So how can you be sure your church is genuine? That long process makes sure only people who are convicted will want to go through it. Or someone wanting to lie their way through it. Not sure what there is to be gained.
Well not all non Catholics denominations. For example even Anglicans require that you are actually Anglican before you can have a church wedding. Now if you’re not a regular they will or should ask if you’ve been baptised Anglican. Being baptised requires certain agreements on doctrine. People want to join churches for things like free parking, free events, references the list goes on.
What are you worried will happen if it’s a counterfeit church? Do you think you’ll end up in a forged version of heaven? 
Anglican churches are basically protestant churches that still thinks they’re catholic.
He he.
Yeah on that you’re spot on. They only exist because Henry VIII was always horny.
Catholic children receive sacraments of Communion and Reconciliation (Penance) typically in second grade.
Confirmation around 7th or 8th grade.
Confirmation is when a Catholic formally exhibits his/her own conscious decision to be a Catholic, versus parents doing it for them during Baptism.
They are still a Catholic after baptism. There is no waiting period until Confirmation.
Formally, but not really, not at that age.
If going to Catholic school, yes.
But, right, Confirmation can be at any age after that grade level, especially for those who get baptized late in life.
My point is, kids are too young at that age to really be making a conscious willful decision,
Talking about confirmation? Some kids don’t take it seriously, but I was a pious little rat.
I was confirmed in the Anglican Church at 13. Already very skeptical, became an atheist a few months later.
“Children between the ages of 6 and 12 are in the age period commonly referred to as middle childhood. As an age group, 6- to 12-year-olds are less obviously set apart than infants, adolescents, and even preschool children are in most Western societies. Nevertheless, the implicit grouping of ages 6-12 appears to be neither an idiosyncratic invention of Western cultures nor merely a category by default among arbitrarily defined periods of human development. Rather, these years universally mark a distinctive period between major developmental transition points.
In diverse cultures the 5-7 age period is regarded as the beginning of the ‘‘age of reason’’ (Rogoff et al., 1975). Children are assumed to develop new capabilities at this age and are assigned roles and responsibilities in their families and communities.”
Kids at this age are still subject to the control of their parents and teachers etc. and there would be enormous consequences in many cases for going against the grain. It’s a huge joke basically, but nothing is stopping people from leaving the faith later if they like, so not the biggest deal.
Most Baptists do not baptise kids for that reason. They baptise only adults and only after they fully support the doctrine. I support this idea fully.
How does being saved work age-wise?
Just that the person is of an age where they fully comprehend what they’re doing. Babies cannot be baptised , nor toddlers. If you were let’s say 11 and you choose and are fully aware , and mature enough they might baptise you. However usually it’s over 18. Younger than that they’d try to find out if the parents in any way pushed for it or they’re influenced. It generally doesn’t happen under 18. That’s why they call that born again. It’s not fool proof but definitely better than forced. It’s one of the things I like about baptists what I don’t like is their zealousness against any non baptist Christians (Not all but many in my subjective experience.)
Absolutely agree . We agree on this anyway ha
Weirdly enough I had one big issue against Christianity when I was a kid. It wasn’t one of those complicated issues trinity Vs no trinity, why evil in the world blah blah. It was simple the preacher said my dog had no soul and could not go with me to heaven. I thought but didn’t say "F u then I’m staying with my dog outside the pearly gates."
There is no prohibition against infant baptism in the Bible. One would think if there were any prohibitions against infant baptism they would also apply to infant circumcision:
“Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant between me and you”
(Genesis 17:10–11).
Abraham was commanded that whenever a male child was born in his extended household, the child should be circumcised when eight days old (Genesis 17:12)
On the day he was commanded, Abraham took all the males of his household and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin.
(Genesis 17:23–26).
In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.
(Colossians 2:11)
Bizarre but I’m reading Colossians this week. Someone said I need to read it.
Yes, I don’t think there are prohibitions but I just feel it’s kind of a good point for baptists.
More importantly we have to stop the infighting between Christians. We need to be united.
I don’t know what the answer is and I agree that arguing over religion is a fool’s errand. Somewhere in there is a little room though for understanding better what one another’s perception of “the way” is.