INFANT
BAPTISM EXPOSED!
It's
History and Harm
Infant baptism is
not a Scriptural doctrine. It is not found in the Bible. There is not one
example in the Bible of one single baby being baptized. We will show that
baby baptism is of pagan origin.
It is my purpose
in this article to set forth my reasons for saying, as I often have said,
that...
INFANT BAPTISM IS
RESPONSIBLE FOR SENDING MORE PEOPLE TO HELL THAN ANY OTHER RELIGIOUS ERROR.
From my point of view, it
is a dreadful thing to baptize a baby and let him grow up believing that by
that baptism he has been saved and is on his way to heaven.
As we have said so
many times, we believe all babies and children below the age of accountability
are protected by the Lord respecting their eternal soul. I do not believe-that
any child below the age of accountability has ever gone to hell. Of course,
there is no differentiating between those who were baptized as infants and
those who were not.
Little children
certainly can come to Christ when they are old enough to understand that Jesus
died for them and shed his blood to pay for their sins. If that child is
old enough to realize that he cannot take his sin to heaven, and that he is
lost and a sinner, than that child is old enough to be saved. What age is that?
I do not know. It varies from child to child. Billy Graham and
James Dobson claimed they were saved at 4 years of age. I was saved at
age 6. It depends upon the religious training environment a child is
raised in too.
In fact, we
adults must become like 'little children' and have child-like faith when we
come to Him! Jesus did say in Matthew 19:14,
"But Jesus
said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such
is the kingdom of heaven."
This verse is not
teaching, however, that little infants, just born, are come to Christ by being
baptized by a priest! As stated earlier, little children who die in
infancy are covered by the Blood of Christ and will go to heaven. They
are thus 'covered' until they reach the age that they can understand the
Gospel, and at that point they must trust Christ on their own, of their own
volition.
HISTORY
OF INFANT BAPTISM
Infant baptism appeared in the Christian church history around the Second
Century, coming from the pagan influences of Baal Worship, as we will show
later, but It came about as a result of the doctrine of baptismal regeneration
- the teaching that baptism is essential to salvation; or, if you want to turn
it around, that water baptism saves the soul (or at least is a part of a person's
salvation). Consequently, as the teaching of baptismal regeneration started
being propagated, it was natural for those holding to this doctrine to believe
that everyone, should be baptized as soon as possible. Thus, baptism of infants
still in the innocent state (and as yet unaccountable for their actions) came
into vogue among many of the churches.
Once again I state: These two grievous errors baptismal regeneration and infant
baptism - have probably caused more people to go to hell than any other doctrine.
WHERE
DID THIS INFANT BAPTISM COME FROM?
Once has to go
back to Genesis 10 and 11 where we read of Noah's Great grandson, NIMROD, and
his wife SEMIRAMUS, who started the great pagan BABYLON MYSTERY RELIGION at the
Tower of Babel. This great pagan religion was later known as 'BAAL
WORSHIP' in the Old Testament, simply another name for Nimrod. The
great book, TWO BABYLONS by Alexander Hislop gives us a little background on
this Babylon Mystery Religion of 'BAAL WORSHIP' started by Nimrod and Semiramus.
BABYLON MYSTERY RELIGION
In this mysterious
Babylonian Religious System, Nimrod and Semiramis, along with their priests,
were the only ones who understood 'The great mysteries of God' and since it was
the only true religion... all others were false... therefore, only the
Babylonian Priests could forgive and absolve sins...and administer salvation.
