If they baby never accepted Jesus then they haven’t turned from the faith.
Baptism is NOT required for salvation...Example: The thief on the cross.
Baptizing an infant serves no purpose. They cannot believe, they are too young to recognize sin in their life.
Pity the priest, or pity the infant?
Who will take a stand for the little one?
“Suffer the little ones, for of such is the Kingdom of God.”
How does a priest get his hands on a baby that has unbelieving parents? Where does the faith of the baby come from?
About the only thing that accomplishes is their head gets wet...
Infant baptism has absolutely nothing to do salvation...
Infants cannot have "faith" as in a belief system...
The simple answer to this question is that, if Adam can abandon his relationship with God, anybody can abandon their relationship with God.
I think SOMETHING happens to us and in us when we are baptized, though “calling on the name of The Lord” is what leads to salvation. I think we’re pretty clueless about God and his manifold wisdom. We receive awareness over time. Salvation happens in that clueless time, in spite of our lack of knowledge. We had a mustard seed of faith. It was enough!
Baptizing a child has a sense of “marking” them for God (if I understand the concept).
Actually, baptism means nothing. You must FIRST confess that you realize you are a sinner, ask Christ for forgiveness of that sin, repent that sin, be saved, and then, as a public show to all that you have repented and changed your life over to Jesus Christ, you can have baptism to show proof. Simple baptism alone means nothing. Without FAITH in Jesus Christ to forgive your sins, it means nothing.
When I was young our parents brought us up in the Grace Brethren Church. They did not believe in infant baptism as they were too young to make that decision. That church baptized by immersion.
In our ritual in the Methodist church, the caveat is “until he shall accept it for himself at an accountable age” or words to that effect as you go from worship book to worship book over the years.
Baptism is the outward evidence of an inward acceptance of Christ as their savior. A baby cannot gain salvation (or anyone else) by being baptized.
In the Catholic Church, the godparents would say the promises for the baby. When the child grows up they will still be a Catholic.
A priest is not required for baptism. Any one can baptize in the name of The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. It is a sacrament within the Catholic Church which affirms faith in Our Father and the trinity through which we understand Him. They are celebrations.
“The Latin word sacramentum means “a sign of the sacred.” The seven sacraments are ceremonies that point to what is sacred, significant and important for (Catholic)Christians. They are special occasions for experiencing God’s saving presence. That’s what theologians mean when they say that sacraments are at the same time signs and instruments of God’s grace.”
In addition to Baptism there are, Communion, Confession, Confirmation, Marriage, Ordination and, Anointment of the dying. None of these lead to salvation.
The Baptism of infants is the, “presentation” of a child to a Christian life and a symbolic cleansing of original sin with which we are all born. The later sacraments reaffirm our relationship with our faith but are not required nor essential for salvation. Salvation is by the Grace of God through ones seeking to live and declare yourself as a follower of Christ.
I pray all Christians would humble themselves in our Lord and not judge each other in how imperfectly we seek Him.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Somewhere usually near the teenage years knowledge of what is sin grows within us. When we receive conviction in our spirit to come to the cross and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior are we from then on accountable.
A child's parents can not do this for them nor a spouse for their spouse. It is a choice we all must face and make of our own free will. A non Baptized child will be with GOD the same as a Baptized because they know not sin nor can yet comprehend salvation.
My belief/view/faith is that faith is not something that can be turned away from. It may be denied, as Peter denied his faith just prior to Christ’s crucifixion. Faith is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). To some it is given early in life, while others must search it out and seek the gift of faith.
Faith is more than making a decision to believe; in fact, I don’t know how “choosing to believe” would work. I pray to God to deepen my faith in Him because I can’t do that for myself.
For this reason I find it hard to judge those who do not believe. Instead, I ask God to give them the gift of faith, or I ask them to consider what their belief is, and why. I ask them to consider what the Bible says and to seek guidance from God (praying to God “if You exist” as I believe God understands the issues of faith we all face.)
For this same reason I have problems with some people’s “decision to convert” to Catholicism or Protestantism, or Judaism or another religion. We may change our religious practices, our denominations, etc. but in the end we believe what we believe. I guess it is possible to renounce the gift of faith, or maybe even to lose it if it is not properly cared for, but we cannot turn from our faith, unless by that one just means that one rebels against God, knowing that He is in fact God.
As you can see, I continue to struggle with this issue, although I feel that my own faith remains strong. I’m going to have a lot of questions when get to heaven (which, by faith, I believe in as well.).
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, meet the mass burial, mass grave known as the Tomb of the Unknown Baby.
Money to erect churches, buy wine, adorn churches, but no money for individual graves...
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Sounds like Christ’s parable of the two servants. The master instructed two servants to go do a certain job.
The first servant said yes, and then walked off and never did it. The other said no, but later thought better of it and went and did what his master desired. Then Christ asked, “Which servant did his master’s will?”
Examples are legend of alcoholics’ children being teetotalers; and vice-versa on issues ad infinitum. Nobody can predict how any one person will turn out.
OK, here it goes... the “accepting Jesus” stuff is CRAP. God is infinite, so His wisdom, mercy and love are also infinite. God made a covenant with Abraham. God does not renege. Jews are God’s people. They don’t need to “accept Jesus”. God chooses imperfect, flawed, failed people (David, Peter, Paul. There are people of every religious strip in heaven and many of them had never heard of Jesus much less “accepted” Him. Who the hell are we to put limits on God. By the way, in case you fire back about what the Bible says, please remember it said Balaam tied his ass to a tree and walked away.
I suppose that depends on the reason you're baptizing the baby in the first place. What do you think is being accomplished by this act of baptism?