[adiaireton8]

You did not address the flaw of infant baptism within the Catholic Church that I could see.

What flaw would that be?

How can the Catholic Church say that infants are saved?

We know that baptized infants who die are saved, because we know that baptism "confers the grace of justification", and "effects the remission of all punishments of sin", and is "valid and licit" for young children. (Those three are all infallible Catholic dogmas.)

What assurances do they have? Isn't your "trust" actually "hope"?

No, because we have an authoritative and infallible Magisterium. Calvinists have no authoritative or infallible magisterium (well actually, they have one [ours] but they do not recognize or acknowlege it).

You say Dr. E's position is wrong, that they cannot have assurance, and then it is the position of your own Church that baptized children are assured. ... Don't you see a bit of a disconnect?

The Calvinistic conception of assurance requires knowing one's election [to glory] status in order to have assurance. The Catholic conception of assurance is not the same as the Calvinistic conception of assurance. The Catholic conception of assurance does not require knowing one's election [to glory] status. Therefore there is no hypocrisy (on my part) pointing out a contradiction with Dr. E.'s position regarding assurance with respect to baptized infants while at the same time holding that we [Catholics] can have assurance that baptized infants are saved.

-A8

[HarleyD]

We know that baptized infants who die are saved, because we know that baptism "confers the grace of justification", and "effects the remission of all punishments of sin", and is "valid and licit" for young children. (Those three are all infallible Catholic dogmas.)

You know because someone told you. There is no scripture to back any of this up.

No, because we have an authoritative and infallible Magisterium. Calvinists have no authoritative or infallible magisterium

It's "infallible" because you guys say it's "infallible". In my mind it wasn't very infallible when it declare people could pay they way out of purgatory and then retracted it 150 years later. That was a big "OOPS"!

The Calvinistic conception of assurance requires knowing one's election [to glory] status in order to have assurance.

If that is the case, how do you know that an infant doesn't know they have been elected. An infant can't talk. Perhaps they know they've been elected and have that assurance. You just don't know. Dr. E. position could be completely correct.

The Catholic conception of assurance does not require knowing one's election [to glory] status.

If you are assured, then wouldn't you know that you are elect? It seems to me Dr. E's position makes more sense.

[Marysecretary]

ALL infants, baptized or not, will go to heaven. Good grief. Their innocence will assure them of that.