“....repent and be baptized...”
Kinda means you have to know what repent mean and do that as well. Being dunked under water or being sprinkled with water is a bath / shower without the first part of repentance. A child that does not know right from wrong does not know what repenance means and is therfore not able to repent.
“...repent and be baptized...” refers to adult converts. Just as the children of adult converts to Judaism were included in the covenant via circumcision once the adult convert had himself been circumcised, so are the children of adult converts to Christianity called to baptize their children as their inclusion in the new covenant where there is neither man nor woman, slave nor free....
“A child that does not know right from wrong does not know what repenance means and is therfore not able to repent.”
and therefore sprinkling a bit of water on the poor kid means nothing to him/her.
| Infant Baptism by Mark J. Bonocore Is it correct and Apostolic to Baptize infants and children before the age of reason? Well, first of all, it must be admitted that there is no specific reference to infant Baptism in the Scriptures. However, that's really beside the point, since there is nothing that speaks against infant Baptism either; and, as you and I were discussing at the Oratory, there is also no Scriptural account of Baptizing retarded or mentally-imbalanced people, yet the Church has always done so. Case in point, in Matthew 17:14-18, we are told how Jesus cast out a demon from a young boy because of an appeal by the boy's father:
And Jesus heals the boy because of the father's faith. Now, obviously, it was not possible for this boy to have faith in Jesus on his own. He was psychologically and spiritually disturbed (whether naturally or supernaturally); yet Jesus used the father's faith to make him whole again. So, if such a thing is possible with demonic possession, why should Baptism be any different? Many retarded and/or insane people do not have the ability to reason so as to "accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior" (as the Evangelicals say ;-) Yet, didn't Jesus come to save them as well? Don't they need to be Baptized into Christ? (Rom 6:3; Gal 3:27) Well, if so, then why should we assume that the ability to reason is necessary for Baptism? Why can't babies be Baptized before they reach the age of reason? Well, an Evangelical might tell you that it's because the ability to reason is necessary before one can sin. And, indeed, that is very true. We Catholics have an old expression:
So, our Evangelical brothers and sisters try to apply this to Baptism. In the case of an infant or a retarded person, they will say that these lack the ability to reason, and therefore they are free of guilt. And, again, that is very true. However, think about what it implies. :-) What this implies is that infants and retarded people do not need a Savior! Which, to us Catholics, is completely ridiculous. :-) We know from Scripture itself that Christ came to save everybody, including infants and retarded people. He is their Savior just as much as He is the Savior of rational, healthy adults. So, the real issue with those who deny infant Baptism is that they deny the reality of what we call original sin, something which non-Catholics usually confuse with "original guilt" (which Catholics DO NOT believe in). For example, we do not hold that a child is born guilty of sin. That is not the Catholic position at all. Rather, we believe that the child is personally innocent; however, because of the sin of Adam and Eve, the child is born with a "macula" (in Latin, a "dark spot") -- a lack of the light of God's grace in the soul (something the Virgin Mary did not lack, and so she is the Im-maculate Conception). This lack of God's light (grace) is why we have an inclination toward sin; and all people (whether they have the ability to reason or not) suffer from it. Yet, in Baptism, we receive the Holy Spirit, and become adopted sons and daughters of God. The light of God's grace dwells in our souls, and so we have the ability to overcome our sinful inclinations and live as the children of God we are called to be. And this is why we believe that Baptism is a Sacrament. It is not something which we do to ourselves, but it's something that is done to us by God through the ministry of His Church. We merely accept it; or someone else accepts it for us. Source: http://www.philvaz.com/apologetics/a26.htm |
I was raised Methodist, and then went to Southern Baptist and now in a non-denominational evangelical church.
Personally, I think infant baptism is more of a promise the parents make to God to raise the infant up in a Christian household.
Then when the child is old enough, he can join the church (or confirmed in the Catholic church) and that’s when the full affect of the baptism takes place. The part that needs faith and repentence.
My children were baptized as infants. Then my son wanted to be baptized when he was older, and my daughters want to be baptized again in our current church.
I liked baptizing my kids because I was making a pact with God. I was dedicating them to him. (My husband is not very religious. He respected my decision in this matter.)
I grew up in a Southern Baptist church and all my friends and I at some point responded to an altar call and were baptized. I was 9 years old at the time and looking back don't believe for a moment that I had a true conversion at the time, but wanted to be baptized because it seemed the "right time". I didn't actually start walking with the Lord until I was an adult. I wonder how many of those friends are actually walking with the Lord right now. I have siblings who answered an altar call and were baptized when they were kids as well who are in no way living a Christian life nor do they profess Christ anymore.
I also know of adults who have been baptized over and over again because the last one wasn't real, but this latest one is the real thing and so on and so on.
As a recovering baptist, it took me a long time and study to accept infant baptism, but looking at covenant theology it stands to reason that just as God included children in the promise via circumcision, so he also would include them in the promise via baptism. "In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead." Colossians 2:11-12
see Mark 10:13-15, They brought young children to Him... Suffer the little children to come to me....Whoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he stall not enter..
Most translations today state infant instead of young or little children as that is a better translation.. Obviously this implies that infants can have faith..
What would you suggest he repent from, exactly? People who can't commit sin can't repent. Are you saying it's necessary to sin in order to become a Christian?