Our readers have asked us to share the stories of our baptisms, so we made this video. We would love to hear about your baptism in the comments section.
I was actually baptist this January. I was so nervous, but it was a beautiful experience. At that moment it was just God and me, and a whole lot of joy. I’m so thankful I got to obey God this way. No better decision than following Jesus!
I did not grow up grow up going to church but Jesus was drawing me to him from the time I was very young. I wanted go to church and knew in my heart that when I grew up and could live my own life I would. As a young adult I did just that. I was 22 when I was Baptized then a few months later moved from Oregon to Texas to attend Christ for the Nations Bible college to study Children’s ministry I have been teaching kids about Jesus every since. Around 25 years now. Probably more then you wanted to know but that is my story.
Hi Ellie! I became born again in 82 at age 22 and was baptized soon afterwards. The church I’m going to now, our pastor meets with the person who wants to be baptized to make sure they have truly be born again and to make sure they understand what being baptized means. Two of my three daughters have been baptized upon becoming born again and my middle daughter plans to be baptized soon.
Thanks for posting about your baptism, Regina. I’m sure it was a wonderful blessing to watch your two daughters get baptized, and I’m sure you are looking forward to watching the third.
I was baptized when I was 2 months old. But I quiet going to church after my dad died. I’m glad I don’t go to church anymore it was kind of boring for me.
I’m very sorry to hear that you had to attend a boring church. I truly am. I don’t believe that church should be boring at all. A church should be a place that is full of life. A life with Jesus is a life full of joy. That doesn’t mean that life is all butterflies and roses, but we can always find joy in knowing Jesus. He is with us always, and when we die, we will spend eternity with Him, if we repent of our sins and believe that He died on the cross for our sins. Salvation is a free gift that is for all. We just have to accept it with genuine hearts. That’s something to be joyful about. 🙂
I would encourage you to find a Bible-believing church that is not boring. Non-denominational churches are often a little less “traditional” and a little more peppy and fun. And there’s nothing wrong with attending a church once or twice and never returning because you don’t feel at home there. Churches are used to having guests come and visit, and they are usually happy to tell you about the groups and programs they offer, so you can see if it suits you. In fact, many churches have volunteers available for just that purpose. Just find someone who looks approachable, tell them you’re new and that you would like to learn more about the church, and they should be able to point you in the right direction. Or you can call the church during the week when the office is open and ask the receptionist to direct you to someone who can give you more info about the church.
I would encourage you to find a church that has some other folks your age, so you can get involved in a life group/small group/community group (different churches have different names for their groups) with people in your stage of life. It’s a wonderful thing to meet others who share your faith and are walking through some of the same things you are!
Let me know if you have any questions. I would be happy to help.
Ellie
Hi Ellie! I asked about your baptism a few years ago, but I wanted to know about the practical issues, like: is it a big ceremony, or just a normal sunday at church?, is it held at church or outside?, what age is considered minnimal to be baptized?, are you supposed to invite friends/relatives, or is it a more private event?, do people hold several baptisms at the same ceremony, or does each person get his/her own ceremony?, do you hold a big party afterwards?, do you take photos?, are non-Baptists allowed to be there?
I just wanted to know how it works for Baptists… So many questions 🙂
So sorry for not answering your questions. Our baptisms are usually done on Sundays during service. It’s an exciting milestone and one that the entire church body likes to celebrate. The person/ people being baptized usually do invite friends and relatives, perhaps from out of town or those who go to different churches or don’t attend church at all. Anyone is welcome to come. In fact, church services at the churches I have attended are always open to the public. Even if you don’t believe in God, you are welcome to walk in and join in. It’s a wonderful atmosphere.
Most churches have a baptismal (looks like a hot tub), but I have seen some that will blow up a baby pool. The person being baptized usually has the opportunity to share their testimony with the congregation, if they wish. Sometimes several people will be baptized at once, and other times it’s just one person. That all depends on the size of the church and how many people are interested in being baptized at that time. Photos are allowed, to mark the special occasion. I think I have a photo somewhere with my youth pastor, who baptized me, and the friend who was baptized with me.
Some people hold a little party afterwards, to celebrate their decision to follow Jesus. We don’t believe that baptism is required to go to heaven, but Jesus does command us in the Bible to be baptized once we are saved, as an outward display of the faith that is in our hearts. And if you’re stranded on a desert island with no pastor and no baptismal, you can be baptized in the ocean by any born-again Christian. Probably not a situation that many of us will face, though. Haha. But like I said, if you are not baptized but still genuinely repent of your sins and believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, you will go to heaven.
Let me know if you have any other questions. 🙂
Ellie
In our faith, we are baptized as an infant. My story is unique in that I was born in the early 1960’s with under developed lungs. My mother was told I had “what the Kennedy baby died from.” I was baptized the day after I was born in the hospital. The pastor from our church did it, however a nurse reassured my mom that she would do it if the pastor couldn’t make it due to the winter weather and we live in the Midwest. The doctor called up to the University of Minnesota Hospital to find out how to treat me and it was successful. I was in the hospital for two weeks after my birth before my parents could bring me home.
