Infant Baptism - Is It Wrong?

[kyzar]

Hi There,
Just a few quick questions to you all with an opinion out there...
1. Do you think Infant Baptism is wrong (eg. Evil and Totally Unbiblical)
2. Do you think that Baptising your infant will save him/her?
3. Do you think that Baptising your infant will hinder his/her salvation (eg. later, if they come to a believing faith)?

Just wanting your thoughts on this... Thanks

 

[Iollain]

Baptism comes from the Jewish Mikvah and is not done for infants. It would be hard to get them under the water safely really. I don't necessarily think it would be evil though.

Only faith in Jesus saves us, but we should be baptised for sure.

I don't think it would hinder salvation at all, but they may want to have a believers baptism.

 

[hindsey]

Hi There,
Just a few quick questions to you all with an opinion out there...
1. Do you think Infant Baptism is wrong (eg. Evil and Totally Unbiblical)
2. Do you think that Baptising your infant will save him/her?
3. Do you think that Baptising your infant will hinder his/her salvation (eg. later, if they come to a believing faith)?

Just wanting your thoughts on this... Thanks

My thoughts:
1) it's not wrong, it just doesn't do anything. it is not biblical baptism.
2) baptism will not save an infant
3) it may cause them confusion if they think that their infant baptism saved them.

now for some Bible:
1) Scriptural baptism is an act performed after someone believes in Christ (Acts 8:37). Infants are too young to have faith.
2) A man is justified by faith, not by any works (Romans 5:1 and the rest of the New Testament).
3) Even if someone was baptised as an infant, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13)

 

[Ginny]

1. Do you think Infant Baptism is wrong (eg. Evil and Totally Unbiblical)

Evil- no. Unbiblical- yes. Man-made tradition- Definitely.

2. Do you think that Baptising your infant will save him/her?

I believe babies/children are safe to the age of accountability. Will it save them in the aspect of truly saving them to where they never have to make the decision in their adult life to follow Jesus? No way.

3. Do you think that Baptising your infant will hinder his/her salvation (eg. later, if they come to a believing faith)?

It could..depending what faith they are raised in which is full of man made traditions. This infant baptism is totally MAN MADE and not of God and His teachings in His Word.

 

[cntrygrlluvsJesus05]

I was baptised as an infant in a Luthern Church. Then later on in my Teens my parents changed to Catholic Church. After a few years in the Catholic Church i left church totally because I was confused. Then I was an athiest for two years and did things unbiblical. Then in 2001 I started to go back to Church. I am now saved and devoted to my Lord. So Infant Baptism isn't for Salvation and i think you should wait until the child knows the Lord in order to Baptise them. If you want to dedicate them to the Lord. Most Churches does a Baby Dedicating service for them instead.

 

[JamesCarter]

Water baptism to me is the formal and necessary expression of faith. Sadly, I fear that water baptism is not sufficiently appreciated by many in today's church. I believe that the Spirit of Christ is in the waters of baptism to graciously strengthen the new believer. I don't see how it is possible for an infant to volitionally express faith, so I think baptism should await the hour until that possibility exists. I don't think infant baptism is evil, but it doesn't seem to me to have Scriptural or philosophical merit. Baptism doesn't effect or result in salvation, but I don't think the writers of the New Testament could envision a believer in the ordinary course of Christian initiation who had not undergone immersion in baptismal waters.

 

[ZiSunka]

Hi There,
Just a few quick questions to you all with an opinion out there...
1. Do you think Infant Baptism is wrong (eg. Evil and Totally Unbiblical)
2. Do you think that Baptising your infant will save him/her?
3. Do you think that Baptising your infant will hinder his/her salvation (eg. later, if they come to a believing faith)?

Just wanting your thoughts on this... Thanks

It's not wrong, it's just useless. Baptism without saving faith is useless, and no infant can have saving faith because saving faith requires understanding of what Christ did for us and why we needed Him to do it. It is the faith of people who have awareness of things outside their immediate self, and infants only feel and experience their own self and their needs.

 

[aReformedPatriot]

Hi There,
Just a few quick questions to you all with an opinion out there...
1. Do you think Infant Baptism is wrong (eg. Evil and Totally Unbiblical)
2. Do you think that Baptising your infant will save him/her?
3. Do you think that Baptising your infant will hinder his/her salvation (eg. later, if they come to a believing faith)?

