Baptism

[SavedbyHisBlood]

Hello All

My wife grew up going to church at the Assembilies of God, and i am Catholic. I agree with baptism of an infant to remove the stain of original sin, however, my wife believes that to be baptized one must be aware of Jesus and have a sinful nature (and old enough to do so). She also argues that a baby can’t possibly have a sinful nature because it’s just a baby.

So, I would like to see if i can get a list of biblical verses both in support of, and against infant baptism. That way i can sit down with her and be knowledgable about what verses are for infant baptism (maybe a few on original sin) and also against so i can know what she will respond with. Also, if anyone has a good explination of it for someone that isn’t Catholic and doesn’t see eye to eye with our doctrines i’d appriciate that too!!

Thanks in advance

 

[Scoobyshme]

Here’s a few good articles…

catholic.com/library/Infant_Baptism.asp

catholic.com/library/Early_Teachings_of_Infant_Baptism.asp

catholic.com/library/Necessity_of_Baptism.asp

catholic.com/library/Born_Again_in_Baptism.asp

As an A of G person, she’s probably decidedly Sola Scriptura (the Bible as the SOLE rule of faith). However, nowhere in the Bible does it say that. The best they can do is show the Bible says it is useful.

You might want to sit down with her and view the three-part online video, “Origin of the Bible” at the following link:

alabamacatholicresources.com/Bible.html

That may open her eyes some.

And pray a lot before you sit down to talk with her. Stack the deck, in other words!

 

[Bookcat]

From the Catechism

The Baptism of infants

1250 Born with a fallen human nature and tainted by original sin, children also have need of the new birth in Baptism to be freed from the power of darkness and brought into the realm of the freedom of the children of God, to which all men are called.50 The sheer gratuitousness of the grace of salvation is particularly manifest in infant Baptism. The Church and the parents would deny a child the priceless grace of becoming a child of God were they not to confer Baptism shortly after birth.51

1251 Christian parents will recognize that this practice also accords with their role as nurturers of the life that God has entrusted to them.52

1252 The practice of infant Baptism is an immemorial tradition of the Church. There is explicit testimony to this practice from the second century on, and it is quite possible that, from the beginning of the apostolic preaching, when whole “households” received baptism, infants may also have been baptized.53

50 Cf. Council of Trent (1546): DS 1514; cf. Col 1:12-14.
51 Cf. CIC, can. 867; CCEO, cann. 681; 686, 1.
52 Cf. LG 11; 41; GS 48; CIC, can. 868.
53 Cf. Acts 16:15, 33; 18:8; 1 Cor 1:16; CDF, instruction, Pastoralis actio: AAS 72 (1980) 1137-1156.

 

[Aaron_I]

my wife believes that to be baptized one must be aware of Jesus and have a sinful nature (and old enough to do so). She also argues that a baby can’t possibly have a sinful nature because it’s just a baby.

From Psalm 51 (NAB translation): “True, I was born guilty, a sinner, even as my mother conceived me.” Also, St. Augustine in his Confessions reflects on the sinful inclinations of infants.

The problem most Protestants have with infant baptism is that babies can’t choose Christ. That has some merit to it. But then some of them let their 6-year-old kids say the “Jesus Prayer” and guarantee their salvation forever (i.e. OSAS). The Catholic viewpoint is simple. Baptism is a wellspring of grace and it is by baptism that we are born again (John 3:5). Indeed this same baptism and rebirth is necessary for heaven. Jesus gives no qualifications about age or even the merits of the person to be baptized. Who are we, then, to withhold children from baptism? Jesus himself called the children to come to him (Matthew 19:14), even though the disciples disapproved.

None of us will be perfected until heaven, and consequently none of us will be able to choose to follow Christ perfectly. Preventing infants from being baptized is based upon a faulty notion of baptism that assumes that the recipient “deserves” or has merited the baptism. Faith is a gift from God that we have not earned, and the same is true of baptism.

 

[bona_fides_1]

Your wife is parroting a false gospel that has absolutely no scriptural basis. No where in scripture is there a commandment to exclude children or infants from the kingdom or anyone else due to mental handicap or lack of mental facilities. Quite the contrary!

