{"id":18296,"date":"2009-04-07T21:13:00","date_gmt":"2009-04-08T02:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=18296"},"modified":"2020-01-12T21:20:29","modified_gmt":"2020-01-13T03:20:29","slug":"a-hate-letter-regarding-an-article-on-infant-baptism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-hate-letter-regarding-an-article-on-infant-baptism\/","title":{"rendered":"A hate letter regarding an article on infant baptism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

Mr Minister of the La Vista church of christ.\u00a0 How do feel about preaching non logical occult madness.\u00a0 You are the chains of the oppressed like your murderous brothers of all the Christian cults known to man.\u00a0 You are a disgrace!!\u00a0 I am angry because of what I see.\u00a0 If Jesus was here he would rip your heart from your chest and claim you man no more.\u00a0 Look at all these sect’s and branches that have plagued our world since man decided he was the centre of the universe, and look at your roots smothered in blood of innocent people.\u00a0 The church is an enemy of man!\u00a0 You have come with your god, like vikings a plundered and corrupted the heart of man.\u00a0 You have took something of what was a good idea for strength and hope and turned it into chains and slavery. The past years of the church have been nothing but insanity.\u00a0 A power hungry, corrupt and controlling manifestation of insanity given to a\u00a0man\u00a0made egotistical entity.\u00a0 You can shape that about in any way you want and it will still sums up the disgrace of the church.\u00a0 “Jesus said it best when He commissioned the apostles saying, “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned<\/em>” (Mark 16:16).<\/a>”\u00a0\u00a0Think on!! This makes me sick, I am seething with anger, if only you could see!\u00a0 I doubt this was ever said.\u00a0 From a man who spoke to a\u00a0prostitute and accepted all no matter what, a revolutionist of his time maybe, but\u00a0NOT the judge of man!!!\u00a0 Thanks to your page on the internet, you have made my past path possible to see.\u00a0 I was leaving throwing my hatred aside.\u00a0 Now I will not stop and turn all around me away from your god, away from your insanity.\u00a0 The church shall fall one day I will be standing crushing the last brick. Call me what you want, release your demon to the people, strike fear in their hearts, but the sheep shall lose there wool and their sight shall be returned and you\u00a0will sit in the ashes of your god for eternity!<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

Such a reaction to\u00a0an article regarding infant baptism<\/a>! The letter above, by the way, was unedited.<\/p>\n

“So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God<\/em>” (James 1:19-20).<\/p>\n

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you<\/em>” (Matthew 5:10-12).<\/p>\n

“If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified<\/em>” (I Peter 4:14).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\nIt is such a reaction not only for baptism but the church.\u00a0 It is the\u00a0words of a man not blinded by corruption.\u00a0 Look at the history of your cult!\u00a0 Murderous and it has been\u00a0swept under a rug and forgotten.\u00a0 You have your sides of this cult that\u00a0even killed each other, not only that they couldn’t even\u00a0keep it between themselves and\u00a0they destroyed the tribes of the earth, and with their spear struck fear into the hearts of man.\u00a0 Let me tell you that I\u00a0have been brought up a catholic and served\u00a05 years of my life at the alter of your god.\u00a0 A wasted time in my life, but one not to be forgotten.\u00a0 As I watched every week\u00a0people chanting and kneeling it broke me to see them like sheep, and a sheep is a slave to the church.\u00a0 I see these people in need of help.\u00a0\u00a0It amazes me the short memory of the human race, if\u00a0you remember right there was already some gods before your one came along, the only reason yours flurished was that it promised man life after death.\u00a0 What an insult to our intelligence!!! When the lights are out, the lights are out.\u00a0 And\u00a0IF say a may be wrong and yours does exist then what, I am\u00a0made for hell? You know, when I was a kid I promised god I would stand\u00a0by his side and fight against evil, I believed god could hear me.\u00a0 I felt I had a personnal relationship with\u00a0god, I prayed hard to make a difference thinking as a kid I could change the world and god would help.\u00a0\u00a0I am not saying that today\u00a0I am not a good person, I am last and others first and I would surley die to save another, but tell me would I be good person if I let people live for a lie and not\u00a0live for the life?\u00a0 A life of servitude to god, you know slavery is a\u00a0touchy word these days. And to fear the god?\u00a0 In my whole time of being his slave I did not once fear him, nor your devil!!
\nYou know, out of this something good came, for in a way I respect you.\u00a0 You replied, probably not the way I would have expected, with bits form the bible that say I’m a bad guy and you will be rewarded for\u00a0telling me I’m wrong.\u00a0 Though there is a question I would like to ask you, those you believe will be saved and those who do not will perish.\u00a0How do feel about this, surely as a man of god should all\u00a0life not be saved, maybe like turning the other cheek\u00a0on those who denied him?
\nI would hope that by the time my\u00a0life is gone and I\u00a0go to hell, that I will have a better understanding of the the most powerful and influentule, yet man destroying cult the world has ever seen.\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

