196 – Baptism, Confirmation and Other Forms of Manipulation

Baptism of Children

Confirmation of children

Are they really old enough to commit for life to our belief system that they probably, don’t understand?

How many different worldviews have they been exposed to this early in life?

Won’t they be shamed if they abandon this belief system later in life?

Aren’t we forcing them into something before they can realistically decide for themselves?

How many options do give them?

This seems mildly abusive and manipulative to me. They are publicly accepting something that they didn’t really have a choice in deciding. It was essentially their only option.

Would we publicly announce if they choose a different belief system?

Would we celebrate their choices if they contradicted our belief system?

It seems like a manipulative practice to me. It seems to model a manipulative God that only celebrates us when we agree with him, at least in the way we comprehend him.

So, do we only celebrate followers that agree with our interpretation of the divine.

Doesn’t sound like a good thing to me!

Karl and Laura

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2 responses to “196 – Baptism, Confirmation and Other Forms of Manipulation”

greatismyfaithlessness

July 26, 2022 at 6:13 pm

Ooof the idea of baptism and confirmation being forms of manipulation is a really good point. Thanks for bringing that up. I was confirmed when I was 15 (we did infant baptism, so that had already happened). To get confirmed, I had to spend two years taking confirmation classes at my church where I memorized creeds, theological positions, Bible verses, and church history. These classes culminated in an oral exam in front of the whole church where church leaders asked me questions about different theological statements and I had to answer them and provide “proof texts” to back up the doctrinal positions. It was really intense. Once I passed the exam, I had to take a membership oath in front of the whole church and profess my belief in all of the church’s core positions.
Again, I was 15.
All of my friends had to go through this process as well so the social pressure was immense. And the thought of shaming my family by failing or postponing my confirmation was unthinkable.
How can anyone run a 15 year old through that process and then believe that their profession of faith is 100% genuine?! There are so many other social and mental factors at play other than pure faith.
Gonna have to blog about this now…

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1. Karl Forehand
  
  July 26, 2022 at 6:25 pm
  
  Good points
  
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