baptism and another thing

[leelees]

first thing is i was baptised in bad church and i still got the video of it...which i intend to melt...
is it a bad thing to get baptised again(, does it say in the bible not to get baptised again?)once you feel like you had progressed from all the hurt of what the old church has done and once you are settled in a new church...i dont want my baptism memory to be marred with seeing all the bad people and pastor on it...i want a new start with a new baptism eventually....bad church was always like you can only do it once but i really want to do it again but with a real group of christians, the complete oposite to bad church....does that make sense? :confused:

also, PLEASE dont take this the wrong way, i dont want to offend anyone, does anyone else get a bit down when reading things on this forum...i say that cos i tend to have other things takin up my mind during the day so when i come here to read the updated posts i get a bit down, like all the stuff that i try so hard to just put out of my mind comes right back...im assuming its because i havent dealt with it...truth be known, i dont know where to start with getting over it! :o :confused:

[Carmen]

Some churches ask for a second baptism if someone was not immersed the first time or was baptized as an infant.

I was baptized by a Charismatic pastor that later badly invested church money - without telling anyone until after the money was gone. He was into word-faith stuff, into prophecies, Christians not having illnesses if they believed enough. He even came to church with Hepatitis A one time, you could see it because he looked yellow! That is contagious! He "claimed" healing and said that we in the congregation would be protected. He failed to check someone involved with children's ministry. Needless to say we left that church after the money thing. The children's minister was wanted in at least 2other states for child molestation, that came out after we left. Not long after that the pastor had a stroke and couldn't function in that capacity any more.

I still have the baptism certificate, it says that I am baptized in the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. I think God adknowledged my willingness to obey Him and that the baptism is valid. Being baptized back then was entirely my idea and wasn't pressured on me, not even peer-pressured. I feel good about the baptism, if not about the junk I believed in then and the mess-ups in that church.

I don't blame you if you want to have a new baptism - since the other reminds you of the abuse. I think that if you were sincere at the time, though, that God accepted it as being real.

[ex-shep]

If you want to get baptised as a fresh start, I do not see a problem in that. I could see where, after your last group, it would "feel" valid. The one thing the I church I attend strees is "not until you are ready"-- not a bad piece of advice. My two cents.

[dougjb]

Hi leelees,
Being baptized once is enough. It is not the individual who administers the baptism that is of primary concern. Rather, it is the promises given by God in baptism that are important. It may sound a little strange, but you may want to keep that video since it is evidence of God fulfilling a promise of delivering you from a bad church. There may be some irony in here. The very people who are administering the baptism are working towards their own dimise because God is going to protect his children from the abusers.:D

Some food for thought
Dougjb

[mary]

I agree with Dougjb. Once baptized, always baptized. Where is it in Scripture that there must be a renewal of the existing covenant relationship that a believer has by the "work" of baptism?

Was a preacher there to baptize the repentant thief when Jesus pronounced that "this day you shall be with Me in paradise?"

I have a doctor's appointment... Could expand on this later, Leelees...

mary

[Anna Marta]

Good points Doug as I read your post I think of what Joseph said to his brothers, what you meant for harm, God meant for good. It is God who has the final say.

Leelees, I understand your feeling about the pictures. I have had to simply rid myself of reminders... that weren't healthy for me to look at.

God loves you Leeless! He is your real Father. He knows you are suffering and he cares very much about you. It's good that you are looking for direction. When it comes to baptism you may discover you can get as many different answers as people you ask. My philosophy is this: If I think God has a blessing for me, I'm going to go for it! I don't want to miss a thing He has for me! :D As long as we are not in direct disobedience to scripture, I think God is a lot more creative in healing us than we give him credit for!

One day we'll all get the answers to our questions about the outcome in other lives because of our sufferings and obedience in the middle of our pain. That's why the bible says it's okay to be angry, but we should be careful when we are angry not to slip into sin ourselves.

I think we who are wounded have to be careful we do not sin and wound others because of our pain. The damage a young woman did to me was much greater than her original wound. In an emotionally unstable state, wanting to assuage her own pain, she deliberately lashed out to hurt someone else. She nearly destroyed me. She was ashamed when she finally understood the damage she had done. I forgave her, but I shall never let her that close again. That is called using good sense. :rolleyes: I love her but I do not trust her. :cool: I haven't seen her make a lot of progress in working to become emotionally and psychologically healthy. And it is work.

Anna Marta

[Jerry]

Dear Leelees,,,
Baptism is your public testimony of Christ.......Beyond that "Baptism" has nothing to do with "Salvation"....In fact Baptism is a statement about an event that has already taken place within your Spirit ;) I am not an advocate of "Several Baptisms",,,,,,,but considering your reasons for wanting to be Rebaptized I see nothing wrong with it ..........I think if your "Ok" with it,,,,God is "Ok" with it too ;)
Love Jerry