Damn, Nora--we could have came over and kept you company at the airport--we're only five minutes from there. Sorry about your back--travel is never fun when you're in pain. Sorry we missed you.

I should get your number next time I go out- it's hard to make plans, but in a situation like that one, it might have been nice to see if spontenaity works.

I should get your number next time I go out- it's hard to make plans, but in a situation like that one, it might have been nice to see if spontenaity works.

Absolutely--it's worth a try for next time. We didn't go out at all yesterday and probably should have.

And the people who do care, well, I think most of them assume non-baptising parents will "come around" before it's too late for the child.

My good friend here was raised in a very religious household. But she's not religious and she doesn't practice Christianity. She married a non-Muslim (agnostic) Iranian and yet, they had both their babies baptised. She told me she just succumbed to the fear that she was going to cause her children to burn in hell. She said she knew it was an irrational fear but why take the chance?

It's true -- a lot of people, even people who never go to church, or only go on Christmas and Easter, tend to think of infant baptism as innoculation against hell. Which is funny when you think about it.

I wasn't baptized, and even as a kid going to church I never really worried about going to hell. I've never really been able to believe in hell, in the devils-with-pitchforks-lake-of-fire-and-brimstone sense.

We'd like Mallory to grow up knowledgeable about Christianity, and moral, but I don't even know what we'd baptize him as. We don't have any 2 family members in the same church.

Of course, my knee-jerk response that "Well, the baptism ritual in the Church of Satan is really hard on babies" doesn't do anyone any favors.

We just say "No, we haven't had him baptized" in a tone that usually precludes follow-on. I guess I'm wanting insight into the minds of the folks asking: do they think we are horrible people or possessed by the devil? I need to know, in case they show up with rope and kindling some day.

I don't know. The church we belong to now does baptize infants, and it's still nothing I've even asked my friends at church who have new babies, because it's such a personal choice. Our current church is not a Baptist Church, it's Congregational. However, the pastor is in many ways--a Baptist at heart, so he's also all for it if a family doesn't want to baptize their infant. His own children were baptized only once they were old enough to choose it.

I grew up in a church that only practiced what's sometimes called Believer's Baptism. That is, you had to be of an age (I think it was abitrarily set at 12 at my church, but other churches are different) where it was clear it was your choice, and you had to take classes to understand it, first. Like Stephanie's church, they would have a Dedication for infants, every once in a while.

Baptism is one of my hot-button issues with other Christians, anyhow. It's something far too much of Christendom has used as an excuse for division with other Christians. It's perpetually on my list of top ten things I want to smack people for.

I grew up in a church that only practiced what's sometimes called Believer's Baptism. That is, you had to be of an age (I think it was abitrarily set at 12 at my church, but other churches are different) where it was clear it was your choice, and you had to take classes to understand it, first.

See, this is cool. If Mallory wants to be baptized someday and works to understand what it's about, I'll be fine with it.

I was old enough to run away and hide behind statues when I was christened. I suspect there was a package deal, or it was keeping up with the Joneses -- I wasn't christened until my mother's best friend christened her son, who's about a year younger than me.

My sister wasn't, and I delighted in telling her that her name wasn't real, and that she was going to hell. Despite not believing in heaven nor hell, just like I'd been raised.

My dog, Toby, is having a lump removed from his chest today. We've been watching it for a year, but the vet said it had grown enough recently that it should come out. I'm sure he will be fine, but I'm still a bit worried for him. Sebastian, our other dog, seems a bit worried about where Toby is. He was out sniffing the car a few minutes ago.

It's something far too much of Christendom has used as an excuse for division with other Christians.

Too true. My dad discovered that my sister's church practices full-immersion baptism (his Methodist church is into the sprinkle and pray kind), and he's kind of quietly horrified. I'm sort of in the camp that whatever version makes you feel closer to your God should be kosher. So to speak. But he sees it as a thing.

ETA: Much dog~health-ma, to you, Stephanie.