Jake Huether Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 The answer is Yes, faith is necessary for Baptism. However, the question is, in the case of an infant, is the infant the one who is required to express faith. The answer to that question is NO. It is the God Parents and Parents who express faith in stead (or in place) of the infant. There are a couple things to note about Baptism, which I will briefly express - I will post more later from the Bible, but I'm short on time now... 1) Baptism and Circumcision must be studied in perallel, as St. Paul points out for us that Baptism is like circumcision. We would automatically note that infants were circumciesed at 8 days! 2) Jesus healed many many people at the request of OTHERS. The centurion for instance who asked for the healing of his slave. The slave wasn't required to show faith in order to be healed. Jesus healed him based on the faith of the centurion. Also, the little girl who died: Jesus brought her back to life because of the faith of her parents, not her! So we see that Jesus' Grace is envoked not necesarily through the faith of the one recieving the Grace, but also by the request of "sponsors"! More to come... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Huether Posted July 21, 2003 Author Share Posted July 21, 2003 http://www.catholic.com/library/Infant_Baptism.asp Pretty complete... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Huether Posted July 21, 2003 Author Share Posted July 21, 2003 another good one: http://pw1.netcom.com/~matt1618/infant.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dUSt Posted July 22, 2003 Share Posted July 22, 2003 Objection 1: Baptism can not save an infant because an infant can not accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. The Bible says that if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. - Romans 10:9 How can an infant do this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted July 22, 2003 Share Posted July 22, 2003 That's why the Church permits parents and godparents to speak on the child's behalf, as well as promising to bring the child up in the Faith. What happens to unbaptized babies and little children who have not yet personally accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior?????????? Catholic parents have the assurance that their babies will go to heaven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dUSt Posted July 22, 2003 Share Posted July 22, 2003 What happens to unbaptized babies and little children who have not yet personally accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? The same thing that happens to babies who are aborted. We must depend on the Grace of God musn't we? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Huether Posted July 22, 2003 Author Share Posted July 22, 2003 Matthew 19:14, Jesus said, Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. So, we see that St. Paul's letter isn't refering to children, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to them already. The only other stipulation (for children) is baptism. For whoever is born of water and spirit will be saved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dUSt Posted July 22, 2003 Share Posted July 22, 2003 Where's Bro Adam and Mulls? I'm tired of playing the role of the non-Catholic. haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Adam Posted July 22, 2003 Share Posted July 22, 2003 Where have I been? I have a wedding in 10 days, a $1000 car repair bill and no money to pay it with cause it all went into the wedding so we might not have a honeymoon. 'nough said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marielapin Posted July 22, 2003 Share Posted July 22, 2003 Where have I been? I have a wedding in 10 days, a $1000 car repair bill and no money to pay it with cause it all went into the wedding so we might not have a honeymoon. 'nough said. I'm prayin' for ya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littleflower+JMJ Posted July 22, 2003 Share Posted July 22, 2003 Where have I been? I have a wedding in 10 days, a $1000 car repair bill and no money to pay it with cause it all went into the wedding so we might not have a honeymoon. 'nough said. it'll be okay bro. adam, you'lll see.....God has everything in control! at times like those one can only trust....because nothing is impossible for God! God bLess! +JMJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mulls Posted July 22, 2003 Share Posted July 22, 2003 Matthew 19:14, Jesus said, Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. So, we see that St. Paul's letter isn't refering to children, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to them already. The only other stipulation (for children) is baptism. For whoever is born of water and spirit will be saved. this seems contradictory....if the kingdom of heaven already belongs to children, why would their be another stipulation to inherit said kingdom? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mulls Posted July 22, 2003 Share Posted July 22, 2003 (edited) That's why the Church permits parents and godparents to speak on the child's behalf, as well as promising to bring the child up in the Faith. What happens to unbaptized babies and little children who have not yet personally accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior?????????? Catholic parents have the assurance that their babies will go to heaven. so....infant baptism is kinda like an insurance policy for babies...they are assured to go to heaven from the time they are baptized, until they are able to make a rational decision in their life to follow Christ. Is this correct? Would you agree that infant baptism is meaningless if the person gets older and decides to reject Christ from their life? Edited July 22, 2003 by mulls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Huether Posted July 22, 2003 Author Share Posted July 22, 2003 Because the kingdome of heaven belongs to them, they just need to be baptized to reap the benefits. It's like any gift, you have to unwrap it first. Baptism is the unwrapping! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mulls Posted July 22, 2003 Share Posted July 22, 2003 Where's Bro Adam and Mulls? I'm tired of playing the role of the non-Catholic. haha lol, way to hold it down buddy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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