This entire idea of a person having to be the age consent has heretical gnostic roots and not one shred of scriptural support. These errors would have all humans held hostage to mental aptitude and personal knowledge or what’s in a person’s brain as the key for salvation rather than letting everyone “come to the Lord” to accept God’s free and abundant grace. This kind of theological error comes from severe lack of biblical scholarship and fails to comprehend Paul’s explicit reference to baptism replacing the Jewish rite of circumcision (1 Cor 2:11-12) that was performed on all Jewish males a few days after birth (by day 8).
Acts 7:8 Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth*.

Matthew 19:14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Luke 18:15 People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them.

Acts 2:38-39 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

Matthew 29:19 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. [ed: no age restriction mentioned here]

1 Cor 7:14 14 For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. [ed: proof that a child can be baptised based on the faith of even only 1 believing parent]

1 Cor 2:11-12 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

More here: scripturecatholic.com/baptism.html#baptism-III

BF

 

[panevino]

John 3:5 &
children saved by parents faith on night of Passover
Parents had to show faith by blood on door frame. Ex 12:22…

confirmation when older

 

[JustaServant]

Hello All

My wife grew up going to church at the Assembilies of God, and i am Catholic. I agree with baptism of an infant to remove the stain of original sin, however, my wife believes that to be baptized one must be aware of Jesus and have a sinful nature (and old enough to do so). She also argues that a baby can’t possibly have a sinful nature because it’s just a baby.

So, I would like to see if i can get a list of biblical verses both in support of, and against infant baptism. That way i can sit down with her and be knowledgable about what verses are for infant baptism (maybe a few on original sin) and also against so i can know what she will respond with. Also, if anyone has a good explination of it for someone that isn’t Catholic and doesn’t see eye to eye with our doctrines i’d appriciate that too!!

Thanks in advance

Genesis 17
1And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.

2And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.

7And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

10This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.

11And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.

12And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.

13He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

23And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.

27And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.

Genesis 21:4
4And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.

Colossians 2
11In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:

12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

13And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

Acts 16:15 (King James Version)

15And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.

1 Corinthians 1:16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.

Acts 2:

38
Peter (said) to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39
For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call.”

 

[Brian_Culliton]

I don’t understand why you baptize infants. When Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection, He told them that repentance and remission of sins would be preached in His name to all nations. He also told them to go into the entire world and preach the Gospel to everyone; those that believe and are baptized will be saved, but those that believe not will be damned.

Can someone tell me how an infant fits into this scenario?

Can an infant believe the Gospel? Can an infant sin? Can an infant repent?

And what about original sin? Are you saying that an infant who dies without baptism will be condemned because of Adam’s sin? Are you saying that though Adam (the one who committed the original sin) might be reconciled to God through Christ, a newborn baby is not?

Please explain.

 

[Mickey]

I don’t understand why you baptize infants.

Infant baptism was not controversial in the Church during the first two centuries after Christ. St. Polycarp described himself as having been in devoted service to Christ for 86 years in a manner that would clearly indicate a childhood baptism. Pliny describes with amazement that children belong to the Christian cult in just the same way as do the adults. St. Justin Martyr tells of the “many men and women who have been disciples of Christ from childhood.” St. Irenaeus of Lyon wrote about “all who are born again in God, the infants, and the small children . . . and the mature.” St. Hippolytus insisted that “first you should baptize the little ones . . . but for those who cannot speak, their parents should speak or another who belongs to their family.”

Controversy over infant baptism did not arise in its present form until after the Protestant Reformation. Even Martin Luther and John Calvin insisted on the practice. It was with Ulrich Zwingli (1484–1531), of the Swiss Reformed Church, that the first serious objections arose. Several of Zwingli’s students re-baptized themselves, proclaiming that they did so because their infant baptisms were invalid since they were not accompanied by professions of faith. This ignited a debate in the early Reformed churches, which was heavily influenced by social and political dimensions as well as theology. Soon after, former Anglican minister John Smyth (1570–1612) and his followers re-baptized themselves and the Baptist Church was born. The 1644 London Confession of the Calvinist Particular Baptists stated, “Baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament, given by Christ, to be dispersed only upon persons professing faith.” There are many million of Baptists today, and this position on baptism is still among their foremost doctrines.
Protestant objections to baptizing children did not emerge from a vacuum-sealed objective reading of the Scriptures. Such objections arose from assumptions which were of recent origin and should not be retroactively applied to the Scriptures nor to the Church which arose within and around them.

