Infant Baptism

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We inherit original sin, but did not choose this sin our first parents chose to commit.

Infant baptism is said to wipe away the stain or original sin.

Why do some protestants oppose infant baptism since it also is chosen for us by our parents?
 
I really don’t know, but with other groups the refusal to baptize infants has to do with the person being able to choose for themselves. Babies can’t choose therefore can’t commit to the Baptism? Just my thoughts.
 
I’m very interested in this as well. Considering that as far as I know if a child, in this case, a baby were to die we believe that child would go immediately to heaven, right? So it comes to a question of what is the appropriate age if not during infancy? We don’t allow children to receive First Holy Communion (in the RCC) until 7 or 8 yrs old. Why wouldn’t we wait until then to do Baptism as well!?
 
Convert2013 said:
I’m very interested in this as well. Considering that as far as I know if a child, in this case, a baby were to die we believe that child would go immediately to heaven, right? So it comes to a question of what is the appropriate age if not during infancy? We don’t allow children to receive First Holy Communion (in the RCC) until 7 or 8 yrs old. Why wouldn’t we wait until then to do Baptism as well!?
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Actually, it is not a revealed truth that unbaptized babies go to heaven. We hope this is so, and I would say that hope is reasonable, but this is not something that we know. There have been other theories as well, including the idea of limbo (a sort of perfect natural happiness that isn’t heaven). Personally, limbo makes sense to me as the sort of minimum that God would probably allow, but I think we can reasonably hope that God in His mercy will do more than that.

Part of the reason for infant baptism is this uncertainty. Our child might die, and why stake his eternal future on a hope, no matter how reasonable it may seem to us, when we can convert it into a certainty? Another reason is that in baptism we are reborn as children of God, we recieve an indellible mark on the soul - and that is a very, very good thing that we might as well give out children as soon as possible.

There is simply no reason to delay this. Baptism cures a defect, it restores us to where we should be and incorporates us into the body of Christ. We can think of it in analogy with medical treatment: while an adult should generally not be forced to recieve treatment he doesn’t want, it makes little sense to say that a parent doesn’t have the right to heal their child without waiting until he is old enough to ask for it. And free will is not circumvented - it is still up to the child, in the end, whether to live out his baptism or not. But he has a good start this way.
 
What I don’t understand those who oppose infant baptism say because they can not understand. The Bible does say that everyone must be born again from water John 3:3-5.
What happens then to people with down syndrome, severe autism, or another mental issue which does not allow them to comprehend? Baptism replaces circumcision, baptism is an initiation rite, just as circumcision was in the OT.
 
Cricket2 said:
I really don’t know, but with other groups the refusal to baptize infants has to do with the person being able to choose for themselves. Babies can’t choose therefore can’t commit to the Baptism? Just my thoughts.
Click to expand...
Babies cannot choose original sin either, yet they are born with it.
 
Charlemagne_III said:
We inherit original sin, but did not choose this sin our first parents chose to commit.

Infant baptism is said to wipe away the stain or original sin.

Why do some protestants oppose infant baptism since it also is chosen for us by our parents?
Click to expand...
Cricket2 said:
I really don’t know, but with other groups the refusal to baptize infants has to do with the person being able to choose for themselves. Babies can’t choose therefore can’t commit to the Baptism? Just my thoughts.
Click to expand...
Charlemagne_III said:
Babies cannot choose original sin either, yet they are born with it.
Click to expand...
I like this a lot…👍

I hadn’t thought of it this way but it makes perfect sense.

Peace
James
 
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