Sprinkling a little water on a baby's head is not the water baptism described in Scripture. Nor is a person born again when he gets wet.
Conversion is a heart issue. An infant cannot make that kind of choice and nobody can make it for him.
Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and it is recorded in the Bible.
Yup. As an adult.....
The former and non Catholics imply in the concept of “born again” that you are “saved” and entitled to eternal life with God just because you say that you believe.
Not simply because we declare it but experientially.
Claiming that Christians think they're saved because they say so is a Catholic talking point misinterpretation and misunderstanding of the new birth.
It gives you a new nature, one that is dramatically different than the one before.
The evidence is in the change in every aspect in our lives. The way we think changes, what we do, how we see things, our sensitivity to sin and the leading of the Holy Spirit, the revulsion to sin and conviction of it when we do is plenty of evidence.
Nope. We are saved NOW. Today is the day of salvation.
Jesus said that whoever believed was saved (past tense). Almost all the Scripture addressing our salvation is in the past tense, and the present tense ones are concerning out growth and maturity in Christ.
Your comment: “Not simply because we declare it but experientially” “Nope. We are saved NOW. Today is the day of salvation”
That sounds like you are saved before your death. That seems to be the intrpretation that you are claiming.
However, Fr. Peter Stravinskas, in his Catholic Dictionary, defines salvation as “The result of being released from death through the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ, which brings us to the newness of life in heaven.” Did you catch that last part? According to this definition, salvation is something that has future significance. It is something that takes place later, when you die and consequently gain victory over death and receive eternal life in heaven.
So, which one is it? Does salvation take place now or later? I think it’s both. By God’s grace, we are every day being saved until we come to that day when God declares us fit to live with Him forever in heaven. That is why, in the Bible, salvation is referred to in the past tense (as something that has already taken place), in the present tense (as something that is taking place), and in the future tense (as something that will take place). Here are a few examples of each:
Past Tense: “in this hope we were saved” (Rom 8:24); “by grace you have been saved” (Eph 2:8).
Present Tense: “to us who are being saved” (1 Cor 1:18); “those who are being saved” (2 Cor 2:15).
Future Tense: “we shall be saved” (Acts 15:11); “he himself will be saved” (1 Cor 3:15).
Now that we know what salvation is, we can answer the question at hand. The Church believes that a person receives salvation both in this life, by living a life of faith and reception of the sacraments, and in the future, by persevering to the end (cf. Rom 11:22; Gal 5:1; Phil 2:12; Col 1:22-23; Heb 3:14) and standing before God with grace and faith intact. May we all “run with perseverance the race that is set before us” (Heb 12:1).
Pax Christi,
phatcatholic