Salvation could be achieved thru various Sacraments performed during the
person's life time. These SACRAMENTS were so-called 'Channels of grace' whereby
salvation could be achieved. These Sacraments, necessary to salvation ..began
at birth with Infant Baptism, other sacraments throughout life, ending with a
final anointing with oil at death to prepare one for the hereafter. Now Since
the Babylonian Priest was the only one who could administer these 'sacraments',
the person was 'bound' to the Babylonian system helplessly for life! The first
essential sacrament Semiramis taught was Baptism by water. The fact that such
"Baptism" was practiced 2000 years before it was even mentioned and
practiced in Christianity is an established fact, and it can be traced right
back to Babylon and Semiramis herself! The ancient historian Bryant (vol.3
p2l,84) traces this pagan baptism back to the practice of commemorating Noah and
his 3 sons deliverance thru the waters of the flood, emerging from the ark and
entering a New life. To commemorate this event, the Priests of Nimrod would
'baptize' new-born infants the fathers chose to keep, and they would become
'born-again' and become members of the Babylonian Mystery Religion. (Hislop,Two
Babylons, p134) The fact that the Devil practiced the ritual of Baptism over
2000 years before it was even used in Christianity has truly amazed historians!
WHERE
DID THIS BABY BAPTISM COME FROM?
Armitage's History
(p73) explains the pagan civil law and social customs of that day. These pagans
had no standard of morality as you and I have. Their marriage rites were not on
the basis ours are. One man might be the husband of a hundred women, and he might
be the father of several hundred children. The mother had no right at all to
determine whether the child she bore was to live or not, that was le ft up to
the FATHER. Just as the farmer would go down to the pigpen and pick out the
pigs he wanted to keep and do away with the runts, so was the father the one
who decided if the child was to be kept and allowed to live. The mother could
not even name the child if it was kept, the pagan priest did that. If the child
was decided to be kept, the daddy would take it down to the pagan priest and
the ceremony would be arranged. The Priest first must 'exorcise' evil spirits
from the infant by anointing the baby's head with OIL. With the oil the priest
puts the occult mark of Tammuz on the child's head by marking a "T"
with the oil. (later to become the 'Sign of the Cross) The Priest then put SALT
and SPITTLE on the baby's tongue to preserve it from future influence of evil
spirits. "HOLY WATER" is now sprinkled or poured over the baby's
head, and the baby is said to be cleansed from any original sin and is now
"born-again" and a member of the Babylonian Religion. This process
was known as INFANT CHRISTENING and was practiced hundreds of years before
Christ, (Hislop,pl38) and is found NOWHERE in the Bible! There is not a single
example of a baby being 'baptized' or 'christened' in the Bible! Knowing what
you do now, WOULD YOU WANT YOUR BABY CHRISTENED?
This was called
'Baal Worship' in the Old Testament, and God called it an abomination!
MORE HISTORY ON
BABY BAPTISM
The professed
conversion of Emperor Constantine in A.D. 313 was looked upon by many as a
great triumph for Christianity. However, it more than likely was the greatest
tragedy in church history because it resulted in the union of church and state
and the establishment of a hierarchy which ultimately developed into the Roman
Catholic system. There is great question that Constantine was ever truly converted. At the
time of his supposed vision of the sign of As we have said so many times, we
believe all babies and children below the age of accountability am protected by
the Lord respecting their eternal soul. I do not believe-that any child below
the age of accountability has ever gone to hell. Of course, there is no
differentiating between those who were baptized as infants and those who were
not.
INFANT
BAPTISM COMES TO THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
At around the 3rd
Century, traces of the Babylon Mystery Religion, now known as Baal Worship,
infiltrates the Christian Church. Immediately, Bible Believing Christians
reject the idea of baptizing babies and Baptismal regeneration - the teaching
that baptism is essential to salvation; or, if you want to turn it around, that
water baptism saves the soul (or at least is a part of a person's salvation).
These Bible Believing Christians were labeled slanderously as 'ANABAPTISTS'
because they rejected this idea of baptizing babies as pagan and not
Scriptural. They would 'RE-BAPTIZE these infants when they got older and
trusted Christ as Savior! Thus the term, ANABAPTISTS...which meant
"RE-BAPTIZERS"! It was later shortened to
'Baptists'. So you see, Baptists got the their name at this time, and the
issue that started the name Baptists and separated them was this issue of 'Baby
Baptism'!!!! These 'ANABAPTISTS' were persecuted greatly because of
this issue!
