Should Babies Be Baptized?

The other day I was having an interesting conversation regarding Catholicism - the same religion my parents brought me up in - and the subject of baptizing babies came up. Personally, I was baptized as an infant. In fact, my entire family was. We were taught in Catechism that the only way to remove "original" sin, you know, the first sin committed by Adam and Eve that lies in every soul from the moment of birth (so they said), one must be baptized with water. The teaching was, if my parents didn't have me baptized as an infant and I died, I would go to hell because of this imputed "stain" of original sin. I don't fault my parents for following through. They were only doing what they believed was best for all of the five children they brought into the world. So what about this teaching? Are babies born in sin? Should babies be baptized as an insurance policy against hell? Let's look at these questions from a Biblical viewpoint.

I'm going to begin by saying NO INFANT HAS THE STAIN OF "SIN" WHEN THEY ARE BORN. I'm going to take it one step further and show you from written scripture, five solid statements this is true. Before baptism:
1. God requires that we BELIEVE THE GOSPEL (Mark 16:16). Infants are incapable of believing anything, and certainly not scripture.
2. God requires that we REPENT OF SIN (Acts 2:38). Repentance requires a change of mind. Infants cannot do that.
3. God requires that we must BE TAUGHT and LEARN the will of God (John 6:45). Can an infant know the will of God?
4. God requires that we CONFESS CHRIST BEFORE MEN (Romans 10: 9-10) Infants cannot talk.
5. God requires that we SUBMIT TO BAPTISM (Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38). An infant can be forced by another person to be baptized, but the baby cannot submit its will to do so.
Since only an adult or older children can be converted, baptism is inappropriate for infants or for those children who have not reached the age of accountability. What is the Age of accountability? The age of accountability is the belief that God saves all those who die having never possessed the ability to make a decision for or against Christ. One verse from Romans 1:20 speaks to this issue, " Since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse." According to this, mankind's guilt before God is based, in part, on the fact that people reject what they can "clearly see" of God's existence and power. An infant cannot comprehend the power of God's existence by looking at the sun, moon, stars, universe, depths of the ocean, etc. and therefore, they are incapable of seeing or understanding God's power through things around them.

Most Fundamentalists say infants and children are automatically saved before they reach the age of "reason." So now we have the terms 'before the age of reason' AND 'before the age of accountability.' Thirteen is the most common age accepted as the age of accountability based on Jewish custom. However, there is no definite age listed in the Bible to support the age of thirteen. Personally, I think the age of accountability differs with each infant/child/person. Here is why: You have people who reach the age of 45 who have mental disabilities and can only think, reason, and act like a five-year-old. What about these? Are these people with disabilities going to hell because they are 45 in physical years, but remain little children mentally? The Bible tells us, "The soul that sins will die" (Ezekiel 18:20) HAS YOUR BABY SINNED? The Bible tells us, "A man's heart is evil from his youth" (Genesis 8:21) FROM YOUTH, NOT FROM HIS BIRTH. The Bible tells us that God will judge our WORKS. What has your infant done to be judged for? (Ecclesiastes 12; 13-14). The Bible tells us God will judge fairly according to DEEDS. What intentional activity or action has your infant engaged in? (Romans 2:6-11; Revelation 20:13). As a Catholic, I was told babies were hellbound unless they were baptized. Let's look at that. By the word hellbound I mean bound for the second death as described in Revelation 20:14. NOTE: it is SIN that causes this death (Romans 6:23) and it is ONE'S OWN SINS that causes this death (Ezekiel 18:20) not any imputed transgression, "The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself." That's clear.
Scripture tells us there is a time in a person's life when he or she "knows enough to know evil and choose good" (Isaiah 7:15-16).

Think about it! God is not of such a character that He would require something that cannot be done. Infants are incapable of committing sin! God wants all to be saved (2 Peter 3:9). He does not send unbaptized infants to hell because they are without understanding. Again, God requires we hear and understand the gospel (Romans 1:16; Romans 10:17; Matthew 15:10; Acts 28:27). See how silly it is to believe an infant can be sent to hell? Babies are innocent. How ignorant would it be to destroy your 3-month-old puppy because he soiled your floor? A puppy has no idea what discipline means (yet). He has no idea how much you spent on your carpet or what a carpet even is. He has no concept that you want him to "go potty outside." He has no sense of regulation or order, commands or expectancy from you. How much more an infant? Simply put, the puppy is innocent until he knows right from wrong as expected by his owners. And an infant is innocent because he or she is incapable of knowing right from wrong, what is expected by the parents, or that there is such a law in obeying Gospel's commands, thus he or she is innocent of an infraction of any kind committed or imputed!
Conclusion: As the Bible rejects the teaching of Original Sin, I hope you do, too. Jesus said, "Suffer (allow) the little children to come unto me FOR SUCH IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD" (Matthew 19:14) --in other words, The Kingdom of God is pure and sinless just like a little child.
Until next time,
-Pat-