I was Christened as a baby, along with my twin sister and my sister’s God parents’ baby daughter. We were best friends during most of our childhood,until her family moved away. We still keep in touch with her .
Marilyn
I was baptized as a teenager. I made a choice to join the church after going through 3 years of class once a week. I had my baptism the same day. It was kind of neat to know I was baptized the same day my mom had been 40 years before.
It’s neat to see God orchestrate little things like that, such as being baptized on the same days as your mom. It’s a wonderful reminder that God sees us and cares about us.
My husband and I were both baptized as babies. But we both decided to get baptized again in August 2009. We finally had a relationship with God and wanted to express it.
I repented of my sins and asked Jesus to be my Savior at age 14 and was baptized several months after that. Baptism is membership into our church at the same time. And that’s how we do with our children. We don’t do baptism as babies. We consider them innocent till God calls them to give Him their hearts and when they respond with obedience and repent and invite God into their hearts and lives (born again) then they are baptized. Thankyou for doing a post on this! Ellie, does your mom still help you on the blogs? Maybe she fills in for you when you’re swamped or tired or overwhelmed with buddy duties? 😊
Yes, 2 of them have! And yes, I do enjoy it when Mr H does a post for you-glad he can help when you need some space 😊 I would love to hear/see from your mom sometime! I remember that a number of years ago you had some pics of you both at a wedding (Bates perhaps? or maybe a Duggar wedding) and I’ve wondered for a long time how she is doing! But maybe she wouldn’t enjoy being seen again on your blog and that’s ok! Thought I’d just ask…no obligation. Take care…
Thank you for asking about my mom, Candi! She’s doing great. Loves having a grandchild. She actually just stayed with him overnight for the first time while we went away for 24 hours.
In my country we are all christened as babies, so it really is not anyone’s choice. I was wondering if you would raise your child to become a Christian or if you consider introducing him to all the different religions and let him choose on his own when he is of age.
We believe that becoming a Christian is a decision that people must make for themselves, since it is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We have no problem teaching our children about other religions, and that will be part of our homeschooling curriculum. (If I remember correctly, that’s usually taught in late middle school/early high school.) But we do believe that Jesus is the One True God. He says in the Bible that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and that no one comes to the Father God except through him (John 14:6). It is our prayer that all our children will accept the gift of salvation and follow Jesus with all their hearts.
i was baptized as a baby. in parochial school, i learned that i was not a good catholic because i questioned too much. when given the opportunity to learn about other religions, i went to temple as well as baptist, lutheran, protestant, methodist, you name it services. studied paganism, wicca and lots of other less known religions and decided ‘agnostic’ is the best description of my beliefs.
my husband was baptized as a baby in the lutheran religion but as he got older, he got baptized in a church of christ, which is also where we got married and attended services the majority of the time. when our baby son was dying, my parents begged us to have him baptized catholic. even though it wasnt our belief, it made my parents happy so we did. (we questioned our son dying on the day jesus was born and admittedly found it difficult to celebrate)
we sent our kids to a baptist school, mainly for the curriculum (abeka), one of their youth groups was at a church of the nazarene, one son married a muslim women and we live next door to a fellowship hall. and you know what we learned? they all have the same ‘basic’ ideas. we decided to let our kids decided for themselves what or even if they follow any religions
to this day, no one has answered the questions i had as a child! i was told just to believe and not ask questions but i always felt my questions were relevant and if no one would answer them honestly, then they didnt know the answer either. made me doubt even more
Thanks for sharing your story. I would definitely be wary of anyone who tells you to blindly follow their religion without asking questions. The pastors/Sunday school teachers at the Baptist and non-denominational churches I have been part of have always encouraged questions. You are welcome to post your questions here, and I or anyone else could share any helpful answers. I would encourage you to study the Bible and seek the Lord in prayer. He can handle your questions. 🙂 I would also encourage you to find a Bible-believing church and speak with the pastor. Most pastors undergo intensive Bible study in seminary and have a deep knowledge of God’s Word.
thank you so much ellie! growing up catholic was very confusing. although this might sound ridiculous to someone else, this is seriously a question no one has answered: if adam and eve are really the first man and woman, where did the tribes come from that their children left home to join? who was here to populate the earth with them, otherwise, wouldnt their offspring be incestuous?
why is eve considered the first woman when lilith was? why were books purposely left out of the bible? (not the lost scrolls obviously but when they picked and chose in constantinople) why do you say ‘the holy ghost’, tell us we have a guardian angel with us and then say there’s no such thing as ghosts? too contradictory
Hi there. Mr. Handsome said he would be more than happy to answer your questions. It will take a few days for him to type up his answers, but I’ll share them here as a comment when he’s done. 🙂
Mr. Handsome took some time to write down answers to your questions. 🙂 Here they are:
Well I don’t have a seminary degree, nor do I claim to be an expert on the Bible, I will try to answer the questions to the best of my ability. I would encourage you to ask a pastor/Christian theologian who has attended seminary and may be able to give more in depth answers than me.
