Christening when you don't believe in God??!!

margaretclare

Re being atheist/agnostic. Agnostic means you're still asking questions so you could say, the possibility of there being a God/not being a God is still open.

I was looking at the Archbishop of York's website yesterday - this is a man I have a lot of time for. I was interested to read the police officer's story: http://www.archbishopofyork.org/2124

This is similar to what my DH experienced when he too nearly died last October.

Re the Churching of Women - I looked at this service, among others, in the Book of Common Prayer when we were in Winchester Cathedral on Friday. It's hard to realise now what an enormous risk women went through every time they gave birth, in earlier centuries (and still do, in the undeveloped world). They had a real chance of not surviving. In a time when many more people were believers, why wouldn't women want to go to church to give sincere and heartfelt thanks for, as the Prayer Book puts it, 'a safe deliverance from great peril'.

I did it back in 1963 and I wouldn't have thought of doing otherwise.

bagby

Soubrette wrote: »

I actually feel a little bit uncomfortable about it all. I am not a christian but am a godparent (I did explain I was not a christian when asked but they insisted ).

I felt like I was disrespectful of the people who are genuine believers by basically lying in front of them all.

I didn't get married in a church, or my children christened for the same reason.

Sou

My son's two godparents (stepsisters) have not been christened - I did explain this to the vicar and his answer was that they would always be in his life and would help ensure he led a christian life which I thought was a good enough answer. It was only a small christening but I just felt it right that my children were both christened. I do not go to church now although was confirmed when I was younger but I do believe in god - I just dont like the church bit. I didnt get married in church as my husband had been married before in church and it just didnt feel right that he was saying his vows again to me in church.

seven-day-weekend

I too have a great respect for the Archbishop of York ,Margaret, and as regards the police officer's story, I had my 'Lightbulb moment' , when I knew the reality of Jesus, nearly thirty years ago and whilst not as dramatic as the one in the article, was nontheless real.

My husband had a dramatic revelation twenty-five years ago.

As regards the Christening, yes I certainly agree that it can raise questions in the minds of those who have not made a decision and in fact our Pastor in the UK was usually happy to marry non-Churchgoers for this very reason.

themaccas

We gt married in church because I was a christian and OH's grandfather had been the church warden of the church (OH is undecided though calls himself CofE). We haven't got our children christened because it never felt the right thing to do, I don't know why. I come from a very religious family and was baptised have now left it so long to decide what to do the oldest is at uni!!:o

I agree with the OP though and I don't go to a christening if there is no belief behind the facade ie those of my SIL's. I told them I wouldn't be attending their chidrens christenings (invited to all 5) and told them why, I'm still on very good terms with both of them still.:D

System

LouBlue wrote: »

I would be interested in any couples out there who did get married in church or had their baby christened but are not religious/don't go to church. What the reasons were, it intrigues me.

im not religious but i got married in a small chapel [would have preferred reg office] OH isnt sure about religion but had DD christened anyway def not for party/gifts only had godparents there . i guess for me i was trying to please other people .on a personal note i need more than a story book to prove something exists i need real proof.

seven-day-weekend

CHRISSYG wrote: »

im not religious but i got married in a small chapel [would have preferred reg office] OH isnt sure about religion but had DD christened anyway def not for party/gifts only had godparents there . i guess for me i was trying to please other people .on a personal note i need more than a story book to prove something exists i need real proof.[/QUOTE]

This is what the policeman was talking about in the link that Margaret Clare provided in post 92.

milliebear00001

It's off topic, but you can't PROVE the existence or non-existence of God, in the scientific sense of the word. Thats why it's a matter of 'faith'. What you can do, if you are so inclined, is think about probability, which is what I did when coming to the conclusion I am an atheist. I think even Richard Dawkins accepts that there is an infinitessimally small possibility that he is wrong in his assertion that there is no supernatural being.

Snuggles

JCP wrote: »

I turned down the invitation to be a godmother to my niece a few years ago on the basis that I thought it would be hypocritical cos I didn't believe in God. My brother got a bit bent out of shape over that for a while, but hey, he got over it.

I had exactly the same problem, my sister, who I am very close to, wanted me to be godmother to her daughter. I said no straight away, as there was no way I could stand in church saying things I didn't believe, and which I know my sister doesn't believe either! Just being present at the christening was bad enough.

margaretclare

ChrissyG, there is no proof either way. As milliebear says, it's a matter of faith. As 7DWE said, it can be a 'lightbulb moment'. In the case of my DH, he had moved away from the religion in which he was brought up because, he felt, many of its practices were hypocritical. He questioned more and more as he was growing up, and he would be the first to say 'don't do something just because it's expected of you', like the ceremony he went through as a boy of 13.

However, in spite of moving from that religion, he has never lost his deep and abiding faith in God, and as long as I've known him, he gives thanks for every day that dawns. Life is even more precious to him now, every day to be lived to its full. He didn't 'see' anything as the policeman decribes, but he felt it. He didn't even 'hear' a voice, just 'someone drawing me back from the abyss' as he describes it. Warm hands, comforting, compassionate, and a sense of someone saying 'Not today, son, come back with me'.

I've heard 'the experts' say that such 'near death experiences' are only a flicker of the neurons, a last flicker before they die out. What they don't explain from there is: if that's the 'last' flicker, how can someone come back, recover, regain health and normality?

Having a 'christening' does not do anything for a baby, although we look on it as a welcoming into the Christian community, a joyful occasion. My DH asked to be baptised, and it was a very quiet little ceremony in our own home, with just us and our minister. He was 69 then. Anyone can be baptised at any age, but the difficulty is, if they are never exposed to any kind of faith when growing up, they may very likely never give it a moment's thought. Sundays may be for football, for shopping, for lazing around recovering from Saturday night's clubbing.

seven-day-weekend

Great post Margaret.