[NYer]

One thing the Catholic Church should change is when Baptism is performed. Baptism should occur as the result of a person’s commitment to Christ; not some formality performed on a baby. This type of ritualized behavior sets the stage for the idea that if you engage in the ritual, you will be given the blessing even if you have no idea what the ritual means.

Dear friend in Christ, infant baptism dates back to the earliest centuries of the church, as corroborated by the Early Church Fathers.

"Baptize first the children; and if they can speak for themselves, let them do so. Otherwise, let their parents or other relatives speak for them."
St. Hippolytus of Rome ("The Apostolic Tradition," 215 A.D.)

Infant Baptism is biblical. In Acts 10:47-48, we read that Peter baptized the entire house of Cornelius, which generally included infants and young children. There is not one word in Scripture about baptism being limited to adults. In Acts 16:15, Paul baptized Lydia and her entire household. The word "household" comes from the Greek word "oikos" which is a household that includes infants and children. Paul baptizes the household based on Lydia's faith, not the faith of the members of the household. This demonstrates that parents can present their children for baptism based on the parents' faith, not the children's faith.

[jonrick46]

The debate over the indiscriminate practice of infant baptism has gone on for more than 160 years, since Soren Kierkegaard’s Attack upon Christendom. I will not add to the debate. However, from what I have read, the Roman Catholic Church is moving away from its emphasis on infant baptism. This is a good thing. It performs infant baptism as a affirmation of the faith of the adults present. The adults promise to provide the infant with a Christian upbringing. I suppose in the early church, with entire households being baptized, that the objective was to bring a commitment to the faith by all members of the family. It is my criticism that with extended families being smaller in size and spread out due to the mobility of our society, that the commitment is not as strong. It would be better if more emphasis were made for adult baptism as a sacrament of faith and according to the Church of England Theological Commission, "the focus of a creative act of God whereby a man is made one with Christ in his death, and resurrection, cleansed from his sin, admitted into the fellowship of the Ecclesia which is Christ’s Body, given the adoption of Sonship to the Father, and sealed with the Holy Spirit unto the day of redemption."(The Theology of Christian Initiation (London: SPCK, 1949), pg 9.

I will credit the Roman Catholic Church with its practice of Confirmation. However it is the entire process of conversion, beginning with adult baptism and culminating in mature confirmation that is sacramentally effective. Being raised in the Roman Catholic Church, I believe that being confirmed at 11 years old was not what I consider a mature confirmation. I believe the Church puts it members through such a sacrament at too young of a age. By doing so, the person misses the real benefit one would get through their maturity. It is like the Church is so hung up on their theology that they fail to make their theology effective for the believer. And by doing so, many of their believers are falling into the moral quagmire because of their weak faith.