Where is Child Dedication in the Bible?

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DeoSalvatoreMeo

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I’m just curious as to what the purpose of Dedications of babies in churches like the Baptists denominations is. Where can I find child dedication happening in the New Testament?
 
I haven’t gotten any responses. Should I read that as an admission by Protestants on this forum who belong to churches that do child dedications that it is an unbiblical practice? I don’t see child dedication taking place anywhere in the New Testament as a precursor to adult baptism. Anyone?
 
DeoSalvatoreMeo said:
I’m just curious as to what the purpose of Dedications of babies in churches like the Baptists denominations is. Where can I find child dedication happening in the New Testament?
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Start with little Samuel in 1st Samuel 1 to 1st Samuel 2:21. As for the NT, consider Luke 2:22-40. The first born son was always dedicated to the Lord (Leviticus). As for the Baptists, your post is the first I heard where children were formally dedicated.

Joe
 
DeoSalvatoreMeo said:
I’m just curious as to what the purpose of Dedications of babies in churches like the Baptists denominations is. Where can I find child dedication happening in the New Testament?
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The purpose is to seal them to God till they can make a decision to follow Christ later when they are old enough. It’s also a public declaration that the parents will raise the child up as a Christian and lead them to faith in Christ.

Peace…

MW
 
What about the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple that falls on or around February 2nd? With this Feast, the Catholic Church marks the end of the Epiphany season.
Isn’t?
Honestly, this is the only Dedication I knew as the most important for the Catholics, after which my family has kept the tradition to dedicate each male child to God.

Please, correct me if I’m mistaken or missing something else.
 
Jguerra said:
Start with little Samuel in 1st Samuel 1 to 1st Samuel 2:21. As for the NT, consider Luke 2:22-40. The first born son was always dedicated to the Lord (Leviticus). As for the Baptists, your post is the first I heard where children were formally dedicated.

Joe
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What about daugthers? The Levitical law, which repeated in the Luke passage, only deals with first born sons. Not first born daughters, any daughter or any additional sons.
And they were dedicated to the Lord for the Lord’s work. These passages cited, though supporting first son dedication does not support the dedication of all children.

As a Baptist Pastor, SBC, I participated in “baby dedications”. Most of the children, male and female, were dedicated within the first year of life. I use to make my fellow pastors uneasy, ok mad, by calling them baptisms without water.

ex-baptist, now a Deacon in the Anglican Church.
 
Mystic_Warrior said:
The purpose is to seal them to God till they can make a decision to follow Christ later when they are old enough. It’s also a public declaration that the parents will raise the child up as a Christian and lead them to faith in Christ.

Peace…

MW
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Like Christian who baptize infants. Just without water.😃 I have even heard the Blessed Trinity invoked, “In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost” at child/baby dedications.

Now the question “Why do protestants who dedicate in this manner, so oppose those who are doing the same thing, though in a different form/manner?” Ie why is it ok for protestants but not catholics/anglicans/continue to add names…I may miss one. Is it the water? Ideas are similar.

Dcn Mark
REC ACNA
 
MarkBrown said:
Like Christian who baptize infants. Just without water.😃 I have even heard the Blessed Trinity invoked, “In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost” at child/baby dedications.

Now the question “Why do protestants who dedicate in this manner, so oppose those who are doing the same thing, though in a different form/manner?” Ie why is it ok for protestants but not catholics/anglicans/continue to add names…I may miss one. Is it the water? Ideas are similar.

Dcn Mark
REC ACNA
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I don’t understand this dedication. They say that it’s up to every individual to make his own decision to fbelieve and to ollow Christ. They say that an infant can’t make up his own mind to believe, because he doesn’t have the intellectual capacity to do so.

If this infant is too young to truly believe in Christ, then how can his life be dedicated to Him?

If you believe that a child is not really a Christian until he makes the informed decision to believe, how in the world can he be dedicated to a life of following Christ?

It seems to me that the parents are making the decision not only that their child will be raised in a Christian environment, but also that their child will be a Christian (His life has already been dedicated.)

What good is this dedication if you believe that a person has to decide for himself that he will be a Christian?
 
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