Just wanting your thoughts on this... Thanks

1. Yes. It is the antithesis of the scriptural method.
2. Nope.
3. I know people who were baptized as babies who came to understand that baptism to be invalid and are now ready to be rebaptized scripturally. God will work through anything he so desires.

 

[DawnTillery]

If you are baptised not understanding, not accepting the baptism then all you do is get wet (infant or adult)
I see no reason to baptise an infant, If someone is looking for something, maybe consider a dedication of the child..
?? Just an idea

 

[Amish_angel]

1. Do you think Infant Baptism is wrong (eg. Evil and Totally Unbiblical)

Yes, I do. I myself was baptized as an infant and when I join the Amish church-if I am accepted-I will be rebatized as a believer. The Bible does not teach us to baptize babies. Mary didn't baptize Jesus. Jesus was baptized as an adult.

Mark 16:16 "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."

An infant cannot believe and be baptized. An infant has no comprehension whatsoever of what is happening to him or her. A person must first be a responsible adult and understand what it means to be baptized and have complete faith before it can be valid.

2. Do you think that Baptising your infant will save him/her?

Only faith can save a person. An infant cannot know faith. Children are already saved.

3. Do you think that Baptising your infant will hinder his/her salvation (eg. later, if they come to a believing faith)?

No. I don't think ANYONE can hinder the salvation of another human being. However, if you know the Truth and go against it anyway, perhaps that can hinder your salvation. Most who do infant baptism are ignorant of this Truth anyhow. God is therefore the supreme judge over such things and will do how He see fits.

 

[constance]

The Biblical basis for not baptizing infants has been very adequately covered (yaay for you all!) so I won't get into it.

My personal opinion?

Baptizing infants is stealing. Stealing the opportunity for that human to choose to become baptized. With "Ecumenism" on the rise, some mainline protestant churches have become more reluctant to discount infant baptism from Lutheran, Methodist, Catholic, Congregationalist, and Presbyterian traditions. Even though adult converts wish to have the experience of "believer's baptism", they are told that one baptism suffices.

Again, my opinion - deciding to become baptized -to stand up in front of God and everyone and proclaim your faith and demonstrate it...is a very important part of our journey to realizing that we are mature Christians. If, for some reason, our parents decide to "assure" our salvation shortly after birth, we may never go through this very important growth period.

The Anabaptists got it right. Dirk Willems is my hero!

Constance

 

[daveleau]

Hi There,
Just a few quick questions to you all with an opinion out there...
1. Do you think Infant Baptism is wrong (eg. Evil and Totally Unbiblical)
2. Do you think that Baptising your infant will save him/her?
3. Do you think that Baptising your infant will hinder his/her salvation (eg. later, if they come to a believing faith)?

Just wanting your thoughts on this... Thanks

1) It is not directed by Scripture. It is not spoken against in Scripture. Through the examples in Scripture, we never see it happen. It is not evil. It is just against the idea of an age of accountability.

2) No baptism (other than baptism in the Holy Spirit which occurs when you are Saved) is salvific. It doesn't matter if you are 22 years or 22 months old. Baptism is an outward confession of your faith and something done in obedience to God.

3) No baptizing your child will have no bearing on his or her salvation, positive or negative. Christening your child is the parental promise to God that you will raise him/her in His teachings.

 

[holyrokker]

1. It's neither biblical nor unbiblical. It's a tradition.
2. Nope. Neither will getting dunked as an adult. But - Baptism should be done as an official function of the Church. The Holy Spirit is present in baptism. It is the Holy Spirit who brings about new life, not the water.
3. No. The only problem I see is overly zealous Baptists telling them that their infant baptism is meaningless and they need to be dunked to truly be baptized. I see no need for re-baptism.

 

[kyzar]

Well thank-you all for your thoughts...
I like one reply, that infant baptism is useless (I totally agree)...
Virtually what everyone has been saying is my own view, i just though it might be intersting to see what other people thought on the topic! Thank-you all

 

[B®ent]

I support infant baptism. It does not wash away sin as Catholics believe, but rather it is a sign of the covenant God has made with His chosen people. However, when parents want their baby to be baptised, I believe they should have to promise to raise the child in the light of the Word. The Bible tells us that if we raise a child in the way he or she should go, they will never turn from it. I interpret this verse literally.