Is infant baptism biblical?
Yes, it is. While there is no description of an individual infant being baptized, the Bible describes five separate household baptisms:
• The Household of Cornelius, Acts 11:13–14: “Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon whose surname is Peter, who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.”
• The Household of Lydia, Acts 16:15: “And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.’ So she persuaded us.”
• The Philippian Jailor’s Household, Acts 16:33: “And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized.”
• The Household of Crispus, Acts 18:8: “Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.”
• The Household of Stephanas, 1 Corinthians 1:16: “Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas.”
Fr John Hainsworth

 

[Mickey]

Can an infant believe the Gospel? Can an infant sin? Can an infant repent?

But children don’t understand the faith!
The assumption behind this objection to infant baptism, one which did not exist in the early Church or in the centuries which followed, is that faith is a product of reason. That to truly believe, our minds must be capable of understanding why we believe, or at least able to provide intellectual consent. For the adult convert to the Orthodox Church, intellectual consent is crucial. Baptism is not magic. It is a voluntary act of submission to God, a consent to live in relationship with God within the covenant He has established through His Son with a larger body of baptized believers, the Church. But at the same time, faith falls flat if it does not go beyond individual reason. It falls flat because it is so individualized, exclusive, and self-centered. Tertullian said famously that “one Christian is no Christian.” It is true that our faith must be personal, that we must have a personal relationship with God. But our faith must not be limited to that personal relationship alone. Our relationship with God is valid only if it is realized in communion with the whole Church.
I’ve spoken of the Church as family, and I want to return to that image. Children can break fellowship with the family if they consider themselves outside the family’s fate. They are family members only in so much as they live as part of the family, accepting all the responsibilities and self-sacrifice that such family status demands. I don’t have to explain this to my children. They understand from birth that they belong to a larger group, and belong in the most intimate way. They know who their father and mother are and where to go for help and for security. The concept of ‘family’ is beyond them, but the reality of family life is not. In other words, children have a sense of belonging a dozen years or more before they understand what this belonging means.
The earthly family is an image of the heavenly family, the family of the Kingdom of God. Children born to a Christian family are born again into the heavenly family through baptism. A child baptized in the Orthodox Church belongs to a spiritual family. This family bridges both heaven and earth, stretches backward and forward in time and includes both saints and angels. Children belong to this family exactly as each of my daughters belongs to my family. They know in a profound way that they belong long before they have some kind of cerebral understanding of that belonging.
Our modern world so exults reason and cerebralism that young children are sometimes treated as not fully human, or are at least treated less seriously than adults because they can’t think like we do. The truth is that a child is a full human being. A child of any age is capable of expressing and participating in the glory of God. Christ Himself sanctified every age as God-bearing, since He was as much the perfect Word of God as an infant as when He was a grown man. We must remember that children are not second-class persons. Their baptisms are as significant to them and to God as adult baptisms. Even if they do not cognitively understand what that baptism means, they are certainly capable of intuitively understanding it.
Fr John Hainsworth

 

[NorCalCatholic]

Hello All

My wife grew up going to church at the Assembilies of God, and i am Catholic. I agree with baptism of an infant to remove the stain of original sin, however, my wife believes that to be baptized one must be aware of Jesus and have a sinful nature (and old enough to do so). She also argues that a baby can’t possibly have a sinful nature because it’s just a baby.

So, I would like to see if i can get a list of biblical verses both in support of, and against infant baptism. That way i can sit down with her and be knowledgable about what verses are for infant baptism (maybe a few on original sin) and also against so i can know what she will respond with. Also, if anyone has a good explination of it for someone that isn’t Catholic and doesn’t see eye to eye with our doctrines i’d appriciate that too!!

Thanks in advance

Remind your wife of the story of the Roman Centurion. He asked Jesus to heal his servant. Jesus was going to go to the Centurion’s house to heal him, but the Centurion begged him not to for he was not worthy. “I am not worthy. Only say the word, and my servant shall be healed”. Sound familiar?

So Jesus healed the servant based soley on the faith of the Roman. The servant had no knowledge of Christ. It is the same with Infant Baptism. A child is baptised based on the faith of the parents. When the child reached the age of reason, he is then confirmed and makes the faith his own.

 

[panevino]

posted by Brian coulton…can an infant believe the Gospel? Can an infant sin? Can an infant repent?..

Infants are just the right candidates

Luke 18:16 But Jesus called them [unto him], and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

 

[Spencerian]

Another point on infant baptism, if it hasn’t been noted already:

The Hebrews performed circumcision on all males within a set time period as part of the child’s initiation into the Judaic faith.

