Why do Catholics get baptised?

Answer 1

Catholics get baptized because they believe they've inherited some of Adam and Eve's Original Sin. Baptism cleanses them of that sin.

Roman Catholic Answer

Catholics "get baptized" and baptize their infants because God commanded them to, and because without baptism you have no eternal life in you.

I was raised a Roman Catholic and still have my old catechisms and other related books and pamphlets. Many things about the church have changed since then, but as children we were taught that everyone was born with Original Sin ( passed on by Adam and Eve) and that baptism wiped away that sin. We were taught that unbaptized babies who died went to Limbo, where they could be naturally happy even though unable to enter heaven.

Answer 2

To be cleaned from sins when they are born

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Catholic AnswerCatholics are baptized because Our Blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ commanded it, saying that unless you are baptized you cannot be saved. Also, if you are not baptized you cannot receive any of the other sacraments, and Our Blessed Lord was very specific when He said that we must receive Holy Communion, else we have no life in us.

The Sacrament in which, by water and the word of God, a person is cleansed of all sin and reborn and sanctified in Christ to everlasting life. (Etym. Latin ba;tisma; from Greek baptisma, a dipping.

from The Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, English translation 1994

1213

Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the spirit (vitae spiritualis ianua), and the door which give access to the other sacraments. through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God' we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made shares in her mission: "Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word."

　

1214

This sacrament if called Baptism, after the central rite by which it is carried out: to baptize (Greek baptizein means to "plunge" or "immerse"; the "plunge" into the water symbolizes the catechumen's burial into Christ's death, from which he rises up by resurrection with him, as "a new creature."

　

1216

"This bath is called enlightenment, because those who receive this [catechetical] instruction are enlightened in their understanding. . . ." Having received in Baptism the Word, "the true light that enlightens every man," the person baptized has been "enlightened," he becomes a "son of light," indeed he becomes "light" himself:

Baptism is God's most beautiful and magnificent gift . . . We call it gift, grace, anointing, enlightenment, garment of immortality, bath of rebirth, seal, and most precious gift. It is called gift because it is conferred on those who bring nothing of their own; grace since it is given even to the guilt; Baptism because sin is buried in the water; anointing for it is priestly and royal as are those who are anointed; enlightenment because it radiates light; clothing since it veils our shame; bath because it washes; and seal as it is our guard and the sign of God's Lordship.

1266

The Most Holy Trinity gives the baptized sanctifying grace, the grace of justification:

- enabling them to believe in God, to hope in him, and to love him through the theological virtues;

- giving them the power to live and act under the prompting of the Holy Spirit through the gifts of the Holy Spirit;

- allowing them to grow in goodness through the moral virtues.

Thus the whole organism of the Christian's supernatural life has its roots in Baptism.

Answer 3

Because Christians have done so since the 1st Century, and the Catholic Church has existed since the 1st Century.

The idea that baptism was only for adults is much later, and didn't exist until the Protestant reformation.

If you are asking if it is Scriptural, of course it is: the practice is older than the New Testament and was practiced by those who compiled the New Testament, so it would be very strange if it wasn't.

Scripture says that whole families were baptized, and Paul compares baptism to circumcision in the Book of Colossians.

Well, I am not Catholic, but my husband is, and I have been researching this question for some time because he wants our children to be "baptized". I searched an electronic Bible for every occurrence of the word baptism and not once out of 50 verses in The Bible where the word Baptism occurs does the word infant or baby occur. In fact every instance in the Bible indicates that Baptism is a choice made by one who is ready to die from a life of sin and be cleansed by the Holy Spirit and to be resurrected into a new life free from sin by the blood of Jesus. If you go to this web page Bible gateway(below)?search=baptize&searchtype=all&version1=31&spanbegin=1&spanend=73&interface=print&startnumber=1 and read through the verses you will see, or look them up in your own Bible.

For example:

Acts 8:12

But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women

Acts 2:41

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

Acts 2:40-42

Acts 2

Matthew 3:6

Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

Matthew 3:5-7

Matthew 3

Acts 2:38

Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:37-39

Acts 2

A couple instances occur where a household is said to be baptized but one can only assume whether or not infants were included:

Acts 16:15

When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us.

Acts 16:14-16

Acts 16

Acts 18:8

Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized.

Acts 18:7-9

Acts 18

So how infant baptism is scriptural I still do not understand. If someone could enlighten me upon this, I would greatly appreciate it.

Answer 4

Baptism is the initiation ceremony into the Catholic Church. Our Lord told His apostles to "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit . . . "

Answer 5

Yes, they do. Their baptisms are the same as most Protestant baptisms, as long as the person is baptized in "the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

Answer 6

To initiate yourself into the Catholic Church.