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Godparents

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My brother asked me to be the Godfather to his first child, and I got to thinking- how many people still have Godparents? I know it's big in my family, but my friends don't seem to think it's important. Besides the obvious religious overtones, I gather that it's more of a dying tradition then it is a necessary practice.

 

Thoughts?

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I have Godparents, as does everyone in my family.

 

But my family is pretty Catholic.

 

Besides, fuck what your friends think; your brother asked.

Well yeah- I never go to my friends for any sort of religious or family advice, I was just making conversation with 'em. My family is uber Catholic, too- my mom ran my CCD class for 3 years.

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My brother asked me to be the Godfather to his first child, and I got to thinking- how many people still have Godparents? I know it's big in my family, but my friends don't seem to think it's important. Besides the obvious religious overtones, I gather that it's more of a dying tradition then it is a necessary practice.

 

Thoughts?

 

The latter. Dying Tradition. IMO, of course.

 

...and not to offend (seriously), but what's the point? You're already going to be the the kids uncle. Is being his godfather supposed to make you love him more, or something? :lol:

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I think the point of being a Godparent is that you become responsible for the child in the event their parents die.

 

But I think that kind of thing would be dealt with through legal means now instead (like, it might be in a will as to who would watch the child, not just whoever their Godparents are).

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It's neither a necessary practice OR a dying tradition. It's definition has changed over time, but it still happens more often than not, I think.

 

I'm the Godfather for my nephew, but I really don't treat him any differently than I do my niece. And I doubt that if my sister & her husband die I will be responsible for my nephew because he's my Godson ... I might be responsible for both, or neither, but it's not like they'd give me custody of my nephew and then give niece's Godfather (or Godmother) custody of her.

 

And in terms of what it really means, I'll probably do things for him as he grows older that I won't do for her (e.g. take him to a Red Sox game or a Bruins game) and treat it as a Godfather/Godson thing.

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I haven't seen my Godfather in like 15 years. I remember him always wearing black glasses for some reason. I don't think he was blind though.

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It comes from an old tradition, where, since people tended to not live as long, the godparents would take responsibility for the child if the parents died. Obviously this generally isn't much of an issue anymore, but in ye olden days it was a concern.

 

In some churchs, like the synod I belong to, the godparents are also supposed to show some responsiblity, at least symbolically, for bringing up the child in that faith.

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From what I gather from my church, it is the responsibility of the Godparents to make sure the child has a Catholic upbringing in the tragic events that the parents die- whether or not that means the Godparents get custody, I don't is so clearly defined in the church. Regardless, I just like being called Godfather.

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I don't think you need to be religious to believe in naming godparents.

 

I don't have any, though.

 

I thought this was amusing:

http://www.mysticed.com/2005/06/my-godson-...in-is-here.html

 

There was a customer who called in to my center a few months ago...and his *first name* was "Master Merlin."

 

I about died of laughter when the guy who took the call recapped it. "May I call you Master?"

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I am the godfather of my niece, but I don't exactly know what it means. It would be cool if I actually got called "Godfather" though instead of Uncle.

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I at once was insulted because my friends awarded someone else godparent to their children, then I went to the first birthday and overdid the present,and made the god daddy look like a broke uncle. Now I realize bringing the booze to the birthday party is more than sufficient.

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I would like to be a godfather so I could do Marlon Brando impressions.

 

My old man once walked out of Godfather's Pizza because somebody was smoking a joint right at the table. This was the Godfather's across from Disneyland, too.

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Guest cosbywasmurdered

I have Godparent's and they've always been like second parents to me. My son has Godparents as well.

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My godmother doesn't share any blood with me. She has just been my mother's best friend for, shit...forty years. She's awesome though. I know that if for some odd reason my immediate family was slaughtered, I would be welcome to move in. She's the cool aunt I never had.

 

My godfather is my cousin who has thirty years on me. Lets just say my dad was 45 when I was born and he was the baby in his family. He's alright. He chain smokes, runs a Cracker Barrel, and is a big John Wayne fan.

 

I don't know if I will want my children to have godparents. I don't know if I can give the title to anybody at the moment, because the idea of a godparent means something to me. Besides, I'm sure I'll fuck up and marry a girl that embellished before the wedding, and winds up not sharing any of my values. The last straw will be if she doesn't let me name our first son Ed, or if she has the parenting skills of a scarecrow.

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I have Fairy Godparents, does that count?

Odd parents...fairly odd parents?

 

edit: 2000 postesess!!! :o

Edited by Carnival

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