As far as who did Cain (Adam and Eve’s son) marry, the answer is his sister. I know, in 2020 that sounds gross, but incest was not unlawful until the law of Moses was written long after Adam and Eve. The reason marrying close relatives is bad today (other than being gross) is that the odds of genetic disorders for the offspring is high. This is because many genetic disorders are carried in recessive genes, and if brother and sister marry, then the odds of two recessive genes joining are much higher. Adam and Eve were created perfect in the garden of Eden and were not carriers for genetic disorders, so there was no risk of genetic disorders in their children. But in the thousands of years since then, genetic mutations have occurred, making marrying your brother or sister a very bad idea.
And consequently, the tribes they went and joined were other tribes of people who were also descendants of Adam and Eve. So again, Adam and Eve were created by God and were perfectly created. They lived much longer than we do today. Apparently Adam lived to be 900 years old! Methousala lived even longer. I know it sounds crazy to us today because our lifespan is much shorter. Because of sin, God shortened man’s lifespan. Since they lived so many years, Adam and Eve and their children likely had more offspring that were not listed in the Bible who went away and formed their own tribes.
I know the Bible is long and complex and can be hard to digest. (That’s why Christians spend their entire lives studying it on a daily basis.) Believing in God requires faith because God is a spiritual being, but I also believe the alternative to believing in God takes a lot of “faith.” If you believe there is no God and that some magical “big bang” occurred and caused the universe to form out of nothing, that takes a lot of faith. If you believe a pond of soup got zapped by lightning and caused the first cell to form, that takes a lot of faith. If you believe that first cell mutated and grew until it eventually formed a human, that takes a lot of faith. So even being an atheist takes a lot of faith. I have chosen to put my faith in the Son of God who came to Earth as a man, lived a perfect life, died for my sins, rose from the dead, and was seen alive by over 500 witnesses. His 12 best friends were killed for following him but never denied his resurrection. If the resurrection of Jesus had been a lie that they were trying to spread, they would have denounced it when they were threatened with death.
And ultimately, I have faith in the Jesus because I know He is real and dwells in my heart. When Christians pray, He answers us. He provides guidance for our lives because He knows the best pathway for each individual person. And He promises many times in the Bible that He will NEVER leave us nor forsake us. We will have trials in this world, but God will always be with us and will provide us with a “peace that surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7). The Bible says that God works all things for good (Romans 8:28), so even when we face trials and tragedies, we can be sure that he will use them for our good.
Why is Eve considered the first woman when Lilith was?
I had never even heard of Lilith until you mentioned her. It sounds like there is a legend that Lilith is some sort of demon wife born of Adam, but she/it is not mentioned in the Bible, so there is no reason to believe that Lilith actually existed.
Why were books kept out of the Bible?
I think a better question is “Why were certain books chosen to be in the Bible?” The New Testament is made up of many letters written by either disciples of Jesus or early apostles (mainly Paul). The Gospels (Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John) were written to keep a record of what Jesus did. Acts was written to keep a record of what the early church did after Jesus died and rose. The rest of the new testament consists of letters that contain revelations from God given to men to share with the church.
Now I am sure there are hundreds or even thousands of other letters written about Jesus or about early church business, some of them completely false, and others that were simply not ordained by God. The early church chose the letters that were deemed reliable because they were written either by people that directly knew Jesus or had firsthand information about him. There were various councils that were formed to verify which books belong in the Bible. As Christians, we believe God led the early church leaders to correctly chose the books we now consider the Bible. We believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God.
Why do you say Holy Ghost and Guardian angels but then say there is no such thing as Ghosts? Too contradictory.
Well it depends on what you mean by ghost. If you are talking about fluffy little things that fly around and say “boo,” then no, I don’t believe in ghosts. But if by ghost you mean angels, demons, and evil spirts, I would say they are absolutely real because they are all over the Bible. The Angel Gabriel brought news about Jesus. Satan seeks out those to destroy, and Jesus cast out many demons from people that had been overtaken. The Holy Ghost is literally translated “breath.” This breath is the Spirit and voice of God that resides in a person who accepts Jesus as Lord. If you have not done so, I would encourage you to consider praying to God to forgive you of all your sins and asking him to be Lord of your life. You will not regret it and will then spend eternity with Him in paradise.
thank you so much mr handsome! i honestly appreciate your opinions and your taking the time to answer.
while i had similar assumptions about adam and eve, they were strictly that, assumptions actually based on my limited knowledge of egyptology and a bit of common sense.
i do believe in a god, just not the god you believe in. i know the world was created and has evolved to what it is today because we are living proof of that. whether you call it creationism or evolution or the big bang, i believe a supreme being created our existence. but your god is mean and very angry. always hurting innocent people for others not obeying his commandments! floods, famine, republicans, locusts, whatever it takes to destroy mankind! in fact, your god decided ahead of time that i wouldn’t be good enough so he took 700-800 years off my life to punish me for someone elses mistakes! not what i consider a loving or even a fair god.
