The Importance Of The Baptism Of Infants

The baptism of infants is a hotly debated topic in today's Christian world. Baptism means "the religious rite of sprinkling water onto a person's forehead or of immersion in water, symbolizing purification or regeneration and admission to the Christian Church” (“Baptism”). Like communion, baptism falls within the genus of Christian sacraments (“Sacrament”). [Common topic: Definition; Subtopic: Genus] Baptism acts as an initiation ceremony into Christianity—it does not guarantee salvation, and one can be saved without baptism, as the only path to salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ (New International Version, John 14:6; Ephesians 2:8-9). However, its meaning retains importance as an initiation process to Christianity, as it acts as an "outward expression of an inward commitment" (SouthLake Church). Thus, comprehension and acceptance of salvation

Infants' primitive understanding of morality does not equate to a complex understanding of the issues related to salvation. Paul Bloom, a psychology professor at Yale University, claims that “some sense of good and evil seems to be bred into the bone” (Edwards). [Common topic: Testimony; Subtopic: Authority] This does not mean, however, that infants have sophisticated knowledge of morality. As the brother of a nine-month-old sister, I can attest that infants lack the thinking skills necessary to perform even the most menial tasks, much less process relatively complex theological issues, and no amount of physical ceremony will lead to a profession of faith by an infant. [Common topic: Testimony; Subtopic: Testimonials] Due to their lack of knowledge, infants cannot willfully sin against God. Many theologians believe that infants go to Heaven despite failing to profess faith— they do not maintain perfect innocence, but they are saved by God's grace (Mohler and Akin). Clearly, infants lack the thinking ability necessary to understand salvation and instead must rely on God's