I’ve been studying the doctrine of Original Sin lately, especially as expressed in Romans 5:12-21, which, if I’m not mistaken, is where the Church gets its primary justification for infant baptism–believing that if an infant is not baptized, he/she will never see heaven because of the stain of original sin passed down from Adam.
First of all, the absolute need for infant baptism was never defined by the Catholic Church, even while it was hotly debated. When I first came to the Church as an adult convert in 1953, the prevailing teaching was, unbaptized infants who died went to a spiritual condition or “place” called
Limbo. But interestingly, the Church never defined that either!
The Church does continue to insist upon infant baptism for nothing more then the graces it brings, including the absolution of any barrer to salvation due to original sin, but also puts the onus on the parents (and God parents) to raise the child up in the faith. It also clears-up any question as to whether the infant will go to heaven if there is an unfortunate untimely death.
=But now I’m confused because in Romans 7:9, Paul writes “Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.” It seems to me that Paul is saying here that before he became aware of the law, he was spiritually alive. Am I reading this properly? If so…how does this mesh with infant baptism and original sin? If infants are alive apart from law because they haven’t yet committed their own sins…why would they need baptism?
Outside of the Book of Revelations, I find the book or Romans a difficult one to read and interpret without outside help, but off the top of my head, remember that Paul was addressing his letter to Jewish converts to Christianity in Rome. They were the very first Christians in Rome at the very beginning, I understand, and what was Paul always trying to do with Jewish converts? Traying to keep then from reverting back to their old covenant laws of Leviticus!
Now, in Romans 7:9, Paul says “…but when the commandment came , sin became alive.” What does he mean here by “the commandment”?
I don’t think it was the commandments of the old laws, since the word is singular, but rather, I think, it is the
Commandment of Christ! Now the Old Law leads to sin if one reverts to the old laws simply because one cannot observe them perfectly!
I am going out on a limb here, just guessing more then anything, so I would invite a better rendering from the experts here.
But to answer your last question, I would say that it is mainly to open the gates of heaven for them, closed by the consiquences of original sin all infants inherit, but that by baptism, the Sacrifice of the Cross is now applicable to them, as Christ says to Nicodemus about what must be applied for one to be “born again.” -
Water and Spirit. (John 3:5)
But if an infant dies before being baptized? We don’t know, so we must simply rely on the infinite mercy of God in such cases.
Please excuse me if I give an inadequate answer here, but In the meanwhile, from
Catholic Answers’ own web site, this link is a worthy read:
catholic.com/library/Infant_Baptism.asp
God bless,
PAX
Bill+†+
"Noah during the building of the ark,
in which a few persons,
eight in all,
were saved through water.
This prefigured baptism
which saves you now"
1 Peter 3:20-21
