Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!att!princeton!njin!paul.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: jhpb@garage.att.com (Joseph H Buehler) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Original sin of infants Message-ID: Date: 8 Apr 91 03:02:55 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 26 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article benning@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com writes: An old argument. Baptism is a sign of repentance. How can an infant repent of anything? Infant baptism is just a Gentile form of circumcision. Today, Baptism is an empty tradition practiced by many as a ritual. Real baptism is done by someone who is making a public confession of becoming a Christian. Babies have no choice in the matter. Just as I can't impute righteousness to my children by any act of my own, neither can I save my child by "Baptizing" him or her. I can "dedicate" my children through the act of infant baptism, "Lord, I make a public proclamation to bring this child up in a way that he knows You..." but the act itself has no biblical basis unto salvation. Otherwise, we Christians could just throw water onto everyone in the world, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Why mess with evangelism if we have this method available? To answer your question, we can't just hose everyone down, because, unlike an infant, an adult has to have the will to be baptized. That's what missionary work is for: producing the dispositions. Your theology of baptism is a Reformation one. Keep in mind that there are about 1,000,000,000 people who have another theology on the matter. For them, Baptism is one of the primary means of grace. Through the outward symbolism, God imparts grace into a person's soul, wiping out the effects of the Original sin, in so far as they prevent a final destination of Heaven. In such a theology, baptizing babies is required by the very nature of Baptism.