So because of your bad experience in a false religion, you use a broad brush to condemn everyone who claims to follow Christ. And no, people didn’t flock to Christianity simply because it claimed to offer eternal life. Many pagan religions have claimed that. True Christianity exists because it works (See: “Why Be a Christian?<\/a>“).<\/p>\n

But it is true I’m a slave of God, just as you are bound by your choice.<\/p>\n

“Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to\u00a0 more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life<\/em>” (Romans 6:16-22).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I don’t have regrets about the things I teach people because it improves the quality of their lives. You claim it causes harm, but it is an empty argument because your evidence is from those who do not put the teachings of Christ into practice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: Mr Minister of the La Vista church of christ.\u00a0 How do feel about preaching non logical occult madness.\u00a0 You are the chains of the oppressed like your murderous brothers of all the Christian cults known to man.\u00a0 You are a disgrace!!\u00a0 I am angry because of what I see.\u00a0 If Jesus was here he…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[282],"class_list":["post-18296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-infant-baptism"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11888,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-convince-a-roman-catholic-that-infant-baptism-is-wrong\/","url_meta":{"origin":18296,"position":0},"title":"How do I convince a Roman Catholic that infant baptism is wrong?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: A Catholic and I debated the topic of infant baptism. He used the argument of \"household\" referring to babies as well. When I told him that households could mean teens or servants he said that he would rather follow the practice of infant baptism followed by earlier Christians 2000\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":89836,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/by-what-authority-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":18296,"position":1},"title":"By What Authority? (Matthews)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 28, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Samuel Matthews \"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;\u00a0 looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54933,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-reasoning-behind-infant-baptism\/","url_meta":{"origin":18296,"position":2},"title":"What is the reasoning behind infant baptism?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 30, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: There is a Catholic whom I talk to and he told me that the reason for baptizing infants is for the opportunity for them to put on the body of Christ if they were to pass away before reaching the age of accountability. They also say that Paul went\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15798,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/infant-baptism\/","url_meta":{"origin":18296,"position":3},"title":"Infant Baptism (Shouse)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 19, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"by Roger Shouse published in\u00a0Biblical Insight, Vol. 5, No. 7, July 2005. Advocates of infant baptism wrongly assume that the term \"household\" includes infants. Baptizing a baby is often viewed as a very special event in the lives of young parents. Grandparents come to witness the special occasion. A white\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/InfantBaptism.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":30347,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/infant-baptism-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":18296,"position":4},"title":"Infant Baptism (Hamilton)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 11, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: Romans 7:7-25 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Historians will admit that infant baptism did not appear in the church until the second or third century \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Roman Catholics \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThere is no express mention of the baptism of infants in the New Testament\u201d [Question Box, page 23]. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIt is difficult\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34443,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/immersion-pouring-and-sprinkling-a-history\/","url_meta":{"origin":18296,"position":5},"title":"Immersion, Pouring, and Sprinkling: A History","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 23, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bruce Edwards, Jr. Truth Magazine XIX:27 (May 15, 1975), pp. 422-424 This writer can remember witnessing at the age of five the \"baptism\" of his infant cousin; the denominational \"pastor\" sprinkled drops of water upon his forehead. I wondered at the significance of that action then, but now, with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18296"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18296\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}