DEFENDER OF THE FAITH
Hanns F Skoutajan
Pictures of the christening of the young Prince George have raised in me memories of the times when I, like the Archbishop of Canterbury last Wednesday, took babes in my arms, touched them with water and baptised them “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
The Globe and Mail (October 24) commented that, “falling birth rates and rising secularism have meant that fewer people are going to church and fewer children are being baptised across nearly all Christian denominations.”
The baptism of baby George at the 16th century chapel of St. James Palace had particular significance . Some within the church hoped that this act by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and all the royal family would once again set a trend, which they have often done in many other respects, and encourage a return to the church and its beautiful rituals. It might but I doubt it in the long term.
I always enjoyed my role in this ancient ceremony of the church. It has also been observed that I had a quietening affect on the young subjects. I scarcely ever remember a “burn out” at the font.
Indeed, on one occasion I discussed with the parents how we might handle the logistics of the sacrament with their child who “made strange” with anybody except the mother and had no compunction about expressing his feelings vociferously. He had good lungs. Our decision was to allow the baby to rest in his mother’s arms during the ceremony.
All went very well so that when the time came his mother surrendered her charge to my arms , and nothing happened. He looked at me with some puzzlement but I wondered what would happen when I sprinkled water on his head. But once again “ all was quiet on the western front.”
It was my custom after baptism to carry the child down the aisle and back. Once again there was no objection on his part. When I returned the child to the parents they stood there in total disbelief at what had transpired so peacefully.
It seemed that a corner had been turned and I take no responsibility or credit for this change. Nor did the child henceforth “make strange” with others. I am happy to say that he has now graduated from university without making much of a fuss.
Within the churches the sacrament of baptism has been much discussed. The most noted Protestant theologian of the past century, Professor Karl Barth of Basel, Switzerland, did not believe in infant baptism but advocated that only when candidates are old enough to understand and decide for themselves should baptism take place . He was not a Baptist but a Reformed theologian.
I myself was not baptised until I was 24 years of age and well on my way to ordination as a minister of the United Church of Canada. How could this happen? Both my parents had left their respective churches before I was born, my mother the Roman Catholic Church because it seemed too archaic for her time, and father the Lutheran Church because it was too German nationalistic when that really mattered. Thus I was never baptised. Only after coming to Canada and attending Sunday School with my friends was I drafted into the communicants or church membership class. It was simply assumed that we had all been “watered down” and thus were duly confirmed.
Later as a theological student I began to think about this omission. I discussed the matter with a fellow student, a professor/mentor and the minister of a local congregation whom I highly respected. We decided that although my eternal salvation was not in jeopardy I should nevertheless undergo the rite. Thus on a Saturday morning in an empty sanctuary but in the presence of a few friends the deed was accomplished and I was regularized, so to speak.
To my mind and in the thinking of my rather theologically progressive denomination, baptism doesn’t do anything to the eternal destiny of the soul. Having just read Son of A Certain Woman by the quintessential Newfoundland writer Wayne Johnston, I was made aware of the pressure some have undergone to submit to baptism for the rescue of their souls from eternal damnation and thus to gain entry to the realm of the blessed departed and the divinity itself albeit after a time of purgation. It also gained Browny Points for the persuaders.
I believe that this rite is rather an acknowledgement that the individual at any age is a member of the family and household of God.
The baptism, or christening as Anglicans prefer to call it, has a particular significance. Prince George, as future king, if indeed the monarchy still persists, will become Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England, a mighty responsibility for any shoulders.
In a day and age when many, if not most, by word and deed affirm that “God is dead” does it much matter who defends the faith? We have become more like the ancient Romans and Greeks who worshipped many gods. The Apostle Paul on visiting Athens said the following , “ As I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription ‘To The Unknown God’..., him I declare unto you.” (Acts 17 : 23) Like those people of long ago we worship many gods, among them Mercury , a god who specialized in communication, and dare I suggest for our time god of the Internet, in whom we invest much time, money and trust.
It is my hope that the future King George will defend faith in a God not only of the Church of England or any other denomination or religion but the God of Love and Peace and Justice in the very difficult times that lie ahead for all humankind.
God bless young George and all his family.
SQ 24/10/2013
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