EVERY
BABY MUST BE BAPTIZED
When Emperor
Constantine made 'Christianity' the official 'STATE RELIGION of Rome, one of the FIRST
LAWS passed was the law decreeing infant baptism as the law of the land in 416
A.D. That simply meant that everybody within a certain age limit had to conform
to it. When they passed that law in 416 that every baby in the Roman Empire had to be baptized at the hands of an
authorized Roman priest... OR ELSE! Those who disagreed with teaching and
rejected it were soon slanderously called "ANABAPTISTS", and they
were persecuted without mercy for not conforming. Historian J.M.Carroll
declares, " For 30 miles on the road leading out of Rome were stakes with gory heads of
ANAPTISTS...."
INFANT
BAPTISM BECAME THE LAW OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
Occasionally
someone will say, "Don't you think infant baptism is beautiful to look
at?" A.A.Davis replies, "If you knew the history of that doctrine,
where it came from and the bloodshed that it brought into the world, you would
never watch another such service in your lifetime." (THE BAPTIST STORY,
p67). He quotes historian J.M. Carroll from his TRAIL OF BLOOD "no other
doctrine that ever found its way into Christendom has caused so much BLOODSHED
in this world as the doctrine of INFANT BAPTISM."
Armitage's History (p7l-73) tells us that in the 6th century, Emperor Justin
issued an edict commanding ALL UNBAPTIZED PARENTS to present themselves and
their children for baptism at once. Leo III issued, another edict in-A.D. 723
demanding the forcible baptism of the Jews and Montanists (anabaptists). Toward
the close of the 6th century the baptism of--.infants was turned to gain in the
shape of FEES ($$$) paid for its administration; but, the charges soon became so
enormous that the poor could not pay them. And yet lest their children should
DIE unsaved, the frightened parents strained every nerve to get them
baptized." (Armitage's history, p7l) He continues, "Suppose you
owned a section of land with an oil well on it; you had a baby born into your
home and you went to the priest to get the baby baptized. The priest would say
I want the title to that section of land. When the thing was over, the priest
would get the title to the land and the BABY would get a few drops of water on
its head. He says this is how the Mother Church of Rome come to own Czechoslovakia, Mexico, etc.
One is reminded of Peter's Scripture,
"and through
covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of YOU.." (2
Peter 2:1-3)
We could spend
pages here looking at the history books showing how the ANABAPTISTS (those who
rejected infant baptism) were persecuted in ways almost too horrible to
describe. Many were put in a special iron casket called the IRON MAIDEN, which
had dozens of sharp spikes inside ... or the anabaptist preacher who, in the
4th century, was laid upon the ground and a horse was hooked to each of his
arms and feet, and the signal given so the horses would pull the pastor into 4
quarters.....Why?
... because he believed it was wrong to baptize BABIES. (BAPTIST STORY,
p109)
The author
continued to tell about those anabaptists who had HOT WAX poured into their
EARS...or those who had their tongues
pulled out with hot pincers. The wives of the anabaptists had their bodies
mutilated in terrible ways, as parts of their bodies were cut off....Pregnant
women had their stomachs ripped open and the offspring cast to wild hogs as
husband was forced to watch. One anabaptist pastor was taken, his body CUT
open, and ears of corn stuffed inside, and hungry dogs not fed for 4 days
turned loose to devour the man's entrails and corn inside. (BAPTIST STORY,
p110)
THE
'HOLY INQUISITION' RESULTED FROM THIS ISSUE OF BABY BAPTISM
No wonder the Book of Revelation declared in Revelation 17:6 that this great
HARLOT false religion had become 'DRUNK with the BLOOD of the
Saints'...Historian and Bible commentator Sir Robert Anderson estimated that
thru out the middle ages OVER 40 MILLION people were murdered and martyred over
this one doctrine of INFANT BAPTISM! To illustrate this great number of those
anabaptists slain, Anderson said if you lined 40 million people in a line, four
abreast and four feet apart, and they marched by at normal marching pace, it
would take 4 years and 4 months for this number of people to march by!!!
ROME LAID DOWN THE
LAW.. ..INFANT BAPTISM ESSENTIAL!
