God put us into families. It shows us—and not in a third-party observational way, but in a real-life, all-the-chips-are-down sort of way—that we are loved deeply. There is a bond within families that is deeper than a deep friendship. Friendships can often simulate families, but it can never be the same. I am connected to my family in the most profound, mysterious way I can imagine. I am connected to God in the most profound, mysterious way I can imagine. And my understanding of my connection with God doesn’t even scratch the surface of how tight that bond truly is. My understanding (gained through my experiences with my family) is just a shadow of the real thing.

Velvet Ant

So I went jogging this evening and came across a very strange insect. Beautiful, but strange. Me being the nerd that I am had to look it up on the internet to see what it was. Thankfully it had very distinguishing characteristics so I figured it out pretty fast. It was a female "cow killer" or "velvet ant". It's a wasp that looks like an ant and has a terrible sting--so bad that it's called a 'cow killer'. Glad I didn't get too close. I didn't even know that wasps could not have wings...apparently the males have wings and they swoop down and pick up the females. Poor thing. No wonder she was scurrying around frantically.

Change

I’m a judgmental person. I am. And I’ve known this for years. Recently I’ve become pretty sick of it. Usually I judge people I don’t know. And I’m usually wrong. I don’t like to be wrong. So theres one reason to stop being judgmental. Chances are, if you’re reading this, I’ve judged you. I’m sorry. It’s wrong of me and stupid. I think people judge others because it makes them feel better about themselves. Why do I feel the need to take away from others to feed my own self worth? It doesn’t work like that anyway. If I’m taking away from others to feed myself…I’ll always remain a bottomless pit. I’ll always be finding more reasons that I’m better than someone else but it will never satisfy me. I’ll keep getting more miserable and my self worth will stay the same or get worse. The Christian thing to say here is that I should let God fill the bottomless pit…because honestly he’s the only thing that can. But looking at it that way is too abstract to be useful to me. Really I just need to stop looking at people the way I do and start seeing them the way God does. And if I can’t do that I at least need to try to see things in the best light. Chuck puts it this way. Before he judges someone or an issue he has with them he “let’s the defense speak” in his mind. It’s like having a hypothetical court case in your head. You, the prosecution, have all the most compelling arguments and perfect evidence—of course. And the defense, whoever you don’t like or are having problems with, don’t even get a chance to speak usually. The trick is to give them a chance to speak. I like this idea. I think Chuck got that idea from a book written by a Buddhist monk. All truth is God’s truth though, right?

A Christian Defense of Barack Obama...and my personal soapbox.

I wrote this a few months ago, but I still feel the same way today. So here it is.

This is not a political issue.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been witness to more than one attack on Barack Obama. My problem is not that people are critiquing his performance as the president. I think that’s great. My problem is that Christians are saying disrespectful things about his character...saying things that they would never say about another human being that they know personally.

First of all, this type of name-calling shouldn’t have a place in anyone’s life, especially not a Christian and especially not from one Christian to another. Barack Obama has consistently declared that he is Christian. He says that he believes that Jesus is the Savior of the world. For Christians, this places him in a different spot than he was before. We are to treat him as a brother in Christ. I’m not saying you have to agree with what he does. You probably don’t agree with the person who sits next to you on Sunday. But wouldn’t you afford them some grace anyway? At the very least, I doubt you’d call them names.

I believe that Barack Obama is misguided on several issues that cause him to make decisions inconsistent with Christian values. But guess what? Without even realizing it, you and I are too! If we think we’re going to get to heaven and find that our understanding and application of Christianity was right on target…well, we have another thing coming, don’t we? Barack Obama will have to answer for his decisions and there is no way around that. But being impatient, rude, and condescending is not an acceptable way to treat a fellow brother in Christ.

And on another completely different line of thought, Barack Obama has placed his life on the line to serve us. I’m not saying his motives for becoming president are squeaky clean (you’d almost have to be a narcissist to want to be president, but that’s my soapbox again), but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that everyday he works to serve us and does so at a personal expense. That type of thing deserves respect.

Please don’t misunderstand. I believe we all have a right and responsibility to speak out when elected officials aren’t doing what is right or what we want them to do. Free speech is one of the best things about being American. But let’s not squander the freedom by using it to demean another person’s character. When we disagree with someone’s policy decisions, it’s our responsibility as democratic participants in government to speak out against them (and vote against them). I think it was important to speak out against torture that George Bush allowed, and I think it’s important to speak out against the abortion policies that Barack Obama supports. I don’t think it’s OK to demean either one of them on a personal level. It’s not right.

You owe Barack Obama respect as president—he is the elected leader of this country, he risks his life for us, and he is making the best decisions that he can. He is NOT out to deliberately mess up the country. Who would be? He is doing what he thinks is right. Some presidents abuse their power to gain money for themselves, or push personal agendas thru congress. All presidents make decisions that cost human lives. Sometimes they make the right decisions, and sometimes they make the wrong decisions. It’s OK to call out a president and question their decisions, or even their motivations. It can, however, be done in a way that respects the office they hold.

You also owe Barack Obama respect as a fellow human being. No one deserves to be called names or treated like some people treat him. Respect for all human beings (and all life) is central to the life of a Christian. It’s what Jesus taught. Jesus never treated another person without respect. You would never call someone names to their face, insulting their intelligence and calling their faith into question… yet because it is socially acceptable to do so concerning the president, we don’t hesitate to drag his name thru the mud. I was outraged about the torture allowed by Bush. I spoke out against it. It was wrong. I will speak out against the policies of Obama that I don’t agree with. What I will not do is allow myself to hate either one of them.

You owe Barack Obama respect as a Christian. The Bible never teaches us to question another person’s faith. He has spoken—at length—about his Christian beliefs, in direct, concrete terms. That alone is worthy of respect. We all disagree about matters of faith—and I disagree with Obama on some very big ones—but these constant, snide comments are tearing someone down who reads the same Bible we do, kneels before the same cross, and trusts the same Savior.

“Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble.” 1 John 2:10

My story

My last blog was quite different than what I intend this one to be. The last one is quite personal at times and details experiences that I went through that were and are central to who I am. At the time I only shared it with a few people; I kept it much more guarded (as guarded as a blog can be I guess). The experiences are far enough in the past that I’m not as apprehensive about sharing them with the greater digital world (hence me providing a link to it here). While I suspect this blog will be no less personal, it will be different since I am sharing it with more people. So…what can I say? I guess I just want there to be that disclaimer to this. There’s always going to be more to the story. So don’t take it too seriously I guess.

My new blog...

When life gets crazy and overwhelming I find a lot of solace in writing out my thoughts and sharing them with others. Last time I blogged was when Chuck and I were engaged and during our first little bit of marriage. It was a challenging couple of years. If you're interested, you can read about that at: http://bluedrifter.xanga.com. I think you'll find a lot has changed since then (and a lot certainly hasn't...)

Anyway, right now I'm going through another transition: motherhood. It's almost nothing like how I expected it would be. Hopefully writing about it will help me to live purposefully and perhaps not go insane either. We'll see. Hope you enjoy.