If he's an atheist who doesn't believe in the validity of the baptism, then what need does he feel exists to have it annulled?

"Oh no, I might go to heaven by mistake!"

Because he wants to have his mommy be very proud of him.

And I am sure she is.

I'm sure he proved something by doing that...
Not sure what... But... um... Must have been important.

I really can't begin to tell you what goes on in a mind like that...

I was raised catholic, baptized, confession, first communion, confirmation even... You are right, I am an atheist, none of things mean anything to me now, even if I didn't 'consent'... Nor did I feel any different when they happened...

May make him feel better inside some way or another, but really doesn't mean anything...

Edit to add: I have a feeling that stupidity knows no bounds...

Sounds to me like someone isn't too secure in his non-belief and needs to have it certified.

he's scurred the jesusman is going to get him!!!

Maybe its against his religion.

No dear, he don't believes in 'im.
:P

oh... he should talk to a priest about that :O

What does an atheist, dyslexic, insomniac do?

Lay in bed at night and wonder if there is a Dog.

Idiot. If you don't believe in it...why worry?

Besides, it not being officially on the books doesn't make it not-happen.
So if he changes gears later in life and decides whoops he agrees, he is still technically baptized. You can't be un-sprinkled with water.

If he's a comfortable atheist, it was just water. If not, he's got something to worry about.

Maybe he did it on a dare.

Interestingly enough, the whole infant baptism thing is a big theological point that many believers have problems with. I personally am an advocate of "believer's baptism", not baptizing someone until they have made a personal decision about their belief for some of the reasons this man has. He is right that he should not have been forced into a religion that wasn't his choice.
Now asking it to be annulled because he decided against any organized religion sounds like an attempt to slap organized religion in the face...but whatever, that's his choice.

They should have been all like; "I'm sorry, we can't hear you. We are only able to hear believers."

"Did you hear something?"

"I thought I did. I don't know, must have been a bug or something?"

"I could have sworn it was a human voice."

"That's ridiculous, we're the only two in the room. We can only see believers."

"I don't see anyone else in the room."



That way they could have been able to claim ignorance to his request, or they could have tricked him into saying that he believed; therefor nullifying his request to be un-baptised.

OK, you're all being very clever there, saying that if he doesn't believe, he simply shouldn't be bothered.

May I remind you of the Mormons baptizing Holocaust victims story? The one everyone found totally disrespectful?

What? Not so smug anymore? Why not? What's the difference here?

I wouldn't want my name on any church records either, simply because I haven't consented to being in there, and I don't want to be associated with that institution. What's wrong with that? You wouldn't want a political party you're not a supporter of to list you on their website as a member either, right?
Furthermore, had I been baptized, I'd have had that annulled anyway because of the church tax that comes with it (although I just learned that this isn't the case in the UK and the US).

The most glaring difference is the list of names who people who commented on that story as contrasted against this one.

The only two common names are Lynx, who was ordering pasta over there and Maven, who to my eye doesn't contradict herself.

What's this Church Tax about?

Oops, wrong Mormon baptism story. :D


If you really want me to put up a list of whose comments I'd consider "smug" in this thread, here you go:
Bingo
Lynxears
Moe
TheAnt314
Maven
Chez
GrisleyVictor

Why? Because they they make it appear like his quest was an act of stupidity, error and/or mislead belief, in one way or another. It's the smugness of the blindly believing that seeps from those comments, even if not all of those people do consider themselves "believers".

Church tax is an anachronist income tax of 8-9% (depending on where in Germany you live) that's automatically deducted and goes straight into the church's pocket. You can tick a box (Roman-Catholic or Protestant), though. Perverted, I know.

Thank you for constantly reminding me how f**ked up Germany is...this will be VERY inflammatory but can you have your tax deducted for a Synagogue? Mosque?

You can also have it deducted for a synagogue, I think. Basically any religious community that is recognized as a statuory corporation. It's been a while since I've filed church taxes (not for myself, though) - as far as I know, there's no islamic community that that meets the criteria here, at least not in my federal state.

So I was simplifying things when I said you could only tick Roman-Catholic or Protestant. There are a few more boxes for various confessions, but most of them being Christian in the broader sense.

Edit: I just looked it up, there's an equivalent for Jewish communities.