The General Council of Trent, Seventh Session (1547) Canons on the
Sacraments in General:
(a) "If anyone, shall say that the sacraments of the New Law were not all
instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ, or that there are more or fewer than
seven, namely baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, penance, extreme unction,
orders, and matrimony, or that any one of these seven is not truly and
intrinsically a sacrament - anathema sit."
(b) "If anyone shall say that the sacraments of the New Law are not
necessary for salvation but are superfluous, and that without them or without
the desire of them men obtain from God through faith alone the grace of
justification, though all are not necessary for every individual anathema
sit."
(c) "If anyone. shall say that by the sacraments of the New Law grace is
not conferred ex opere operato, but that faith alone in the divine promise is
sufficient to obtain grace - anathema sit."
THE
BABYLON MYSTERY RELIGION AT ROME TAUGHT THAT EVEN LITTLE BABIES COULD NOT
BE SAVED AND GO TO HEAVEN UNLESS THEY WERE BAPTIZED...
The Priests of Rome taught-and still do-that it is NOT possible even for newly
born infants to be saved so as to enjoy the delights of heaven unless they are
baptized. The COUNCIL OF TRENT catechism states in black and white:
"Infants,
unless regenerated unto God thru the grace of BAPTISM, whether their parents be
Christian or infidel, are born to eternal misery and perdition."
But what a
horrible doctrine that was!! And what a contrast with the doctrinal beliefs of
the anabaptists who believed that all those dying in infancy, whether baptized
or unbaptized, are saved!
Lorraine
Boettner, in his ROMAN CATHOLICISM, p190, declared,
"The Romish
doctrine was so horrible and so unacceptable to the public that it was found
necessary to invent a third realm, the Limbus Infantum... later shortened to
'Limbo'...a place where unbaptized infants are sent, in which they are excluded
from heaven but in which they suffer no positive PAIN. The Council of Trent and
the Councils of Lyons and Florence
declare positively that unbaptized infants are confined to this realm."
Boettner
continues,
"The primary
purpose of the Church of Rome in excluding unbaptized infants from heaven is to
force parents to commit their children to her as soon as possible ... the
pressure put on members of the Mother Church of Rome parents to see that their
children are baptized EARLY is almost UNBELIEVABLE... ..a commitment
which once she receives she never relinquishes." (P 191)
BABY
BAPTISM THROUGH THE DARK AGES
Consequently, as
the teaching of baptismal of the Dark Ages which endured for more than twelve
centuries - until the Protestant Reformation.
During this time God had a remnant who remained faithful to Him; they never
consented to the union of church and state, or to baptismal regeneration, or to
infant baptism. These people were called by various names, but probably could
better be summed up by their generic name, Anabaptists, meaning rebaptizers.
These people ignored infant baptism and rebaptized those who had been saved
through personal faith.
NOW
THIS IS STRANGE
Protestant
Churches of the Reformation Bring Baby Baptism with Them!
The strange thing about these two diabolical doctrines of baptismal
regeneration and infant baptism is that the great reformers (Martin Luther, for
one) brought with them out of Rome
these two dreaded errors - the union of church and state and infant baptism. Strangely
enough, in those days not only did the Roman Catholic church persecute those
who would not conform to its ways, but after the Lutheran church became the
established church of Germany, it persecuted the nonconformists as well - of
course, not as stringently so and not in such numbers as those before them.
John Calvin in France, as well as Oliver Cromwell in England and John Knox in
Scotland, stuck to the union of church and state and infant baptism and used
their power, when they had power, to seek to force others to conform to their
own views.
BABY
BAPTISM COMES TO AMERICA
Unaware to a lot of people, this thing came to the Americas well in the early days of
this republic. Before the Massachusetts Bay Colony was twenty years old, the
following was decreed by statute:
"If any person or persons within this jurisdiction shall either
openly condemn or oppose the baptizing of infants, or go about secretly to
seduce others from the approbation or use thereof, or shall purposely depart
from the congregation at the administration of the ordinance after due time and
means of conviction, every such person or persons shall be subject to
banishment.."