Scripture notes that baptism is the initiation into following Christ’s path. Despite being circumcised himself already, Christ had himself baptized as an example to all who would choose to follow.

After Christ’s ascension, there was debate among Jewish Christians on whether the Gentiles required circumcision. The Apostles said “no.” Only baptism is a requirement. Knowledge of Christ is not needed to follow Christ, as the example noted about the soldier and his servant.

 

[bona_fides_1]

I don’t understand why you baptize infants. When Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection, He told them that repentance and remission of sins would be preached in His name to all nations. He also told them to go into the entire world and preach the Gospel to everyone; those that believe and are baptized will be saved, but those that believe not will be damned.

Can someone tell me how an infant fits into this scenario?

Can an infant believe the Gospel? Can an infant sin? Can an infant repent?

And what about original sin? Are you saying that an infant who dies without baptism will be condemned because of Adam’s sin? Are you saying that though Adam (the one who committed the original sin) might be reconciled to God through Christ, a newborn baby is not?

Please explain.

To come up with your beliefs you have to read important things out of the bible verses and insert your own human projections back in. Someone taught you the new theology that infants should not be baptised. But there is NO such restriction mentioned anywhere in the bible. It’s a pure fabrication that was formed for one reason - to set up false conflicts with the Catholic Church by rejecting key teachings. The Protestant reformers used standard revolutionary methodology - create a strawman argument to create a false dichotomy then divide and seperate.

Re-read the verse very slowly.

Matthew 28:19-20 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you

IRREFUTABLE FACTS:

• There is not a single exclusion of any soul in verses of the Great Commission.
• The expression “all nations” is inclusive of ALL peoples, all ages, all races, all genders. infant, child, adult, elderly person, sick, mentally handicapped etc.
• The expression “teaching them to obey” DOES imply some rudimentary level of understanding of God’s precepts and commandments. But the huge error many non-Catholics make is thinking that “belief” and “understanding” always happen in one moment. NO! Teaching and belief are an ongoing life long process. God teaches the infant the necessity to trust in Him by the very need to satisfy its hunger and completely rely on its mother for sustenance. Jesus in fact did this same process by being born as a child - relying completely on His mother Mary to take care of Him, feed Him and teach Him as a child.

BF

 

[bona_fides_1]

Can someone tell me how an infant fits into this scenario?

See prior posts - “making disciples of all nations and baptize them” means to baptize all people of all ages. There is no age limitation on discipleship. A child taught and touched by God can in turn touch human hearts through its natural God given “baby language” (smiling, loving, total vulnerability and innocence) sometimes even batter that the best intellectual or orator. An example here is Mary’s baby Jesus in the womb sanctifying John The Baptist in the womb of his mother Elizabeth by his mere presence made known through Mary’s greeting.

When the Lord greets and is acknowledged and accepted miracalous things happen - the Christ Child within is born and God extends His family through His influence acting through our own human relationships:

• Luke 1:28-29 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.

Luke 1:38 I am the Lord’s servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

Luke 1:39-45 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"
*

The sanctification of John the Baptist in the womb came through his mother Elizabeth’s hearing Mary’s Greeting - which in turn came through The Lord’s original greeting to Mary. If God can sanctify a child in the womb through its mother’s hearing The Lord’s greeting then so too can a parent baptize their infant based on their willings to receive and acknowledge the Lord’s blessings in favoring them with the blessings of a child into their household.

The parents speak for the entire household.
Joshua 24:15 …But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

Can an infant believe the Gospel? Can an infant sin? Can an infant repent?

Can an adult show us in scripture where being a sinner is a requirement for entry into
salvation?

Can an adult show us in scripture where a soul that is not in need of repentance needs to repent?

Can an adult show us in scripture where a child who can not commit personal sin must believe in the Gospel in order to be saved from its lack of personal sin?

And what about original sin?

It is real. All souls are in need of reparation from our inherited damaged nature. Baptism is the normative means of cleansing a soul of the spiritual defects and restoring the soul to a right and pure supernatural relationship with God.

Are you saying that an infant who dies without baptism will be condemned because of Adam’s sin?

