#namingparty

[petitgriffin]

Zodiac of the month - Virgo- you find the online @posterlounge or locally in Norrkoping @lillasnigelleksaker buy it, frame it and give it to someone you care about ❤️ #zodiacs #Virgo #September #birth #namingparty #namngivning #dop #design

[blessthismesss-blog]

Uh oh... Here comes religion!

So a ton of people are having babies in my social network which is to be expected because of the age range (mid to late 20′s and over) and after the celebration of the baby coming into the world, I’ve started to notice a pattern... 

Christenings! 

Now, if you’ve read this blog you will know that I am an atheist but I was christened as a baby and so were my brothers, my fiancé and pretty much everyone I grew up with. Christenings are fine, I’ve no qualms with the process., but I do have some niggling wonders... Most of the people who christen their children generally do not lead christian/catholic lives in the slightest, which begs the question why have this sacrament performed on your child all of a sudden? I know people in my family are christening their children and don’t lead religious lives and one of the reasons (which I think was actually valid and made sense to a degree) was that they weren’t sure if they believed in something but if there is something out there, they take comfort from the feeling that they are welcoming their children into it. Which is fair enough.

I personally won’t be raising my children with religion because:

a) I am not religious

b) I honestly believe it should be up to the individual

c) Kind of goes hand in hand with a. but the idea of a christening just does not appeal at all... I don’t believe a baby can be born with sin. 

d) I believe we are good people, we can make mistakes but we have good morals and not because we are god fearing, it’s totally out of choice. 

I believe a lot of people probably have some kind of subconscious fear for their newborn which leads them to baptism. But for the most part, it’s a get together; family, friends, choosing god parents, receiving gifts, essentially it’s a party. And who doesn’t like a party? (Those people with crippling social anxiety I’m guessing.)

I’m going to have something called a naming party, like a baptism without the church, the robes and washing of original sin...

I’m a fan of commitment, so if you’re going to christen your child I just think that you should follow that up with a religious upbringing, it would make sense? 

If you want a party, hell have a party? Everyone who has a new baby can throw a party in celebration of that baby, the god bit doesn’t have to come into it. Perhaps many people aren’t aware that this is a thing? Or it’s just traditional to do the religious thing? I don’t tend to follow traditions, mainly because I quite like my freedom and making my own choices based on educated decisions. I can’t un-baptise myself, but because I don’t believe in it, for me, nothing happened on that day that has had any significance or change on my life or afterlife. I don’t believe I’ve won a seat in ‘heaven’ over a child that wasn’t baptised (which by the way, according to the catholic church, those babies end up in Limbo, a place also described as ‘the outer ring of hell’ (sounds great!) And it also invites more questions regarding other religions and faiths... What about those children who aren’t catholic or christian? You see, there’s so many gods and after-lifes out there, it’s a bit like those gelateria’s in Italy, which one should you pick?! 

People believe in a god for so very many reasons and that’s fine, I get it when those people want to bring their children into it (to a degree). But the ones that just do it for the party... I dunno, it makes me a little uneasy. Now as I write this, I might add, ironically, that I have been chosen to be a god parent for one of my many nephews. I was delighted by being chosen, but it has been made clear to me by the parents that I should look at it more as being his guardian. Of course I’m going to have to hold my tongue and most likely tell a few porkies during the ceremony, but luckily the parents don’t take it seriously either... 

Anyway, I just wanted to put it out there that there’s a lot of christenings happening where I’m least expecting them! And when I googled this question, there are a LOT of other people out there wondering the same thing! 

Naming parties FOR THE WIN!