Pedo-Communion

MKJ said:

Well, here is the thing - if it isn't actually possible to separate them, then it couldn't be done at all. They would two parts of a single sacrament. The question of accepting the validity of a baptism isn't really relevant, other than the fact that it can be done shows that it is a separate sacrament.

What is normative practice is different than what is possible. What is normative can be varied under the right circumstances if it is possible to do so. If it is not possible, it can't be varied, it's intrinsic.

Consider, for example, an emergency baptism, this is certainly not something that would be prevented because chrismation was not possible at that moment.

Or, if you want to take a historic example, it would never have been possible for the western church to baptize and wait for the bishop to confirm later.

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~Anastasia~ said:

Thank you, Albion. I'm not so far removed from my Protestant roots that I forget the importance of "decision" and indeed, I agree this is important.

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mark46 said:

When I was in the Baptist church, much was made of the importance of the decision to accept Christ. However, I did't find the reality all that different. Baptism for children of those in the church was almost always about the some time as Catholic or Anglican confirmation.

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~Anastasia~ said:

Strangely, I don't remember that many baptisms of children in the Baptist denominations. There were some around 5-6 years old though, and some around 12. But my "sample size" is really quite small ... so it doesn't mean that much.

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shanethetheologian said:

Suddenly, infant or pedo-communion has popped up on the radar of a number of my Lutheran and Anglican contacts. It is a point of discussion for the upcoming LCMS convention: http://steadfastlutherans.org/2016/01/to-address-the-practice-of-infant-communion/ My seminary president recently wrote a paper on the subject.

Let's have a discussion; I will withhold my own insight for a day or two.

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