This is the first of several reading assignment that I for one, understood very well, and two, actually did not get a headache from the absurdity and controversy of the written topics. This was a big plus and relief to say the absolute least.
Locke defines the church in his Letter of Toleration as, “a free society of men who voluntarily come together to worship God in a way that they think is acceptable to Him” (5). His reasoning in classifying this is genius because in doing so, he addresses the significance of the word in his definition, ‘voluntarily.’ Locke draws a comparison using citizens who assume positions of wealth, power, or ownership of land simply because they were a descendant of the wealthy and the powerful followed by declaring this ideology as ‘absurd.’ He continues to specify that the foundation of the church does not operate in this way, meaning a child or grandchild of a believer is not classified as a follower of Jesus until this has been claimed and lived out voluntarily.
In advance I apologize for bursting the bubble of Catholicism, but I suffered through the confusion that accompanied attending a catholic school from 6-12th grade so here goes….
Catholics welcome the life of an infant baby with the sacrament of infant baptism. I have always had an upset stomach when I would witness a child who is without the slightest idea of the decision that is being made without their consent. This is not to be confused with the dedication of a child to a church, which is a biblical commitment to God by parents who desire to raise their children up in accordance with the truth of God’s word. By doing this, parents are following in obedience to their call from God in Proverbs 22:6, “Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.” Infant baptism is a contradiction of scripture as a whole, one being: Romans 10:9, “If one speaks with their mouth and believes in their heart, they will be saved.” This verse specifies that a person must be at the age to contemplate the message of the gospel voluntarily to receive salvation. First of all, Baptism does not save you and isn’t a requirement of salvation, rather it is a call from Jesus to outwardly express the decision made to follow Him to the church. Infant baptism is desperation of control to ensure salvation of a child before they are old enough to meet Jesus personally. A newborn is not near old enough to believe the gospel and confess their sin in desperate need for the grace of God. This sacrament along with its false doctrine friends in the Catholic Church breeds confusion and misunderstandings in the minds of children, as they attend church based on the original decision of baptism that was made for them long before they could choose to seek Jesus ‘voluntarily.’
I commented on Addy and Drew's posts.
I commented on Addy and Drew's posts.
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