yes, i mentioned politics because unfortunately, religion is flung around in the political arena quite a bit now. it saddens me to see people like anna duggar supporting the occupant of the white house when it has effectively told her she is worthless because she is a woman. if the gop already had their way, joy-anna forsyth could have been accused of murder because annabelle died in utero! i hope you are never told you cant have health insurance anymore because you aren’t worth it. or have your doctor look at your chart and say, since you have no insurance you better just get used to being in pain as they dismiss you by walking out of the room to see another patient. even better, how about not being able to get chemo unless you pay out of pocket because you haven’t met your impossibly high ‘share of cost’ reluctantly given to you because your insurance was taken away only because the previous president made it possible. how about being told that your only income will be cut even more because ‘these are the easiest people to take away from’ (yes that was a quote) this is mean and uncalled for but everything i mentioned was said and done by people who call themselves christians: the posotus and republican lawmakers. in my opinion, they couldnt be any further away from being a ‘christian’. even though the ‘christian churches’ support, condone and encourage this type of christianity, this is not how the bible has said i should live and act. i want no part of this type of bootleg christianity. i’m not a gambler but i would bet anything that 99% of the people who vote republican actually call themselves christians even though the very ideals of the republican party is in direct contrast with the bibles teachings! for the life of me i cant understand why real christians would continue to support this hypocrisy but they do!
so, basically, these people who call themselves ‘christians’ and believe in and worship your same god, have told me i am a waste of life, made sure i knew they meant it by taking away and denying me the opportunity to continue to live (insurance), are taking away a good sized chunk of my tiny income and are continually insulting and belittling me and anyone else that disagrees with it. (apparently your god is ok with this type of behaviour because its running again this coming election and ‘christians’ are still supporting it.) and this is the god i’m supposed to ask forgiveness of? for what? no thank you! if this is what christianity is all about now, it is so not for me! believe me, i dont want to spend eternity with this god because the worst part is, ‘if you repent and let jesus in your heart you’ll go to heaven’, and with my luck, these ‘people’ i mentioned that have gone out of their way to hurt me, will get off scott free and i’d have to spend eternity with them too!
I would be happy to email with you to help you get some more of your questions answered. Might be a little too much to type in a comment. 🙂 Feel free to send me a message: [email protected]
Hi there. Here’s another message from Mr. Handsome:
It appears as if you have been deeply hurt by people calling themselves Christians, and for that I am truly sorry. But I think it is important to realize that just because someone calls themselves a Christian does not mean they are really a true believer. Jesus addresses this in Mathew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me “Lord, Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father.” In Matthew 26:35 Jesus says “for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Later in the chapter he states “I say to you, as you did to the least of these, you did to me.”
I know you have struggled with access to health care, but please remember there are many Christians working hard to provide health care to those in need. Some Christians work for years on Mercy ships providing health care to those in need oversees. Many health providers donate their time at public health care clinics.
I know you feel that God is angry and hateful, but that could not be farther from the truth. Jesus came to earth to be tortured, reviled, and murdered to provide us a way to spend eternity in paradise. I know there are people that have hurt you that you do now want to see in heaven, but we all have sinned and all need forgiveness. Please don’t let anger take hold of you and prevent you from turning to God, who loves and cares for you.
godly-young-widow
Thanks for sharing your story. Wow; another “full-fledged-Anabaptist!” I grew up Mennonite, and was baptized at 17. My church then, and the church I attend now, have classes and meetings with the pastor/elders/deacons(they call things different in the different churches) to see if you know what you’re doing. Several people I was baptized with also had the “full-Anabaptist” story too.
Godly- young-widow, I notice we follow some of the same blogs. I’ve seen your user name on Lori’s blog occassionally.
My lifestyle is slowly heading more and more towards Mennonite and I have been asked if I’m Mennonite and even if I’m Amish!
Oh my. I don’t remember posting on Lori Alexander’s blog. Her teachings make me cringe; if I followed her advice I’d have probably ended up moving back in with my parents after my husband died, and certainly not gotten in with the work avenues that I HAVE been able to do since! I’m glad I only knew of her much later and that she’s not a household name where I live
Cindy
I was baptized in my junior year of high school. In my church, the pastor just sprinkles water on your head three times. I even shared my testimony. After I got baptized, all the people that got baptized and confirmed and many other people had dinner together.
Anonymous
I was actually baptist this January. I was so nervous, but it was a beautiful experience. At that moment it was just God and me, and a whole lot of joy. I’m so thankful I got to obey God this way. No better decision than following Jesus!
Ellie
Congratulations! I agree–no better decision than following Jesus.
Ellie
Shela G
I did not grow up grow up going to church but Jesus was drawing me to him from the time I was very young. I wanted go to church and knew in my heart that when I grew up and could live my own life I would. As a young adult I did just that. I was 22 when I was Baptized then a few months later moved from Oregon to Texas to attend Christ for the Nations Bible college to study Children’s ministry I have been teaching kids about Jesus every since. Around 25 years now. Probably more then you wanted to know but that is my story.