We can not judge for God. But scripture makes it very clear that baptism is the normative means for a human soul to be initiated into the Body of Christ and to join to His death and resurrection. We can only trust in God’s Mercy and in His goodness to find a way to make infants who commit no personal sin “right” in His eyes or to resolve the inherited defects present in the natural human soul. It may be that God does not permit such to enter into beatitude with Him but are given a place (limbo) where they suffer the least or else God gives them a supernatural baptism by desire by virtue of their parent’s faith or out of his own Mercy. Catholicism does not teach any further in this area since it is purely God’s providence and not a thing for us to know at this time.
Romans 9:15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
*

Are you saying that though Adam (the one who committed the original sin) might be reconciled to God through Christ, a newborn baby is not?

Please explain.

No. Catholics do not teach this. We teach that all things are possible for God but that the normative and sure way for a soul that perishes in its infancy is to be baptised as soon as possible after it is born. It is a good precaution for that soul. It also immediately starts that soul’s life long sanctification process so that it may be all that God calls it to be. The sooner a soul begins its sanctification process the longer the time God has to mature and perfect it in service to God. Thus, an infant that grows up in goodness and service to God has a better opportunity to achieve and merit its highest and best reward in heaven since grace is present from an early age - and that grace operating through a soul is what merits the soul supernatural merit and reward.

BF

 

[Scoobyshme]

Bona fides,
Well spoken! (Okay, well written, if you must.) Good job! :)

 

[Brian_Culliton]

X

Hi Micky,

Let me respond briefly to what you said about the tradition of infant baptism. You said controversy over infant baptism did not arise until the Protestant reformation. I disagree with that observation. Tertullian was adamant about not baptizing infants, he said,

“Indeed the Lord says, ‘Do not forbid them to come to me’ [Matt 19:14; Luke 18:16].
Let them come, then, while they grow up, while they learn, while they are taught to whom to come; let them become Christians when they will have been able to know Christ! Why does the innocent age hasten to the remission of sins?” (Tertullian, Treatise On Baptism 18,4 – c. AD 200-206)

This demonstrates two things; that there was in fact controversy over infant baptism in the early third century, and that infant baptism was practiced then. Apparently Tertullian, a well learned presbyter, failed to see any evidence from his predecessors that the apostles taught infant baptism, and frankly I fail to see it too.

The only church father you mentioned that said anything about infants was Irenaeus and he said nothing about baptism. You are conjecturing when you imply that by saying “born again” Irenaeus meant “baptism,” I don’t think he did. In fact, I wonder if you would even agree with what he was talking about.

Biblically speaking, “whole households” does not mean that infants were baptized. We don’t know whether or not there were infants in those households. In the case of the jailor, if you believe infants were of his household you must also believe the infants had the capacity to believe in God because the Scripture says he rejoiced believing in God with all his house. (v34)

The most perplexing thing to me, however, is that I don’t understand why you believe infants are liable for Adam’s sin? The Gospel declares that all will be judged according to their works; where does the Gospel declare that we will be judged according to Adam’s works? Paul said even those who had no law were under natural law given by God. He said there conscience would either condemn them or excuse them; I find it impossible to believe that an infant’s conscience would be anything but pure. If it is possible for people who never heard the Gospel to be saved by Christ’s sacrifice, how much more is that true of infants? Even David stopped mourning once his son died (who incidentally died before receiving circumcision) and declared that his son would not return to him but he would one day go to his son.

 

[Mickey]

Tertullian was adamant about not baptizing infants

Regarding Tertullian:

The first recorded opposition to the practice comes from Tertullian in the third century. He objected to the practice of baptizing infants because of the heretical idea that sin after baptism was nearly unforgivable. His dissention should be understood within the larger debates of his day, centered around perceived laxity in church morals and government. Many of the greatest Fathers of the third and fourth centuries were not baptized until they were adults, despite having been born to Christian parents. Among them were St. Basil the Great, St. Augustine, and St. Jerome. The later baptism of these men reflects a larger crisis in the newly legalized Church under St. Constantine. One reason postponing baptism became popular was the desire of some Christians to counteract the new wave of baptisms of pagans wishing only to belong to the faith of their emperor. While not yet a requirement of Roman loyalty or citizenship, baptism ensured that one was on the right side of Rome. Postponing baptism emphasized the significance of the rite, and was an attempt to preserve the genuineness of the life for which baptism served as the initiation. Postponement had nothing to do with the validity of a child’s baptism. Many of those Fathers whose baptism was postponed insisted later on that families baptize their new born children, notably St. John Chrysostom, St. Ambrose, and St. Cyril of Alexandria.
Fr John Hainsworth

 

[Mickey]

You are conjecturing when you imply that by saying “born again” Irenaeus meant “baptism,” I don’t think he did.

