According to this Time magazine article, de-baptism is all the rage in England. In the article you can read all about how to download your very own de-baptism certificate to "Liberate yourself from the Original Mumbo-Jumbo that liberated you from the Original Sin you never had."
I will not get into a theological discussion here about whether the Holy Spirit enters a person's life at baptism or at some other time, but I do think signing a de-baptism certificate certainly has to come close to the so-called unpardonable sin of Mark 3:29 and Luke 12:10.
Yet there were two comments in the article that I simply cannot let go without remark. If and when I ever launch my own blog...I have it all set up...this would be the kind of thing I would comment on.
De-baptism certificates apparently were in high demand shortly after Pope Benedict XVI's comments about condoms on his way to visiting Africa recently. Time writes, "Public gaffes like that one may explain the anti-Catholic backlash driving similar movements elsewhere in the world." It is the opinion of Time that the Pope's comments constituted a gaffe. Yet this was not the opinion section of the magazine. A great many Christians, including this one, acknowledge the wisdom of the Pope's comments and the sheer lunacy of those who are outraged against them.
Secondly, the article states, "Given that God takes on different forms for different people," there have been requests from those of other faiths for a similar reversal of defining acts in their lives, such as a "de-bar mitzvah" certificate. It is far from given that God takes on different forms for different people. In fact, any orthodox Jew, Muslim, or Christian will state flatly that there is only one God for all people, whether or not anyone believes in Him. It is precisely because of this that, for example, Muslims and Christians cannot agree about the fundamental issue of their faith, however much western media outlets have tried to put all faiths into a blender and by hitting the puree button thus declare them one and the same.
2 comments:
That closing sentence is priceless.
Religion in a blender. I like the analogy. These folks will have a lot of 'splainin' to do when they reach the judgment bar.
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