Ellie
Thanks for sharing, Shela. I enjoyed reading your story. 🙂
Ellie
Regina
Hi Ellie! I became born again in 82 at age 22 and was baptized soon afterwards. The church I’m going to now, our pastor meets with the person who wants to be baptized to make sure they have truly be born again and to make sure they understand what being baptized means. Two of my three daughters have been baptized upon becoming born again and my middle daughter plans to be baptized soon.
Ellie
Thanks for posting about your baptism, Regina. I’m sure it was a wonderful blessing to watch your two daughters get baptized, and I’m sure you are looking forward to watching the third.
Ellie
Anonymous
That was a short video,Lol. I was christened as a baby and later baptised when I was in my early twenties.
Ellie
LOL, I suppose it was a short video. Thanks for sharing your story!
Ellie
Sam
I was baptized when I was 2 months old. But I quiet going to church after my dad died. I’m glad I don’t go to church anymore it was kind of boring for me.
Ellie
Hi Sam,
I’m very sorry to hear that you had to attend a boring church. I truly am. I don’t believe that church should be boring at all. A church should be a place that is full of life. A life with Jesus is a life full of joy. That doesn’t mean that life is all butterflies and roses, but we can always find joy in knowing Jesus. He is with us always, and when we die, we will spend eternity with Him, if we repent of our sins and believe that He died on the cross for our sins. Salvation is a free gift that is for all. We just have to accept it with genuine hearts. That’s something to be joyful about. 🙂
I would encourage you to find a Bible-believing church that is not boring. Non-denominational churches are often a little less “traditional” and a little more peppy and fun. And there’s nothing wrong with attending a church once or twice and never returning because you don’t feel at home there. Churches are used to having guests come and visit, and they are usually happy to tell you about the groups and programs they offer, so you can see if it suits you. In fact, many churches have volunteers available for just that purpose. Just find someone who looks approachable, tell them you’re new and that you would like to learn more about the church, and they should be able to point you in the right direction. Or you can call the church during the week when the office is open and ask the receptionist to direct you to someone who can give you more info about the church.
I would encourage you to find a church that has some other folks your age, so you can get involved in a life group/small group/community group (different churches have different names for their groups) with people in your stage of life. It’s a wonderful thing to meet others who share your faith and are walking through some of the same things you are!
Let me know if you have any questions. I would be happy to help.
Ellie
Iris
Hi Ellie! I asked about your baptism a few years ago, but I wanted to know about the practical issues, like: is it a big ceremony, or just a normal sunday at church?, is it held at church or outside?, what age is considered minnimal to be baptized?, are you supposed to invite friends/relatives, or is it a more private event?, do people hold several baptisms at the same ceremony, or does each person get his/her own ceremony?, do you hold a big party afterwards?, do you take photos?, are non-Baptists allowed to be there?
I just wanted to know how it works for Baptists… So many questions 🙂
Ellie
Hi Iris,
So sorry for not answering your questions. Our baptisms are usually done on Sundays during service. It’s an exciting milestone and one that the entire church body likes to celebrate. The person/ people being baptized usually do invite friends and relatives, perhaps from out of town or those who go to different churches or don’t attend church at all. Anyone is welcome to come. In fact, church services at the churches I have attended are always open to the public. Even if you don’t believe in God, you are welcome to walk in and join in. It’s a wonderful atmosphere.
Most churches have a baptismal (looks like a hot tub), but I have seen some that will blow up a baby pool. The person being baptized usually has the opportunity to share their testimony with the congregation, if they wish. Sometimes several people will be baptized at once, and other times it’s just one person. That all depends on the size of the church and how many people are interested in being baptized at that time. Photos are allowed, to mark the special occasion. I think I have a photo somewhere with my youth pastor, who baptized me, and the friend who was baptized with me.
Some people hold a little party afterwards, to celebrate their decision to follow Jesus. We don’t believe that baptism is required to go to heaven, but Jesus does command us in the Bible to be baptized once we are saved, as an outward display of the faith that is in our hearts. And if you’re stranded on a desert island with no pastor and no baptismal, you can be baptized in the ocean by any born-again Christian. Probably not a situation that many of us will face, though. Haha. But like I said, if you are not baptized but still genuinely repent of your sins and believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, you will go to heaven.
Let me know if you have any other questions. 🙂
Ellie
Iris
Thank you, Ellie! That was very informative! 🙂
Lisa
In our faith, we are baptized as an infant. My story is unique in that I was born in the early 1960’s with under developed lungs. My mother was told I had “what the Kennedy baby died from.” I was baptized the day after I was born in the hospital. The pastor from our church did it, however a nurse reassured my mom that she would do it if the pastor couldn’t make it due to the winter weather and we live in the Midwest. The doctor called up to the University of Minnesota Hospital to find out how to treat me and it was successful. I was in the hospital for two weeks after my birth before my parents could bring me home.
Ellie
What a miracle that you survived and are thriving, Lisa! Praise God!
Marilyn
I was Christened as a baby, along with my twin sister and my sister’s God parents’ baby daughter. We were best friends during most of our childhood,until her family moved away. We still keep in touch with her .
