* There shall be for every Male-child to be baptized, when they can be had, two Godfathers and one Godmother; and for every Female, one Godfather and two Godmothers; and Parents shall be admitted as Sponsors, if it be desired. * When there are children to be baptized, the Parents or Sponsors shall give knowledge thereof to the Minister. And then the Godfathers and Godmothers, and the People with the Children, must be ready at the Font. (Taken from The Book of Common Prayer, 1945) According to The Episcopal Dictionary (H. Harper), a godparent is either a godfather or godmother who sponsors a child at baptism. This is a tradition that they believe dates back to the third century. Although, it is believed that the their function was different in the days of old, today their purpose is to speak on behalf of the infant. Harper further explains that "sponsors are 'spiritual parents', through whose action the child is 'born again', this time into the Christian family." Is this biblical reasoning or another one of the traditions of man? If it is scripturally based then it is Christian doctrine. If it is not then it then it is deception. It deceives not only the sponsors but certainly the precious child to who will mature thinking that all is well with their soul. It seems, first of all, that the Episcopal Church places a lot of burden and responsibility on someone, possibly not even blood-related to the child. Although, no one should cry foul at having a "spiritual parent" in the teaching sense. But this parent or adult should first understand basic biblical doctrines before assuming any roles. The apparent prerequisite of the godparent is that they believe the articles of the church as contained in the Apostle's Creed. And how many sincere godparents can even name the articles of the church as contained in the Apostle's Creed? And if they could, what does that have to do with representing a child's eternity? And, where in the Bible does it speak of surrogates for those who are too young to think and, or, reason? Sincerity is not even an issue. There are no doubt many sincere and even willing adults who would make sacrifices for children that they may not be related but the issue is not sincerity. The question is: Is it doctrinally sound in its teachings? If it is doctrinally sound in its teachings then the Word of God should so state. But the Word of God is silent. The Episcopal Church admits that it goes back to ancient times. So, what is the exact origin of godparents? Is it simply another tradition lacking biblical support? Is it yet another hand desperately holding on to the Roman Catholic Church? What does the Word of God say? Galatians 1:14 reads, "And (Paul) profited in the Jews religion above many of my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers." Paul is talking about his former life of being a lost sinner. Now he emphatically states that he does not need the traditions of old. Paul writes in Colossians 2:8, "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." Having godparents is a tradition of men. It is unbiblical. It looks really religious and makes people feel good about themselves. So, what is a godparent? It is another step, long since taken, away from the truth.