Yesterday in church, there was a baby dedication done. One of the case was that of an unwed mother. She got pregnant out of wedlock, and yesterday the Pastor did a baby dedication (committing the Child unto the Lord), at the Altar, the father of the child was not there and he is not a true Christian. Now, I don't know if she is repentant for having sex outside marriage, and I know for certain she was not counseled in the church after she got pregnant. My question is what does the bible say about doing a baby dedication in church for an unwed Mother. I don't argue about dedication of a child but about doing it in church at the altar?
Answer
Any time a person wants to promise to raise their child as a Christian, I wouldn’t object. I wouldn’t care what the person’s background was.
The Bible doesn’t say anything about doing a baby dedication in church for an unwed mother, because the Bible doesn’t say anything about baby dedications in church. Since this is a human tradition, it is up to the people who established the tradition or follow it to determine what the rules are for that tradition. If the leaders of the church allow anyone to go through the dedication, that is their choice.
The one case of a baby dedication in the Bible that immediately comes to my mind is that of Samuel (1 Samuel 1). In that case the mother dedicated the baby to the Lord, and a soon as he was able she delivered him to the Temple, and she only saw him occasionally afterward. Most mothers would not be willing to do this kind of dedication, and most churches are not equipped to raise children that would be dedicated like this.
The other issue I see here is that this woman may have repented just between her and God. There is no biblical requirement for public repentance. Nor is there a biblical requirement for any kind of church counseling. It is not up to any human to judge such a person because we cannot read her mind. To refuse her the right to a dedication ceremony, if such is her desire, could end up with her having such hurt feelings that she decides that she doesn’t want to raise her child up to be judgmental like the Christians with whom she has dealt. Then not only she, but also the child, could be lost. That would be a heavy burden to hang around your own neck.