the thief on the cross who asked Jesus to remember him was told "today thou shalt be with me in paradise". Given the fact that the thief died on the cross without being baptised and was promised heaven I'd say no! 

I need help with my daughters Baptisim. I no longer have contact with my family and my husband's family is Jewish. Can I have one Catholic and one non catholic be sponsors for my daughter? Our son was baptised 4 years ago and I was still in contact with my family. Any help would be great. 

Hi Iceglaciers,

As you likely know, different denominations hold different views on whether or not a person has to be baptized to be a Christian. Some say that baptism is necessary, pointing to [Acts 2:38] and similar Bible passages. Others say that, although it should be practised as a witness to others of a person's committing himself or herself to Jesus Christ, baptism is not necessary. Regarding Acts 2:38, the latter observe that in another incident involving the same person, Peter, the gift of the Holy Spirit was given to a group of people before they were baptized [Acts 10:44-48], suggesting that they were saved before they were baptized.

Bob Hunter 

changed on Wednesday, September 05, 2001 8:52:48 PM