What Is The Difference Between Baptism,and Christening?

In the Catholic denomination, baptism and christening are just different words that mean the same thing. If you go to Catholic Answers on the web, you will read why we are one of the denominations who do insist on infant baptism. There is no mention of waiting for an appropriate age for baptism or making a choice for Christ in the Bible....it is assumed that children in the early Christian homes were baptized as infants, since death could occur at any time and the Bible says that we cannot enter Heaven unless we are baptized. There are also references to entire households being baptized at once, so one can safely assume that some are young children. The purpose of Godparents is to accept Christ for the infant because they cannot yet express themselves. Baptism also confers grace, and so is considered a sacrament.

the Bible does not say one must be baptized to enter Heaven- what about the thief on the cross? I doubt if he was taken down, baptized then- re crucified. the Bible mentions being baptized with fire and water- all meaning cleansing and new birth.

And when the child is old enough they make there own commitment through confirmation. Or they dont.

Here's a little more on baptism. There are some special circumstances, but also notice the words of Martin Luther later in this excerpt: Christians have always interpreted the Bible literally when it declares, "Baptism . . . now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 3:21; cf. Acts 2:38, 22:16, Rom. 6:3–4, Col. 2:11–12).

Thus the early Church Fathers wrote in the Nicene Creed (A.D. 381), "We believe in one baptism for the forgiveness of sins."

And the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "The Lord himself affirms that baptism is necessary for salvation [John 3:5]. . . . Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament [Mark 16:16]" (CCC 1257).

The Christian belief that baptism is necessary for salvation is so unshakable that even the Protestant Martin Luther affirmed the necessity of baptism. He wrote: "Baptism is no human plaything but is instituted by God himself. Moreover, it is solemnly and strictly commanded that we must be baptized or we shall not be saved. We are not to regard it as an indifferent matter, then, like putting on a new red coat. It is of the greatest importance that we regard baptism as excellent, glorious, and exalted" (Large Catechism 4:6).

Yet Christians have also always realized that the necessity of water baptism is a normative rather than an absolute necessity. There are exceptions to water baptism: It is possible to be saved through "baptism of blood," martyrdom for Christ, or through "baptism of desire", that is, an explicit or even implicit desire for baptism.

Thus the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "Those who die for the faith, those who are catechumens, and all those who, without knowing of the Church but acting under the inspiration of grace, seek God sincerely and strive to fulfill his will, are saved even if they have not been baptized" (CCC 1281; the salvation of unbaptized infants is also possible under this system; cf. CCC 1260–1, 1283).