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God Father
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
My friend just rung me out of the blue today and asked me if I want to be his Son's God Father .. I was very honored to be asked but totally shocked cos his son is like 8 or 9 or something!!
I'm not even Christian .. I said I'd be happy to be his God Father but I'm not even sure what's involved ..
Is it a religious thing? .. do you need to be Christian?
Anyone a God Parent - what's involved?
I'm not even Christian .. I said I'd be happy to be his God Father but I'm not even sure what's involved ..
Is it a religious thing? .. do you need to be Christian?
Anyone a God Parent - what's involved?
0
Comments
Yes, it's a religious thing, although it's getting more of a trendy thing these days. Your Godparents are supposed to help your parents to bring you up in the way of the church.
Needing to be Christian depends on the denomination - my nephew was christened in a Catholic church, and his Godfather needed a special dispensation from the priest as he was C of E. Some are fussier than others - you'd need to check.
:no:
The clue is in the name. GOD-parents. And i don't get why you would be christened if you aren't religious. I don't mean die-hard religious, but it's all about choosing a faith for your child and saving them from original sin and whatnot.
What duties would that be now?
I do take the religious aspect seriously as I am Roman Catholic, my Godson was christened RC and I was chosen partly because I believed in the Roman Cathollic Church and was a practising Catholic (though I am not anymore, I still do have a strong faith). However, his Godfather was chosen not for religious reasons but because he was seen as someone good to look after him and help him to grow as a person. The reasons for choosing someone to be a Godparent can vary greatly between families but if you've been asked then I would say it is a great compliment and a wonderful responsibility, particularly if you do not have any children of your own.
Oh yeah, and you do have to fork out a bit more for presents but it's fun! Personally I like the excuse to be able to spend more time with my Godson compared to just being a random relative!
The father is Anglican, and there's no other brothers and isster he's an only child and I'm pretty sure it's gonna stay that way!!
Things like a naming ceremony and a party are fine, but why do the whole church/religion thing if you know you are never going to set foot in that church again? I just find the whole deal really odd. It's like when totally unreligious people want to get married in a church.
And being a godparent doesn't mean you would automatically become the child's guardian if anything should happen to the parents, iirc, although you can specify that if that's what you want for your kids. If anything should happen to my godson's parents, he would be looked after by his maternal grandparents, not his godparents.
I agree with this completely.
As it happens, I don't have godparents. They aren't part of the christening ceremony in the Free Church. I had a designated "person I would live with if something happened to mum and dad" but that was just my parents wishes being known.
True, also.
It would be quite difficult for godparents to look after the child if the godfather is the dads brother and lives in Sheffield and the godmother is the mothers best friend and lives in Edinburgh.
in my case they've been a bit pointless.
See - that's it I think if someone agrees to be someone's God Parent they should make the effort to see the child once in a while, send them a Birthday card, etc
Crossed wires! No, I'm not saying non-religious people shouldn't celebrate the arrival of their babies, and give them role models and mentors, just questioning why they'd want to use a religious method of doing it.
What you've described sounds lovely, much nicer than forcing a traditional christening when you are not into the whole thing :yes:
i used to get a card off them at christmas. she was good friends with my mum then they drifted apart and we moved.
PS. I cannot believe this thread has gotten so long without someone saying "You make him an offer he can't refuse".........
As I'm sure you well know.
And modern parents really expect that off their Godparents?
Don't know what I'm supposed to do like.
I don't even know my god parents.
Very often it was done for for social/family reasons (mother in laws wield large amounts of power). This might not be so common now though.
I put a bit of cash into a savings account for the kid though, and I send presents and shit, but that's about it.
Maybe when he's a bit older I'll take him out, tell him stories about his old man.
I was raised Catholic, but not strictly, but any last bit of belief I had was destroyed by the bitch RE teacher at my school. I hate her.
Yeah