Religious persecution existed even in the early days of the United States of America. Roger
Williams and others were banished - when banishment meant to go and live with
the Indians - because they would not submit to the doctrine of baptismal
regeneration or the baptizing of infants.
However, it was the constitution of the Rhode Island Colony - founded by Roger Williams,
John Clark, and others - that established religious liberty by law for the
first time in thirteen hundred years (over the world).
Thus it was
that Rhode Island,
founded by a small group of believers, was the first spot on earth where
religious liberty became the law of the land. The settlement was made in 1638, and the
colony was legally established in 1663. Virginia
followed, to be the second, in 1786.
As you can see, the doctrine of infant baptism has a long and bloody history,
and it has been one of Satan's chief weapons to condemn untold millions to
hell.
I
WILL ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN IT FURTHER
Many, of course, will ask, "What does the above have to do with us
today?" A lot!
You see, the union of church and state continues today in most countries of the
world. In these state churches, pastors and leaders christen babies - which
means they "make them Christians" by baptizing them; thus the that
has been christened as a baby believes he is on his way to heaven simply
because he was christened (or baptized) in infancy. Having been taught all his
life that this saved him, he naturally considers himself saved by the act of
infant baptism.
The Roman
Catholic Church still teaches baptismal regeneration and practices infant
baptism. Its statement of doctrine says:
"The
sacrament of baptism is administered on adults by the pouring of water and the
pronouncement of the proper words, and cleanses from original sin."
The Reformed
Church says:
"Children
are baptized as heirs of the Kingdom
of God and of His
covenant. "
The Lutheran Church teaches that baptism, whether
of infants or adults, is a means of regeneration.
Because of the
following declaration, I believe the Episcopal Church teaches that
salvation comes through infant baptism. In his confirmation, the
catechist answers a question about his baptism in infancy by saying this:
"In my baptism. I was made a member of Christ, a child of God, and an
inheritor of the kingdom
of God."
(This is printed in the prayer book and can be read by anyone interested enough
to look for it.)
Most people who practice infant baptism believe the ceremony has something to
do with the salvation of the child. These are traditions of men, and we can
follow the commandments of God or follow after the traditions of men; it is up
to us.
THE
CLEAR BIBLE TEACHING OF SALVATION
I believe the Word of God is clear regarding the matter of salvation. Jesus
said:
"He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is
condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only
begotten Son of God ... He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and
he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth
on him" (John 3:18, 36).
Basically this tells us that there are two groups of people in the world today
- those who believe on the Son and those who do not. Those who believe are not
condemned; they have everlasting life (whatever church they may belong to).
Those who believe not on the Son are condemned already, and they shall not see
life, but the wrath of God abides on them.
I believe this is the clear, unmistakable teaching and language of the Bible.
If you will notice, the Word of God never says simply believe and be saved;
rather, it seeks always to identify the object of faith, which is the Lord
Jesus Christ Himself.
John 3;16 says,
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
It is not enough
just to believe; a person must believe "in Him."
The Philippian
jailer asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" The Apostle
Paul answered, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be
saved." (Acts 16:30,31)
It was not enough
simply to 'believe'; that belief, that trust, that dependence had to be 'in
Him'.....
If a person is
trusting in baptism for salvation, he cannot be trusting "in Him".
Christ is not ONE way of salvation; He is the ONLY WAY salvation.
There is no
promise in the Word of God to those who believe partially in Christ. In
other words, we cannot trust in the Lord Jesus 90% and in baptism 10%..
We must trust
Christ and what He did at Calvary 100% and
nothing else.
My friend, just
because you were baptized as a baby does not save you!
You must trust
Christ alone.
(Much of the
following was taken from the pamphlet written by the Late Dr. William
Pettingill on INFANT BAPTISM)
SOURCE
The Baptism of infants
(1250) Born with a fallen human nature and tainted by original sin,
children also have need of
the new birth in Baptism to be freed from the
power of darkness and brought into the realm of the freedom of the children of
God, to which all men are called.
