The Oaths taken at Baptism

Most of us in the west were taken to the Church as a baby when the priest or minister poured water on us to make us Christians as he said, “I baptise you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. It is assumed that these words must be said on the authority of Matthew 28:19 which only has Jesus saying baptise my disciples in the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit which gives no indication that these words are to be said or even that baptism can be given only the once!

The Roman Catholic Church claims that sprinkling water on a baby or an adult while saying, "I baptise you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" does amazing things. It takes away the sin we are born with, original sin, and any other sins and grafts us on to Jesus making us his servants. It puts Jesus and God inside us to live in us and inspire us. The Church says that baptism heals the inclination towards sin that original sin causes. Baptism is a sacrament. It pictures cleansing from sin and the effects of sin and actually does what it pictures.

The Church claims that when you were baptised as a baby you were made a member of the Church and obligated to obey its Bible and its God and its popes for all eternity. This claim is very vindictive. If there is indeed an obligation, the Church has to hope that you will suffer if you fail to keep it.

Obligations mean things you have to do on pain of being condemned as an immoral person worthy of suffering punishment. Any obligation with no punishment is not an obligation at all. Religion cannot prove religious obligations to be real. You need proof before you have the right to make obligations for people.

The Church claims it is not vindictive but wants those who do not do their duties to repent. But that is admitting that it is vindictive towards those who do not repent. Oh the hypocrisy! And inventing more obligations than is necessary is intrinsically vindictive.

It is far more vindictive to say people should be punished for breaking the vows made for them to be faithful to the Church than it is to say they should be punished for vows they made themselves as adults. Parents need to ponder this stuff before considering getting their babies baptised.

Baptism needs to be declared null and void and incapable of conferring fair and just obligations. Annulling is not an option. It's an obligation.

The rite of baptism is the secret of the Church’s power for it is taboo not to have your child baptised and it gives the Church an excuse for indoctrinating the child. Vows are taken at baptism on behalf of the child. The child is believed to confirm these vows by affiliating with the Church when he or she gains the age of reason. The ceremonial reaffirmation of these vows takes place during confirmation. Confirmation confirms the vows. The vows in the Roman Catholic cult take the form of renouncing Satan and all his works and an affirmation of faith similar to the Apostles’ Creed. They say they believe in God and in his Son Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit and the Holy Catholic Church. In other words, they are vowing to obey the Church God and Jesus founded. You don’t say by, “I believe in the Holy Catholic Church”, that you mean you believe that an organisation exists. You believe in more than that, you mean you believe in and trust in the Church of God and its authority. In the case of a homosexual for example, he cannot say that he has the right to practice homosexuality and call himself a good Catholic for the Church denounces homosexuality and he took vows to support the Church teaching at baptism and confirmation.  These are vows that the Church says it cannot absolve anybody from keeping. A religious might get her or his vows dispensed by the Church but these baptismal vows are permanently binding and irrevocable. This Catholic homosexual cannot say that it is none of the Church’s business what he does for he vowed to abstain implicitly from anything banned by the Church. He lied to the Church by practicing homosexuality so it’s the business not just of the authorities of the Church but the people as well. By taking baptism it is evident that you are making vows of some sort. The baptismal vows just express what it means to be baptised and how being baptised means you are going to live your life. That is why if the vows were dropped no difference would be made for in the Catholic understanding of baptism you are becoming a member of the Church and for the Church to run it needs to be ordered by authority in the pope and the bishops. A chaotic Church is not a Church. Baptism is a plot then for getting people controlled by the Church. It may not work much these days but that is what it is for. It is entering the jurisdiction of the pope and the bishops in the Catholic Church and submitting to their authority for life.
 
Baptism leads to more evil than good for everybody breaks the baptismal vows and it leads to a general lack of respect for vows. The priest who wants to stray knows that his baptismal vows are his most important vows and he broke them many times and enjoyed it. He will not care then if he meets a woman he would like to break his vow of celibacy with. This vow has to do with celibacy, not getting married, not chastity. It is hard to see how a vow that forbids something supposedly good like marriage could be taken seriously. Vows only make people worse not better for the man who vows to be chaste and then has sex is worse than the man who made no vow and was unchaste.

WORKS CONSULTED
 
12 Church of Christ Doctrines Compared with the Holy Scriptures, Homer Duncan, Missionary Crusader, Texas, 1984
All One Body – Why Don’t We Agree? Erwin W Lutzer, Tyndale, Illinois, 1989
Baptism, Meaning, Mode & Subjects, Michael Kimmitt, K & M Books, Trelawnyd, 1997
But the Bible Does not Say So, Rev Roberto Nisbet, Church Book Room Press, London, 1966
But What About the Thief on the Cross? Cecil Willis, Guardian of Truth, Bowling Green, Kentucky
Christian Baptism, Philip Crowe, Mobray, Oxford, 1980
Covenant Reformed News, Volume 7, Number 13, Ballymena, Northern Ireland
Four Great Heresies, John R Rice, Sword of the Lord, Murfreesboro, 1975
Handbook to the Controversy with Rome, Vol 1, Karl Von Hase, The Religious Tract Society, 4 Bouverie Street, 1906
Is it necessary for you to be baptised to be saved? Hoyt H Houchen, Guardian of Truth, Bowling Green, Kentucky
Is Water Baptism Essential to Salvation? Curtis Hutson, Sword of the Lord, 1988
Jesus and the Four Gospels, John Drane, Lion, Herts, 1984
Objections to Roman Catholicism, Edited by Michael de la Bedoyere, Constable, London, 1964
Radio Replies, Vol 3, Frs Rumble and Carty, Radio Replies Press, St Paul, Minnesota 1942
Reason and Belief, Bland Blanschard, George Allen & Unwin Ltd, London, 1974
Regeneration or the New Birth, A W Pink, Evangelical Press, Welwyn, Herts, England, undated
The Documents of Vatican II, Edited by Walter M Abbott SJ, Geoffrey Chapman Ltd, London, 1967
The Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin, Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1986
The Only Way of Salvation, H. A. Twelves, Christadelphian ALS, Birmingham
Vicars of Christ, Peter de Rosa, Corgi, London, 1993
When Critics Ask, Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe, Victor Books, Scripture Press Publications, Illinois, 1992
Why Baptism Really Matters, Fred Pearce, Christadelphian Publishing Office, Birmingham
Why Does God? Domenico Grasso SJ, St Paul Publications, Bucks, England, 1970
Why you Should be Baptized, Herbert W Armstrong, Worldwide Church of God, Pasadena, California, 1991

The WWW

Doctrinal Summary by Br Thomas Mary MICM. This page informs us that Catholic teaching is that if you hear of the Catholic Church and don’t join it or study it your damnation is guaranteed. It affirms that babies that die without baptism will be banned from Heaven forever.

BIBLE QUOTATIONS FROM:
The Amplified Bible