Marilyn
Ellie
What a blessing to have a friend that you have known for your entire life. That’s not something that everyone has. Thanks for sharing, Marilyn. 🙂
Ellie
Vickie
I was baptized as a teenager. I made a choice to join the church after going through 3 years of class once a week. I had my baptism the same day. It was kind of neat to know I was baptized the same day my mom had been 40 years before.
Ellie
It’s neat to see God orchestrate little things like that, such as being baptized on the same days as your mom. It’s a wonderful reminder that God sees us and cares about us.
Ellie
Alayna
My husband and I were both baptized as babies. But we both decided to get baptized again in August 2009. We finally had a relationship with God and wanted to express it.
Ellie
I love that, Alayna! How precious to share that occasion with your husband.
Candi
I repented of my sins and asked Jesus to be my Savior at age 14 and was baptized several months after that. Baptism is membership into our church at the same time. And that’s how we do with our children. We don’t do baptism as babies. We consider them innocent till God calls them to give Him their hearts and when they respond with obedience and repent and invite God into their hearts and lives (born again) then they are baptized. Thankyou for doing a post on this! Ellie, does your mom still help you on the blogs? Maybe she fills in for you when you’re swamped or tired or overwhelmed with buddy duties? 😊
Ellie
Thanks for sharing, Candi. Have your children given their hearts to Jesus? I know some of them are still very young.
I am able to find time to do most of the blogging on my own. Mr. Handsome does lend a hand sometimes, though. 🙂
Ellie
Candi
Yes, 2 of them have! And yes, I do enjoy it when Mr H does a post for you-glad he can help when you need some space 😊 I would love to hear/see from your mom sometime! I remember that a number of years ago you had some pics of you both at a wedding (Bates perhaps? or maybe a Duggar wedding) and I’ve wondered for a long time how she is doing! But maybe she wouldn’t enjoy being seen again on your blog and that’s ok! Thought I’d just ask…no obligation. Take care…
Ellie
Thank you for asking about my mom, Candi! She’s doing great. Loves having a grandchild. She actually just stayed with him overnight for the first time while we went away for 24 hours.
Ellie
Tina
In my country we are all christened as babies, so it really is not anyone’s choice. I was wondering if you would raise your child to become a Christian or if you consider introducing him to all the different religions and let him choose on his own when he is of age.
Ellie
Hi Tina,
What country do you live in?
We believe that becoming a Christian is a decision that people must make for themselves, since it is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We have no problem teaching our children about other religions, and that will be part of our homeschooling curriculum. (If I remember correctly, that’s usually taught in late middle school/early high school.) But we do believe that Jesus is the One True God. He says in the Bible that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and that no one comes to the Father God except through him (John 14:6). It is our prayer that all our children will accept the gift of salvation and follow Jesus with all their hearts.
Ellie
Tina
I am Greek. We are Greek Orthodox.
anon
i was baptized as a baby. in parochial school, i learned that i was not a good catholic because i questioned too much. when given the opportunity to learn about other religions, i went to temple as well as baptist, lutheran, protestant, methodist, you name it services. studied paganism, wicca and lots of other less known religions and decided ‘agnostic’ is the best description of my beliefs.
my husband was baptized as a baby in the lutheran religion but as he got older, he got baptized in a church of christ, which is also where we got married and attended services the majority of the time. when our baby son was dying, my parents begged us to have him baptized catholic. even though it wasnt our belief, it made my parents happy so we did. (we questioned our son dying on the day jesus was born and admittedly found it difficult to celebrate)
we sent our kids to a baptist school, mainly for the curriculum (abeka), one of their youth groups was at a church of the nazarene, one son married a muslim women and we live next door to a fellowship hall. and you know what we learned? they all have the same ‘basic’ ideas. we decided to let our kids decided for themselves what or even if they follow any religions
to this day, no one has answered the questions i had as a child! i was told just to believe and not ask questions but i always felt my questions were relevant and if no one would answer them honestly, then they didnt know the answer either. made me doubt even more
Ellie
Thanks for sharing your story. I would definitely be wary of anyone who tells you to blindly follow their religion without asking questions. The pastors/Sunday school teachers at the Baptist and non-denominational churches I have been part of have always encouraged questions. You are welcome to post your questions here, and I or anyone else could share any helpful answers. I would encourage you to study the Bible and seek the Lord in prayer. He can handle your questions. 🙂 I would also encourage you to find a Bible-believing church and speak with the pastor. Most pastors undergo intensive Bible study in seminary and have a deep knowledge of God’s Word.
Hope this helps!
Ellie
anon
thank you so much ellie! growing up catholic was very confusing. although this might sound ridiculous to someone else, this is seriously a question no one has answered: if adam and eve are really the first man and woman, where did the tribes come from that their children left home to join? who was here to populate the earth with them, otherwise, wouldnt their offspring be incestuous?
why is eve considered the first woman when lilith was? why were books purposely left out of the bible? (not the lost scrolls obviously but when they picked and chose in constantinople) why do you say ‘the holy ghost’, tell us we have a guardian angel with us and then say there’s no such thing as ghosts? too contradictory
Ellie
Hi there. Mr. Handsome said he would be more than happy to answer your questions. It will take a few days for him to type up his answers, but I’ll share them here as a comment when he’s done. 🙂
Ellie
Anon
Hi there, OP. Start researching Answers in Genesis. It’s a website. They should be able to answer your questions 😊
anon
very cool! thank you
Ellie
Mr. Handsome took some time to write down answers to your questions. 🙂 Here they are:
Well I don’t have a seminary degree, nor do I claim to be an expert on the Bible, I will try to answer the questions to the best of my ability. I would encourage you to ask a pastor/Christian theologian who has attended seminary and may be able to give more in depth answers than me.