The sheer gratuitousness of the grace of
salvation is particularly manifest in infant Baptism. The Church and the
parents would deny a child the priceless grace of becoming a child of God were
they not to confer
Baptism shortly after birth.
(Page 350)
It is true that all are born with a sin nature, but nowhere does the Bible
indicate that a baby is accountable for sin to whom the Holy Spirit has not
convicted. God is a fare and righteous God, and He will secure those who are
too young and has not convicted them of sin. God is not a barbarian. He is
Holy, righteous and just.
Psalm 19:9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the
judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
Also, no where in Scripture will you find infants being baptized, or this
practice even eluded to -- NOT ONE TIME. I stated earlier that I would prove
that water baptism is in view when the Catholic Church refers to baptism. This catechism
claims that one becomes save, or a “child of God” by being baptized. It refers
to water baptism. A baby cannot believe! Baptism is a picture of the Gospel,
the Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel
which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By
which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you,
unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that
which I also received, how that Christ DIED for our sins according to
the scriptures; And that he was BURIED, and that he ROSE again the
third day according to the scriptures:
Just like in the Old Testament, the sacrificial lamb was a picture of the
one true sacrifice that would come, the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. Baptism is a
retelling of the Gospel. When one dies, they do not lay him on the ground and
sprinkle him with dirt, they dig a grave and cover him completely. Sprinkling
was never practiced by the early church fathers, and can nowhere be found in
the Bible. Baptism means to be immersed. The Bible warns about perverting the
Gospel, and this would also include picturing the Gospel in any form, even
baptism.
Galatians 1:6-9 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called
you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not
another; but there be some that trouble you, and would PERVERT the
gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach
any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, LET
HIM BE ACCURSED. As we said before, so say I now again, If ANY
MAN preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, LET HIM
BE ACCURSED.
Is Infant Baptism Biblical? Views
from a seventh say Adventist professor
Baptism is
a symbol of our willingness to accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a
conscious decision and proclamation.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that
believeth not shall be damned (Mark 16:16).
Infants cannot make a conscious decision. Therefore, to baptize them defeats
the whole purpose of the ceremony. Also, infant baptism is never taught in the
Scriptures.
The doctrine of infant baptism is of pagan origin and was brought into the
Church by Roman Catholicism. As with most Catholic doctrines, infant baptism
has its origins in the Babylonian mysteries.
Read about other
Catholic doctrines that originated in ancient Babylon
In Babylon,
new birth was conferred by baptism of infants. European pagans sprinkled their
newborns or immersed them, and to this day the "holy water" used for
baptism in some circles is still prepared according to the pagan custom of
plunging a torch from the altar into the water. Having introduced infant
baptism, the Roman Catholic Church was opposed to adults being baptized and
even issued the following decree:
Let him be accursed who says adults must be baptized.
i
Some modern Bible translations are also written in such a way as to leave
leeway for subversive doctrines. The King James Version of the Bible was
translated from the Greek
Textus Receptus in 1611, but modern Bibles
also make use of other texts of which the context may be dubious.
Origen was one of the first Biblical scholars (200 AD) to corrupt Biblical
manuscripts to accommodate his humanistic and allegorical ideas. Throughout the
ages, many of these manuscripts have been tampered with to create a highway for
pagan philosophies.
In Acts 8, the King James Version gives a full description of the baptism of
the eunuch. The eunuch was a high official from Ethiopia
(
Acts 8:27) and had come to worship
in Jerusalem.
He was reading the book of Isaiah when Philip was sent to him and explained to
him the passages pertaining to the Messiah.
When he had grasped their significance and recognized Jesus Christ in these
verses, he was ready to be baptized (
Acts 8:27-35). The KJV continues
with the following verses:
And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water.
And the eunuch said, 'See, here is water. What doth hinder me to be baptized?'
And Philip said, 'If thou believest with all thine heart, thou may.' And he
answered and said, 'I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.' And he
commanded the chariot to stand still. And they went down into the water, both
Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him (Acts 8:36-38).
The question of the eunuch, "What doth hinder me to be baptized?"
is answered by Phillip in verse 37:
If thou believeth with all thine heart, thou mayest.
Modern translations leave out verse 37, and the eunuch is thus denied his
answer. It is stated in these translations that certain manuscripts do no
contain this verse, and therefore the verse should not be included.
However, these modern translations do not do justice to the
chiastic
structure of the passage in question. The passage is written in question-answer
chiasm and leaving out verse 37 would destroy this literary structure.
Omission of the verse is however convenient for those who propagate infant
baptism, because the condition for baptism mentioned in this verse—believing
with one’s whole heart—cannot be met by infants. Both infant baptism and
baptism by pouring have been introduced by Roman Catholicism into the Church,
but they find no support in the Scriptures.
Let Catholic
Church change teachings or accept responsibility for increased ritual murders
I
refer to the widely publicized exhumation of Msgr Aloysius Ngobya and Sister
Amadeus Byabari witnessed by among others, Bishop John Baptist Kaggwa and Bro
Reginald Cruiz from the Vatican.
According
to various media reports: Daily Monitor, The New Vision, The Observer and
others; this is because of the many ‘miracles’ they are claimed to be
performing for people who pray through them or petition them for intercession
even if they are both long dead.
In
its article, “How the Catholic Church
tells who is in heaven,” Saturday Vision of April 7 2012 adds, ‘Once a miracle is proved, the venerable is
cleared for beatification and given a new title – Blessed. Daudi Okello and
Jildo Irwa of Gulu Diocese are at this stage.”
The
prominence given to the process and testimonies cited leave no doubt that
Catholic Church teachings encourage followers to petition not only spirits of
the dead, but visit their graves when desperate for miraculous social,
economic, physical health, career, protection and other breakthroughs, similar
to what necromancers (witchdoctors) in shrines teach their faithful some of
whom end up compelled into indulging in cold blood ritual murders.
Being
at the forefront of the fight against human sacrifice, I consider this to be a
very big blow to the campaign against human sacrifice because those compelled
into it indulge for similar reasons: miraculous social, economic, physical
health, career, protection, cleansing and other breakthroughs.
It
becomes very difficult to dissuade desperate Ugandans from indulgence in human
sacrifice when it is taught from within church pulpits right from the Vatican, by
learned and spiritually knowledgeable men of God that the dead, when invoked,
can perform miracles. Apparently, since a desperate person’s ability to think,
reason, understand, perceive and remember to make rational decisions is greatly
impaired; divine intervention through the dead, no matter what it takes, even
if it requires murdering or exhuming the dead and removing their parts becomes
inevitable.
What
the Catholic Church apparently indulges in; exhuming the dead, invoking their
spirits for intercession, etc amounts to necromancy, wizardry or medium which
is Biblically condemned.
Acts 4.8-12 says: “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit,
said to them: ‘Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to
account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being
asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It
is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God
raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is ‘the
stone you builders rejected which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is
found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind
by which we must be saved.’”
The
first Catholic Pope, Apostle (Saint) Peter must be taken seriously. Invoking
the dead is a vanity.
Furthermore,
while in Leviticus 19.31, God forbids contact with necromancers; in Isaiah 8.19
He forbids consulting the dead and in Deuteronomy 18.10-12, He forbids
necromancers.
Though
in 1 Samuel 28.3-25, King Saul consulted a medium in Endor who called up the
dead Prophet Samuel’s spirit, it couldn’t change his fate. Therefore,
consulting spirits of the dead, be it Msgr Ngobya is a vanity, and it is tragic
that the Catholic Church does not only indulge but greatly publicizes it
leaving the desperate no alternative but indulge even in murders when compelled
by witchdoctors in shrines.
Therefore,
let the Catholic Church arise and stop this practice so as to have moral
authority to fight ritual murders, or humbly accept responsibility for
increased human sacrifices in Uganda.
We
need to change people’s mindsets of belief in necromancy if we are to succeed
in fighting ritual murders / human sacrifice responsible for many gruesome
murders especially of children.
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