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Is christening legally binding?

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Had a discussion with the missus the other night & the subject of christening came up.

 

If someone agrees to be the godmother/father of your child & something happens to you; are they legally bound to look after your child?

 

Could this argument be used in a court if it got that far, if deciding on custody of said child?

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I believe in the "olden" days, yes, godparents took on the responsibility of raising children if the birth parents died etc.

 

These days it seems to be a much more "nominal" thing.

 

As a godparent, you are supposedly (jointly-)responsible for the childs spiritual and moral welfare/ guidance.

 

I think that parents should make a will, on becoming parents, naming whoever it is they intend to be the legal guardian(s) of their child(ren).

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I'm unsure of all this, I'm having my son Christened in May and I'm having 4 God Parents, so I shall have to re-think this one through.

 

You've spoilt it now, lol lol

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Sorry Mick!!

 

No probs, it's actually good to know what others think.

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What PT says. :)

 

Godparents are supposed to provide the spiritual and moral compass for their Godchildren. There's nothing about being legal Guardians in there - that's a different kettle of fish.

 

They're also there to make sure that the child is bought up in the Christian faith.

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No, there's nothing legally binding in terms of guardianship - it's only a moral guardian role.

Although - I have all bases covered as the couple who are appointed in my will as being guardians of my child if anything happens to me, are also godparents!

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My mate was wholly insulted a few years ago when a lad from school who he had not seen for a decade, seriously asked him to be the godfather of his son. My mate has no religious faith at all and has little interest in children, and he feels that the Father was taking a liberty asking him as he had never been a good friend to him, although they had sat together in school in some classes.

 

I would personally happily take on the role of Godfather to someone's child if I knew them very well and they were more than an aquaintence they would have to be a good friend or relative, but I would totally object if it was someone who I had not seen for sometime. How can you give appropriate guidence to a child when you don't share any common ground with their parents, it would only cause resentment.

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i thought a godparent has more right over ur child than the grandparetns-should both parents die. we chose ours very wisely for our boy. my sister(young carefree) joint best best(very wealthy and intellegent) my best friend(so hed have a link to me if i died) and my hubs two best friends(both have wonderful children and good business men-good for advice later in his life)

not sure about who to chose for this next one-run out of good friends! hehe!

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Unless you a practicing Christian, what is the point in having a child 'christened'

What you are doing is promising to bring the child up as a Christian.

The godparents are there to enforce this promise.

The law does not enter into it, it is a promise before God.

 

As the only time most of us go into a church is to look at Minsters etc, or for the occasional wedding that is held in a church (very rare these days) so why bother.

In fact you will probably have difficulty finding a vicar or priest willing to do it, especially for some of the cynical, money driven, reasons given by some people.

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Unless you a practicing Christian, what is the point in having a child 'christened'

What you are doing is promising to bring the child up as a Christian.

The godparents are there to enforce this promise.

The law does not enter into it, it is a promise before God.

 

As the only time most of us go into a church is to look at Minsters etc, or for the occasional wedding that is held in a church (very rare these days) so why bother.

In fact you will probably have difficulty finding a vicar or priest willing to do it, especially for some of the cynical, money driven, reasons given by some people.

 

I agree with this.

 

I dont understand non religious people, who have a non religious wedding, but then get their child Christened.

 

In all honesty, a Christening in this day and age is almost ritualistic, and holds little, if any religious significance for the protagonists involved.

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Unless you a practicing Christian, what is the point in having a child 'christened'

What you are doing is promising to bring the child up as a Christian.

The godparents are there to enforce this promise.

The law does not enter into it, it is a promise before God.

 

As the only time most of us go into a church is to look at Minsters etc, or for the occasional wedding that is held in a church (very rare these days) so why bother.

In fact you will probably have difficulty finding a vicar or priest willing to do it, especially for some of the cynical, money driven, reasons given by some people.

totally agree-i find it 2faced of people who have their children christened but never intend to attend church after the occasion. I have to admit we went to our local church just after babes was born to find out what it was like and if it was a place wed enjoy going. im christian but hated boring church as a child-luckily our church is cool, bright breezing young fresh new and actually explain things to you. We found them really welcoming, i attended the toddler group with my newborn and we go to church most sundays. He was born in the aug but we didnt get him christened until march, as i wanted to make sure it was what we wanted.

My vicar was very honest with us, said not to feel forced into christening, we could have blessing if we wanted and it was our choice no pressure etc...

Thats how it should be, not doing it because u feel u should

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