toldailytopic: Infant baptism: what do you think of it?

[Nathon Detroit]

The TheologyOnline.com TOPIC OF THE DAY for December 5th, 2011 10:22 AM

toldailytopic: Infant baptism: what do you think of it?

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[ghost]

Meaningless.

 

[elected4ever]

Meaningless.

Not entirely. It does get the infant wet. By the way,I love your sig.

 

[kmoney]

I do not support infant baptism.

Are there any infants being baptized in the bible?

 

[chickenman]

If it's accompanied by a bar of soap, then I'm all for it. :up:

 

[Son of Jack]

If I understand :chicken:man correctly, then my children get baptized at least four times a week.

Is that bad?:noid:

 

[Buzzword]

Meh. Do what thou wilt.

Just don't be surprised when others wilt not do it.

 

[annabenedetti]

21. At cockcrow prayer shall be made over the water. 1
The stream shall flow through the baptismal tank or 2
pour into it from above when there is no scarcity of
water; but if there is a scarcity, whether constant or1
sudden, then use whatever water you can find.
They shall remove their clothing. And first baptize
the little ones; if they can speak for themselves, they
shall do so; if not, their parents or other relatives shall
speak for them.

Hippolytus, The Apostolic Tradition --A.D. 215

 

[annabenedetti]

I do not support infant baptism.

Are there any infants being baptized in the bible?

Twice in Acts, once in 1 Corinthians, it is said that entire households were baptized. Babies were certainly baptized in the early Church, there is a historical record of it.

 

[chickenman]

If I understand :chicken:man correctly, then my children get baptized at least four times a week.

Is that bad?:noid:

:up:
My kids self-baptize.

 

[Son of Jack]

:up:
My kids self-baptize.

:chuckle: My kids haven't quite gotten to that point. I still need to assist them. So, I suppose that makes me the bishop, or some other fancy-sounding title.

 

[Town Heretic]

If I understand :chicken:man correctly, then my children get baptized at least four times once a week.

Happy to help, Mississippi.

Jack's ceremony is later this month. If it makes his grandfather happy then a little more water won't hurt--even if it isn't Saturday.

 

[Nathon Detroit]

21. At cockcrow prayer shall be made over the water. 1
The stream shall flow through the baptismal tank or 2
pour into it from above when there is no scarcity of
water; but if there is a scarcity, whether constant or1
sudden, then use whatever water you can find.
They shall remove their clothing. And first baptize
the little ones; if they can speak for themselves, they
shall do so; if not, their parents or other relatives shall
speak for them.

Hippolytus, The Apostolic Tradition --A.D. 215

Hippos love water.

 

[some other dude]

Now that's some baptismal font ! :noway:

 

[Psalmist]

toldailytopic: Infant baptism: what do you think of it?​

I guess those who do get some satisfaction from it, as for the infant, how can infant understand baptism; isn't it also called christening.

The churches/denominations that we have or affiliated with have baby dedications, the infant child is given back to the Lord similar to Hannah with Samuel, but we don't leave them at the church for the pastor to raise.​

 

[One In Christ]

Believers baptism FTW!

 

[elohiym]

If I understand :chicken:man correctly, then my children get baptized at least four times a week.

Bathtized.

Is that bad?:noid:

Do they look like prunes?

 

[sky.]

Twice in Acts, once in 1 Corinthians, it is said that entire households were baptized. Babies were certainly baptized in the early Church, there is a historical record of it.

There were points in time that if my entire household had been baptised then adult non believers would have been baptised. There is no record of an infant being baptised in the Bible. To say that there is and equate it to those verses is to assume that there were babies being baptised we could also assume that adult non believers were being baptised too.

I suspect that some denominations have babies baptised because they believe in "baptismal regeneration".

Our church dedicates babies. Parents or parent works with the pastor and it is usually that they go up front and maybe give a verse that is important to them as an adult Christian in charge of their family and then the pastor says a prayer and includes the congregation to remind us if we would also pray for that child's faith journey. The church is a family. We never use water to dedicate babies.

 

[elohiym]

toldailytopic: Infant baptism: what do you think of it?

The purpose of baptism is to wash away sin and uncleanness symbolically (Ezekiel 36:25). Sin and uncleanness may be literally washed away in some sense that we cannot perceive, possibly through a placebo effect (perception controls biology). An example of ritual placebo effect can been seen when Moses raised up the serpent on the pole and people's bodies adapted to the venom so they didn't die ("faith made you well").

God allowed the generation of Israelites to enter the promised land who "had no knowledge of good and evil" (because they were in part infants) when their fathers rebelled against God in the wilderness. Why would infants have need to be cleansed from sin through baptism, now or then?

As for my children, they were conceived in and born through a sanctified vessel, my wife. They came out clean and holy and have no need of baptism.

1 Corinthians 7:14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy.

That verse is the death blow to the doctrine of infant baptism. Few understand the verse or realize the deeper implications of it. I encourage sincere students of the scriptures to study that verse to learn how it can be true.

 

[zippy2006]

Reply to CM from other thread:

Peter was speaking to men of Israel who could make a choice to do so...or not. My question was about a 2-month old.

But this does not answer the question of whether infants can be legitimately baptized.

Christian baptism is foreshadowed by Jewish circumcision, and clearly the Jews had no problem with circumcising infants--they inherited the promise without any consent at all. Numerous times we see entire families being baptized, with absolutely no indication that baptism was withheld if children were too young. See:

Acts 16:15 And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” So she persuaded us.

Acts 16:33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized.

1 Cor 1:16 Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other.

Why Catholics baptize infants.

But it should be noted that baptism is not equivalent to salvation, though it is a necessary step (Jn 3:5).

:e4e: