There is a growing movement of atheists that think by getting a certificate of "debaptism", that it will have a real effect on undoing the baptism they didn't consent to that they got as babies.
Only problem is that baptism marks the soul and cannot be removed. From the Vatican website on Baptism:
Related Link: Following atheist trend, Britons seek 'de-baptism'
"We now produce a certificate on parchment and we have sold 1,500 units at three pounds (4.35 dollars, 3.20 euros) a pop," said NSS president Terry Sanderson, 58.
John Hunt, a 58-year-old from London and one of the first to try to be "de-baptised," held that he was too young to make any decision when he was christened at five months old.
Wow.
The male nurse said he approached the Church of England to ask it to remove his name. "They said they had sought legal advice and that I should place an announcement in the London Gazette," said Hunt, referring to one of the official journals of record of the British government.
So that's what he did -- his notice of renouncement was published in the Gazette in May 2008 and other Britons have followed suit.
Michael Evans, 66, branded baptising children as "a form of child abuse" -- and said that when he complained to the church where he was christened he was told to contact the European Court of Human Rights.
Only problem is that baptism marks the soul and cannot be removed. From the Vatican website on Baptism:
272 Incorporated into Christ by Baptism, the person baptized is configured to Christ. Baptism seals the Christian with the indelible spiritual mark (character) of his belonging to Christ. No sin can erase this mark, even if sin prevents Baptism from bearing the fruits of salvation.82 Given once for all, Baptism cannot be repeated.Oh well, if these people ever come back into the Church, they are going to have one hell of a confession to make.
Related Link: Following atheist trend, Britons seek 'de-baptism'