As far as who did Cain (Adam and Eve’s son) marry, the answer is his sister. I know, in 2020 that sounds gross, but incest was not unlawful until the law of Moses was written long after Adam and Eve. The reason marrying close relatives is bad today (other than being gross) is that the odds of genetic disorders for the offspring is high. This is because many genetic disorders are carried in recessive genes, and if brother and sister marry, then the odds of two recessive genes joining are much higher. Adam and Eve were created perfect in the garden of Eden and were not carriers for genetic disorders, so there was no risk of genetic disorders in their children. But in the thousands of years since then, genetic mutations have occurred, making marrying your brother or sister a very bad idea.
And consequently, the tribes they went and joined were other tribes of people who were also descendants of Adam and Eve. So again, Adam and Eve were created by God and were perfectly created. They lived much longer than we do today. Apparently Adam lived to be 900 years old! Methousala lived even longer. I know it sounds crazy to us today because our lifespan is much shorter. Because of sin, God shortened man’s lifespan. Since they lived so many years, Adam and Eve and their children likely had more offspring that were not listed in the Bible who went away and formed their own tribes.
I know the Bible is long and complex and can be hard to digest. (That’s why Christians spend their entire lives studying it on a daily basis.) Believing in God requires faith because God is a spiritual being, but I also believe the alternative to believing in God takes a lot of “faith.” If you believe there is no God and that some magical “big bang” occurred and caused the universe to form out of nothing, that takes a lot of faith. If you believe a pond of soup got zapped by lightning and caused the first cell to form, that takes a lot of faith. If you believe that first cell mutated and grew until it eventually formed a human, that takes a lot of faith. So even being an atheist takes a lot of faith. I have chosen to put my faith in the Son of God who came to Earth as a man, lived a perfect life, died for my sins, rose from the dead, and was seen alive by over 500 witnesses. His 12 best friends were killed for following him but never denied his resurrection. If the resurrection of Jesus had been a lie that they were trying to spread, they would have denounced it when they were threatened with death.
And ultimately, I have faith in the Jesus because I know He is real and dwells in my heart. When Christians pray, He answers us. He provides guidance for our lives because He knows the best pathway for each individual person. And He promises many times in the Bible that He will NEVER leave us nor forsake us. We will have trials in this world, but God will always be with us and will provide us with a “peace that surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7). The Bible says that God works all things for good (Romans 8:28), so even when we face trials and tragedies, we can be sure that he will use them for our good.
Why is Eve considered the first woman when Lilith was?
I had never even heard of Lilith until you mentioned her. It sounds like there is a legend that Lilith is some sort of demon wife born of Adam, but she/it is not mentioned in the Bible, so there is no reason to believe that Lilith actually existed.
Why were books kept out of the Bible?
I think a better question is “Why were certain books chosen to be in the Bible?” The New Testament is made up of many letters written by either disciples of Jesus or early apostles (mainly Paul). The Gospels (Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John) were written to keep a record of what Jesus did. Acts was written to keep a record of what the early church did after Jesus died and rose. The rest of the new testament consists of letters that contain revelations from God given to men to share with the church.
Now I am sure there are hundreds or even thousands of other letters written about Jesus or about early church business, some of them completely false, and others that were simply not ordained by God. The early church chose the letters that were deemed reliable because they were written either by people that directly knew Jesus or had firsthand information about him. There were various councils that were formed to verify which books belong in the Bible. As Christians, we believe God led the early church leaders to correctly chose the books we now consider the Bible. We believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God.
Why do you say Holy Ghost and Guardian angels but then say there is no such thing as Ghosts? Too contradictory.
Well it depends on what you mean by ghost. If you are talking about fluffy little things that fly around and say “boo,” then no, I don’t believe in ghosts. But if by ghost you mean angels, demons, and evil spirts, I would say they are absolutely real because they are all over the Bible. The Angel Gabriel brought news about Jesus. Satan seeks out those to destroy, and Jesus cast out many demons from people that had been overtaken. The Holy Ghost is literally translated “breath.” This breath is the Spirit and voice of God that resides in a person who accepts Jesus as Lord. If you have not done so, I would encourage you to consider praying to God to forgive you of all your sins and asking him to be Lord of your life. You will not regret it and will then spend eternity with Him in paradise.
anon
thank you so much mr handsome! i honestly appreciate your opinions and your taking the time to answer.
while i had similar assumptions about adam and eve, they were strictly that, assumptions actually based on my limited knowledge of egyptology and a bit of common sense.
