Judaism on Baptism
Sunday December 16, 2007
"My daughter, who is Jewish according to rabbinical law (I am Jewish although her father was not), is married to a Protestant man. My daughter and son-in-law have agreed that their daughter should be exposed to both Judaism and Christianity. I dread to think that my beloved daughter might be persuaded into allowing her baby daughter to be baptized. What is the position of the Jewish religion regarding baptism?"
- Can a Jewish child be baptized in a Catholic church? by Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser
- Does Christian Baptism Nullify Jewish Identity? by Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser
- Baptism of Jewish Baby by Rabbi Barry Dov Lerner
Comments
I am responding to the woman who is worried about her grandchild being baptized. The baptizm ceremony is just that, a ceremony, as the child is too young to make any decisions about faith in haShem or religious practice. HaShem knows who belongs to Him and He will seek them out. Just being sprinkled with water in the Christian tradition won’t prevent that child from knowing who he is and what his heritage is in haShem. Have faith in the God of Israel, He can do all things.
I read the sensitive and wise rabbinical opinions. I agree that it is important to the child to have a consistent Jewish identity but to be exposed to the faith of both parents in an interfaith marriage. My cousin is in that situation and her children are both synagogue members. Her non-Jewish father attends shul with them and they visit their grandmother’s Lutheran church when they are with her. They are aware of both traditions and they are enriched by them. They are, however, definitely Jewish.
My advice is don’t baptize your Jewish baby in a Catholic Church. The religion is false, and anyone with a Jewish heart can feels this.
Free will is what God gives us. Without free will, there would be no virtue. Get back in touch with your Jewish roots by listening to some of the lectures from Rabbi Singer on the differences between Christianity and Judaism, at the web site outreachjudaism dot org.
Wow, Kurt you are more negative than I am regarding other religions. I have no real love for the Catholic faith, either. Being a Christian, I see our glaring differences and have made certain decisions regarding my faith based on educating myself and not coming to conclusions like calling one a false religion, especially when that religion stems from Judaism. Remember we share the same Old Testament or Hebrew Bible, which is the PC term these days. That being said, I’m not a Catholic by any stretch and disagree with many of their beliefs as I disagree with many of Judaism’s beliefs…