How should I approach my daughter’s upcoming baptism when I don’t believe 8-year-olds are capable of making this choice?

Ask Dr. Julie Hanks

Dr. Julie Hanks

Self-improvement, Society & Culture, Education, Relationships, Health & Fitness, Mental Health

4.6 • 734 Ratings

🗓️ 12 March 2024

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, I chat with Christine and answer the question “How should I approach my daughter’s upcoming baptism when I don’t believe 8-year-olds are capable of making this choice?” Christine and her husband have several valid hesitations about their daughter getting baptized when they aren't sure that she really understands what she would be committing to.Christine and I unpack her concerns and I challenge the thought that her daughter has to be totally “ready” to commit to baptism befor...

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, friends. Welcome to Ask Dr. Julie Hanks podcast. I'm so glad you're here.
0:13.2	In each episode, I coach a listener through a tough question about mental health, personal
0:18.3	growth, family relationships, or faith journeys.
0:21.6	My goal is to help you think, feel, or do something differently to improve your life because you
0:27.4	listen to this podcast.
0:29.5	I want you to step into your power and create a life you love.
0:33.9	Let's get started.
0:36.3	I'm so happy to welcome Christine to the podcast today. Welcome, Christine.
0:42.0	Hi, thanks for having me. What is your question for me today? I would love to talk today about how I should
0:50.2	approach my daughter's upcoming baptism when I don't really believe that eight-year-olds
0:55.7	are capable of making that choice. Okay. Are you, do you have a partner who disagrees with that?
1:03.2	Not exactly. I do have a partner. My husband shares a lot of my concerns. I just probably feel
1:10.2	them a little bit more intensely or I don't have a
1:12.7	little bit more of them. But yeah, we're more on the same page than we are not on the same page.
1:16.8	Okay. Okay. When do you think your daughter would be able to make that decision?
1:24.3	Oh, that's a good question. I don't know.
1:28.4	I just understand that, you know, I understand what the church teaches about the age of accountability.
1:35.9	But I also understand that the eight-year-old brain is actually only beginning to be capable of critical thinking and abstract thought. It's not at eight,
1:46.6	a switch is flipped or that some crucial brain development has been accomplished or something
1:52.5	like that. Right. Just the beginning of it. Yeah. So, you know, to say when I think that she'd be able,
1:58.3	I don't know. I don't, I don't necessarily think that I believe she has to wait
2:01.5	until she's, what, 25 and her brain is fully developed. I'm not like that. But she's only eight.
	...

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