Hi RinaGreen
Do you feel if your husband was to get to the bottom of why she wants your son Christened things would become more understandable for everyone involved? Everyone has different reasons behind why they want a child christened. A few different reasons
- For the sake of tradition, to some degree. I know plenty of non practicing Christians who have gotten married in the church. Whether it's a woman's wedding day or a baby's Christening day, both wear a long white gown and are celebrated during an after party/reception. It remains an enjoyable tradition for some
- Out of pure fear. The long held belief that a person should be Christened in order to 'cleanse them of sins' and have them 'able to get into heaven' is something that drives a person to have a child Christened. The fear that a child will suffer if they don't have this ritual performed can be an intense obsessive driving force
- Out of some sense of guilt or sense of failure. Whether your mother in law is in some way considering what her parents, friends or the church would think of her could be a factor, if she didn't see your little one Christened
Being an ex Catholic gal, I've been on both sides of the fence. While my kids are now 17 and 20, I pulled away from the church/Christian institution for a number of reasons, therefor my kids stopped pretty early when it came to making their way through the earlier part of the 7 sacraments/rituals. Even earlier and I probably wouldn't have had them Christened, much to the horror of those around me.
Maybe saying to your mother in law something like the following may make some difference to her, 'While I plan on raising a child who holds the qualities of Christ (compassion, open mindedness, a deep sense of consciousness, love and caring for others etc), I have no interest in having him involved in the rituals of the Christian institution. If he chooses this way when he's older, that becomes his choice'. Plenty of people are Christened as adults.
