55: Why Do We Baptize Babies? The Covenantal Argument

My goal this week is to talk to you about infant baptism. If faith is something someone must know and understand and it must be a personal decision from the heart, why do we baptize children? They do not make a decision? Moreover, one might say that Catholicism has so many nominal members precisely because of infant baptism. Would it better to just wait till people mature and make the decision themselves? We will look at these common objections and then the biblical and historical reasons for baptizing infants.

[ashtree]

I was really excited when I heard you say teknon can also mean infant. After doing more digging it sounds like teknon is more of a formal word, COULD POSSIBLY mean infant but is more of an umbrella term for biological descendants/spiritual descendants, so when I reread that verse it sounds more like he is saying it is a promise for the people he is speaking to at that very moment and a promise to their descendants/people of the future. 😔 I have felt lost trying to come up with verses that support infant baptism and unfortunately I feel like most of the verses are taken out of context and it's really troubling me a lot.

[JoshuaCadavez]

That ending haha. Very detailed podcast 🙂👍

[orlandoctobre]

Hi Dr.Marshall im from Philippines and many of my relatives are turning away from the Catholic Church, .and one of thier argument is that infant Baptism is not in the bible..Let me ask, can we use 1Cor.7:14 to support infant Baptism thru the faith of parents??

[donrougeux]

Wasn't Jesus circumsized at His presentation and wasnt this formally the name for this celebration in the Church in January after Christmas? If He was circumsized then but Baptized by St John when He was 30, how can this be reconciled?

[winstonbarquez]

John 3:5 says that unless one is born of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. It did not say unless an adult is born of water and of the Spirit.

[richardbenitez]

This is not a very good explanation. Not only is baptism a cleansing, a penance but is an act of belonging to the people of god. It is a continuation of community solidarity with those who live the new covenant with Christ. Baptism refreshes the baby, the family, the Christian community and adds god grace into the live of the people of god.

[sonofmyrighthandbjh]

Because Augustine taught that infants who die prior to baptism will go to Hell. He taught this in spite of the fact that at the time of his bishoprick, baptism was administered at the time of death. There was no universal teaching on baptism until the later 4th century. In the earliest period of the Church, adults were baptized after having made a profession of faith, and after having fasted for a period of time as indicated by the Didache. The practice of infant baptism is neither Apostolic nor is it Biblical. It is a gross error formulated by Augustine who's view of predestination and original sin led him to the conclusion that infant baptism was necessary, to eliminate the guiltiness of original sin and insure that the recipient was numbered with the elect. It's a strange concept given the fact that his later view totally contradicts his own conversion experience...also that of his predecessor and teacher Ambrose.

[purefoldnz]

Baptism is another method of indoctrination