IS CATHOLIC BAPTISM VALID?
A religion needs some clarity on who or who is not a member and if a member, who has the authority to speak for it.
With Christianity, the main claims that babies can be baptised,
that baptism makes you a member of the visible Church, that it
removes your obstacle to God, none of that is in the Bible.
This is semi-political. We can dismiss those claims as man made
exploitations. A religion that knows it is nonsense will if
able target children and babies. The baptism doctrine suffers
from how baptism can be invalidly given. The baptiser might
not have the relevant intention and forget to use the words of
baptism. I baptise you in the name of the Son and the Holy
Spirit is regarded as invalid. If you think the Holy Spirit is
not God but something like a power the baptism is invalid.
The Roman Church has taught for centuries that baptism can be performed
invalidly. When that happens the baptism has to be repeated and done right.
Until that happens, the baptism is without effect. The person isn’t baptised
until she or he is baptised correctly and by a person who intends to do at least
what the Church does. Baptism is an external ceremony that does internal
spiritual changes. If it is merely an external ceremony then it is no more valid
that the baptisms we see in movies.
The notion of invalid baptism may be inspired by Acts 19:1-5 which says that
though John baptised people for repentance and as a prayer for help from God to
live a better life and in view of the coming of the Messiah Jesus, these people
had to be baptised again in the name of the Lord Jesus.
If a person is baptised with olive oil the baptism is invalid for it requires
water. It seems crazy to hold that having water is more important than saying,
“I cleanse or baptise you in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit”. It is
clearly superstition. Oil can clean as well. Water on its own isn’t very good.
If a person is baptised in the name of God and Mary the baptism is invalid for
it has to be done in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Many
priests used to make a mistake when baptising babies. They did not know enough
about the Latin language to realise that they were baptising, “In the Name of
the Father, Daughter and Holy Spirit”.
If a person is baptised and the person baptising is only miming then the baptism
is invalid. The intention for the rite to give grace is essential. The Church of
Rome says an Atheist can have this intention when his attitude is that he wants
the baptism to work if there is a God. He intends to do what the Church does.
If you baptise yourself the baptism is invalid. So it is better then to be
baptised by an atheist than to baptise yourself no matter how holy you are and
how much faith you have! This shows the absurdity of baptism.
The Church of Rome officially declared in 2001 that Mormon baptism was and is
invalid for the Mormons meant two exalted men and one ghost by the Father, Son
and Holy Spirit though they baptised and baptise in water in the name of the
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So for baptism to work you must have the Catholic
idea of what the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are, three divine beings who are
all good and omnipotent and all-knowing. The Mormon belief differs too much from
Catholicism to allow its baptism to work.
Catholic baptism is null and void because that religion thinks that the formula,
“I baptise thee in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit”, is a magical charm. Baptism is to be a prayer to God to save that
person from everlasting suffering in Hell and from sin and cause the birth of a
relationship with God and the Catholic Church cannot mean this prayer for it has
the wrong God and means the wrong things.
The Catholic Church claims that salvation or your pass into eternal life in Heaven is a gift from God that you take by baptism. The Church compares getting baptised to going to the casino to get your prize. It is not the same thing for you have to go somewhere to get your prize but God does not need to restrict the gift to baptism. The Bible says that those who think their good works earn salvation are in fact arrogantly trying to buy from God and insulting his generosity. The Church insults its God by requiring baptism for salvation. Would you really want any salvation from a God like the Catholic version of God? If you as a grown up would not want it you cannot assume that a child should be baptised into the service of such a god.
The lack of concern for whether baptism works and the clear evidence that it fails to make people who meet the high Jesus standard point to one thing. If original sin is true then baptism is a scam for keeping you in it. No problem is worse than one that ceases to be seen as a problem or seen as fixed when it is not. Christian quacks peddle cures for the evil in the human heart. If nothing happens they blame Jesus or say Jesus can't do it for the person doesn't want healing. No medical quack is that brazen.
While [Jesus] was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him; so he went in and sat at table. The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner (Luke 11:37-38). Jesus might have thought washing was a good idea on the human level but because the washing signified a prayer to God for purification he would not wash to stress that washing is spiritually useless. He said elsewhere that it is what is in your heart makes you sinful not food or drink. It is hard to believe he would accept Catholic baptism with its connotations of cleansing a baby from sin.