You are mistaken.

Biblically speaking, “whole households” does not mean that infants were baptized. We don’t know whether or not there were infants in those households. In the case of the jailor, if you believe infants were of his household you must also believe the infants had the capacity to believe in God because the Scripture says he rejoiced believing in God with all his house. (v34)

Some have argued that while the Bible may say ‘household’ or ‘family’ this does not have to include children. …It is hard to imagine that at least one of these households did not include children. And given the fact that we have five explicit references to a whole household being baptized, we have to assume that many, many more such households were baptized. Surely some of them included children.
The word ‘household’ for any Israelite of the day included everybody in the household, children included. We must remember that a household always included children throughout the Scriptures. Every time God established or spoke about His covenant with the House of Israel, it included the whole of Israel: men, women, and children. Noah’s whole ‘household’ was taken into the ark with him (Genesis 7:1); Abraham had his whole household circumcised (Genesis 17:23), and specifically his son Isaac when he was eight days old (Genesis 21:4); the whole household of every family was taken out of Egypt, and God’s institution of the Passover specifically included the children (Exodus 12:24–28). If the Apostles had taught that children were to be excluded from full inclusion in the covenant, such an innovation would not have fit the prophetic covenants which preceded the fulfilled covenant enacted through Christ.
The pattern of the Old Testament covenants formed the framework for the apostolic understanding of the true covenant of Christ, and those covenants included children. They were covenants which were made with a nation, in which every household participated. This is what is expressed in the household baptisms of the New Testament. Even when an individual was baptized, this baptism placed him in a larger body. Individual adult baptisms occurred, but there were no individual covenants.
Fr Hainsworth

 

[Mickey]

The most perplexing thing to me, however, is that I don’t understand why you believe infants are liable for Adam’s sin? The Gospel declares that all will be judged according to their works; where does the Gospel declare that we will be judged according to Adam’s works? Paul said even those who had no law were under natural law given by God. He said there conscience would either condemn them or excuse them; I find it impossible to believe that an infant’s conscience would be anything but pure. If it is possible for people who never heard the Gospel to be saved by Christ’s sacrifice, how much more is that true of infants? Even David stopped mourning once his son died (who incidentally died before receiving circumcision) and declared that his son would not return to him but he would one day go to his son.

Will unbaptized children go to hell if they die?
No. The Orthodox Church does not believe that children are born guilty of Adam’s sin and that unless freed of that guilt through baptism and communion they will die without God’s mercy. Such a notion is pernicious both for its barbarism and for its distortion of God. Do we really think that God is so small that He is bound by our rites, the rites He has given us? God is sovereign, and He will have mercy on whom He has mercy and judgment on whom He has judgment (Romans 9:15).
We can talk about sin and guilt in three ways. First there is primordial sin, the sin of Adam. We understand this not in terms of inherited guilt, but in terms of a fallen world. Primordial sin introduced sickness, suffering, evil, and death into God’s perfect creation (1 John 5:19; Romans 5:12). We are born into Adam’s sin in that we are born into a fallen world. But without our participation, there is no guilt. Second, there is generational sin, which we see in terms of specific propensities to sin. A child of alcoholics, for example, will inherit not the guilt of his parents but the tendency to sin as they did, or other sins associated with this generational heritage. Again, we do not have to submit to this sinful heritage, we do not have to carry it on ourselves. Finally, there is personal sin, the stuff we do ourselves, whether as perpetuation of the general fallenness of this world, the generational fallenness of our parents or surroundings, or as the invention of sins of our own. A person becomes guilty when they personally sin. A child is not guilty until they make sin a personal decision, either consciously or unconsciously.
It is true that baptism is the washing away of sin, and one could say that it seems senseless to baptize a child if they have no inherited guilt to wash away. However, Christ’s sacrifice, in to which we are baptized, was a sacrifice of His whole life as a submission to God— “not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42)—and His death on the Cross not only washed away our sins, but also destroyed death itself. When we are baptized we are baptized into His life and death (Romans 6:4), and we become co-beneficiaries of a life which finally brought God and man into a union of love and a harmony of will. The infant is initiated into that union. This initiation will include the forgiveness of their sins, but is not limited to that forgiveness. The life and death of Christ, which reverses the primordial, generational, and personal falleness of this world, is what the child enters through baptism.
Fr Hainsworth