Johannes

 

[arunma]

Hi There,
Just a few quick questions to you all with an opinion out there...
1. Do you think Infant Baptism is wrong (eg. Evil and Totally Unbiblical)
2. Do you think that Baptising your infant will save him/her?
3. Do you think that Baptising your infant will hinder his/her salvation (eg. later, if they come to a believing faith)?

Just wanting your thoughts on this... Thanks

1.) I believe that infant baptism is "wrong" in the sense that it's a theological error. It's not Biblical, but I don't think it's evil. I don't think infant baptism does anything, it seems to me as meaningless as giving a baby his first bath. Since we Baptists don't believe in salvation-by-baptism, we don't think that infant-baptized people go to hell, but we still wouldn't practice it ourselves.

That said, I don't wish to belittle the ordinance of baptism. Many infant-baptized Christians I know find great meaning in their baptisms (even though they can't remember them), and I respect that.

2.) I don't think that infant baptism (or adult baptism, for that matter) does a thing to save anyone. Baptism is nothing more than immersion in water. It isn't magical or supernatural. Only the blood of Christ saves people, regardless of when they were baptized, or if they were baptized at all.

3.) No, I don't think that infant baptism will hinder anyone's salvation. Again, to me it's a meaningless act, and it's more or less neutral. Many of the great theologians, including Martin Luther and John Calvin (if I'm not mistaken), were advocates of infant baptism. There's room in the church for sincerely differeing opinions. Most Christians believe that infant baptism has some meaning, and I respect their beliefs. After all, I'm not legalistic about infant baptism, and I consider infant-baptized Christians to be brothers and sisters in Christ. I just think that they are committing a theological error.

 

[arunma]

The Anabaptists got it right. Dirk Willems is my hero!

I read your signature; it's quite an inspiring story!

 

[constance]

I read your signature; it's quite an inspiring story!

Yes, it is.

The illustration (and the history) is from The Martyr's Mirror, a history of the anabaptists. They were executed in droves for their belief in believer's baptism.

http://www.homecomers.org/mirror/intro.htm

Here are snippets from the inquisition of anabaptist Elizabeth Simons, the wife of Menno Simons ("Mennonites" became his followers), who was tortured and eventually drowned in a bag.

Lords:

"What persons were present when you were baptized?"

Elizabeth: "Christ said: Ask them that were present, or who heard it." John 18:21.

(snip)

Lords:

"What are your views concerning infant baptism, seeing you have been rebaptized?"
Elizabeth: "No, my lords, I have not been rebaptized. I have been baptized once upon my faith; for it is written that baptism belongs to believers."

Lords: "Are our children damned then, because they are baptized?"

Elizabeth: "No, my lords, God forbid, that I should judge the children."

Lords: "Do you not seek your salvation in baptism?"

Elizabeth: "No, my lords, all the water in the sea could not save me; but salvation is in Christ (Acts 4:10), and He has commanded me to love God my Lord above all things, and my, neighbor as myself."

Constance

 

[Diane_Windsor]

1. Do you think Infant Baptism is wrong (eg. Evil and Totally Unbiblical)
2. Do you think that Baptising your infant will save him/her?
3. Do you think that Baptising your infant will hinder his/her salvation (eg. later, if they come to a believing faith)?

1. Uncharacteristic answer of a Southern Baptist, but nope. I have no problems with infant baptism, and believe that it should be practiced.

2. I believe that grace saves us (see Ephesians 2:8-9). Whether or not baptism can be a channel for that grace-I'll get back to you on that.

3. Nope.

Baptizing infants is stealing. Stealing the opportunity for that human to choose to become baptized.

Interesting way of putting things Constance. When I accepted Christ at age 12 I really didin't have a choice in the matter. I was expected to be baptised, and so I was a few weeks later by my Pastor. I don't think that I ever fully understood the meaning of my baptism.

The Bible tells us that if we raise a child in the way he or she should go, they will never turn from it. I interpret this verse literally.

Johannes

I might be proof of that. I'm finding that you can take the girl out of the SBC, but you can't take the SBC out of the girl. I think that wherever I may roam (spiritually speaking) that little girl inside of me will still cling to the SBC lol

Diane

 

[Mister Emu]

I don't believe it is wrong per se, but like many here I feel it is useless. I believe that there is an age of accountability, and that children are saved regardless.

Nothing done to you can hinder your salvation. Only you can do that.