i do believe in a god, just not the god you believe in. i know the world was created and has evolved to what it is today because we are living proof of that. whether you call it creationism or evolution or the big bang, i believe a supreme being created our existence. but your god is mean and very angry. always hurting innocent people for others not obeying his commandments! floods, famine, republicans, locusts, whatever it takes to destroy mankind! in fact, your god decided ahead of time that i wouldn’t be good enough so he took 700-800 years off my life to punish me for someone elses mistakes! not what i consider a loving or even a fair god.
yes, i mentioned politics because unfortunately, religion is flung around in the political arena quite a bit now. it saddens me to see people like anna duggar supporting the occupant of the white house when it has effectively told her she is worthless because she is a woman. if the gop already had their way, joy-anna forsyth could have been accused of murder because annabelle died in utero! i hope you are never told you cant have health insurance anymore because you aren’t worth it. or have your doctor look at your chart and say, since you have no insurance you better just get used to being in pain as they dismiss you by walking out of the room to see another patient. even better, how about not being able to get chemo unless you pay out of pocket because you haven’t met your impossibly high ‘share of cost’ reluctantly given to you because your insurance was taken away only because the previous president made it possible. how about being told that your only income will be cut even more because ‘these are the easiest people to take away from’ (yes that was a quote) this is mean and uncalled for but everything i mentioned was said and done by people who call themselves christians: the posotus and republican lawmakers. in my opinion, they couldnt be any further away from being a ‘christian’. even though the ‘christian churches’ support, condone and encourage this type of christianity, this is not how the bible has said i should live and act. i want no part of this type of bootleg christianity. i’m not a gambler but i would bet anything that 99% of the people who vote republican actually call themselves christians even though the very ideals of the republican party is in direct contrast with the bibles teachings! for the life of me i cant understand why real christians would continue to support this hypocrisy but they do!
so, basically, these people who call themselves ‘christians’ and believe in and worship your same god, have told me i am a waste of life, made sure i knew they meant it by taking away and denying me the opportunity to continue to live (insurance), are taking away a good sized chunk of my tiny income and are continually insulting and belittling me and anyone else that disagrees with it. (apparently your god is ok with this type of behaviour because its running again this coming election and ‘christians’ are still supporting it.) and this is the god i’m supposed to ask forgiveness of? for what? no thank you! if this is what christianity is all about now, it is so not for me! believe me, i dont want to spend eternity with this god because the worst part is, ‘if you repent and let jesus in your heart you’ll go to heaven’, and with my luck, these ‘people’ i mentioned that have gone out of their way to hurt me, will get off scott free and i’d have to spend eternity with them too!
Ellie
I would be happy to email with you to help you get some more of your questions answered. Might be a little too much to type in a comment. 🙂 Feel free to send me a message: [email protected]
Ellie
Ellie
Hi there. Here’s another message from Mr. Handsome:
It appears as if you have been deeply hurt by people calling themselves Christians, and for that I am truly sorry. But I think it is important to realize that just because someone calls themselves a Christian does not mean they are really a true believer. Jesus addresses this in Mathew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me “Lord, Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father.” In Matthew 26:35 Jesus says “for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Later in the chapter he states “I say to you, as you did to the least of these, you did to me.”
I know you have struggled with access to health care, but please remember there are many Christians working hard to provide health care to those in need. Some Christians work for years on Mercy ships providing health care to those in need oversees. Many health providers donate their time at public health care clinics.
I know you feel that God is angry and hateful, but that could not be farther from the truth. Jesus came to earth to be tortured, reviled, and murdered to provide us a way to spend eternity in paradise. I know there are people that have hurt you that you do now want to see in heaven, but we all have sinned and all need forgiveness. Please don’t let anger take hold of you and prevent you from turning to God, who loves and cares for you.
godly-young-widow
Thanks for sharing your story. Wow; another “full-fledged-Anabaptist!” I grew up Mennonite, and was baptized at 17. My church then, and the church I attend now, have classes and meetings with the pastor/elders/deacons(they call things different in the different churches) to see if you know what you’re doing. Several people I was baptized with also had the “full-Anabaptist” story too.
Regina
Godly- young-widow, I notice we follow some of the same blogs. I’ve seen your user name on Lori’s blog occassionally.
My lifestyle is slowly heading more and more towards Mennonite and I have been asked if I’m Mennonite and even if I’m Amish!
godly-young-widow
Do you mean Lori Anne Thompson?
Regina
I’m sorry, I met to write Lori Alexander. I’m not familiar with Lori Anne Thompson.
godly-young-widow
Oh my. I don’t remember posting on Lori Alexander’s blog. Her teachings make me cringe; if I followed her advice I’d have probably ended up moving back in with my parents after my husband died, and certainly not gotten in with the work avenues that I HAVE been able to do since! I’m glad I only knew of her much later and that she’s not a household name where I live
Cindy
I was baptized in my junior year of high school. In my church, the pastor just sprinkles water on your head three times. I even shared my testimony. After I got baptized, all the people that got baptized and confirmed and many other people had dinner together.