Code of Canon Law, Can. 865 §1, decrees:
For an adult to be baptized, the person must have manifested the intention to
receive baptism, have been instructed sufficiently about the truths of the faith
and Christian obligations, and have been tested in the Christian life through
the catechumenate. The adult is also to be urged to have sorrow for personal
sins.
Rome teaches that the saints influence God which means that the saints are
better than God and are the real Gods. A perfect God cannot be influenced by his
creatures. Rome then cannot mean to baptise in the name of the Father - it just
mouths the words. The Bible describes Christ as pre-eminent in all things. That
means he is the pre-eminent intercessor with God. Praying to Mary and the angels
and saints downgrades that. You don't need them to pray for you if you have him
and you don't need to talk to them as if they can hear you and understand your
heart and see into it. You don't go before a king to plead for your life and
talk to one of his friends instead. Such behaviour would be disrespectful and
distrustful. The baptism isn't sincerely given in the name of the Father, Son
and Spirit. They are not the real God of Catholicism. Catholic baptism cannot
work. Mary and the saints must know all things to be able to hear prayers. They
are certainly gods for even the pagan gods didn't have that amount of power and
knowledge. Romanism is more pagan than paganism.
If the saints are more powerful than God and better than what he is, then it is
hypocrisy and degrading to baptise a child in the name of God.
And Rome says you can be holy while wallowing in venial sin without regrets even
though the holiness is just offering God rotten scraps off the table as it were.
Is that not saying, “God, I do this good but I refuse to let go of the evil I
like.” That is not real good any more than St Paul would have been good if he
did every good work but without love or holiness of heart (1 Corinthians 13:3).
I baptise you in the name of the Father, and of the Son and the Holy Spirit says
the priest. By Son the priest will usually mean the wafer god that he calls
Jesus Christ and not the real Jesus Christ. The Jesus Christ that is named is a
piece of bread not just a person in Heaven. Nor he is God for the Church claims
it forces him into bread and wine even when it is intended by all present to
commit the sacrilege of eating him in a state of serious sin. It is no answer to
say that Jesus consented to this abuse and it is his choice. God is so sternly
opposed to idolatry in the Bible that he will not accept worship offered to the
real Jesus if idols are thought to be Jesus in another form. He said he was a
jealous God and that he will not share his glory with another. He asks us to be
as jealous as he was for his sake. He wants us to be jealous for him.
Christians believe that just baptising in the name of the Father and the Spirit
is invalid. If that is true then the same thing happens if you mean the wrong
thing say by God or by Jesus. The water might be there and the formula might be
right but the meaning is wrong and baptism in the name of a false Jesus cannot
work. The Bible speaks of baptism in the name of Jesus. Perhaps that was just
for brevity and perhaps in the name of Jesus means that the washing and the
words of the Father, Son and Spirit were done and said in the authority of
Jesus. Catholic baptism is not baptism.
Protestant baptism is more likely to be valid than Catholic baptism for they
don’t have saint worship for the real Gods in Catholicism are the saints and God
in Protestantism promises you holiness by imputation without good works. That
is, that Jesus has become holy for you so you don’t have to be perfect.
Baptism can only be conferred by a believer. Atheists are acting against their
own beliefs if they baptise even if they intend to give grace if they are wrong
and there is a God after all that gives grace through baptism. You are expected
to do what you believe is right but you can’t always be taking the safe side or
that is not logical or practical and besides there is no evidence that baptising
is the safe side. Would the Catholic praise a Catholic who during his prayers
said, “If I have the wrong God then whatever God exists or gods or whatever then
I praise you and apologise if I am mistaken and have had the wrong God”? Most
certainly not. The Atheist cannot give grace through baptism because he or she
is acting against her or his own convictions. Their intention isn’t good so it
cannot confer baptism.
Since when could an Atheist intending to give baptismal grace in case it works
be counted as an intention? After all it is offset with his intention, “I hope
this doesn’t work for I don’t think there is a God?” This is the strongest
intention so the first one isn’t an intention at all but only a pretence.
The Atheist’s intention is invalid if they wilfully let down Atheism or if they
do not know any better. If they knew they would not baptise. The Atheist does
wrong and since sin prevents genuine good works the Atheist cannot validly
baptise for the rite is just blasphemy coming from the likes of an Atheist. Sin
is the complete rejection of God so there can be no true intention for saving.
We conclude that baptism is nothing for it is swamped with incredible suppositions and insane meanings. It is a sprinkle but as religion upholds it it has an effect only in that it inserts you in a system of power supported by lies.
