Infant baptism is another thing different (American) denominations argue about. There are some churches that say you can't enter into the covenant except through an act of will, and thus you have to be adult enough to make that decision on your own. Historically, though, it seems that the church has been practicing infant baptism since our very earliest days. (One of my pictures of Jordan, when I dig it up, is a picture of a very ancient baptismal font with a separate font for babies.) We Methodists see baptism as being a symbol of God's prevenient grace, i.e. "the divine love that surrounds all humanity and precedes any and all of our conscious impulses." Infant baptism is a statement that God is at work in the lives of our infants before they are even old enough to recognize or acknowledge that fact.
I think you're right that baptism may be analogous to tevillah (is that the right word?) or to circumcision, depending on the circumstances. The idea of being born into a covenant is somewhat alien to Christianity, though. And perhaps, in a sense, that's why we have infant baptism at all -- because we don't really think of children has being born Christian, even if they're born into Christian families.
Also, don't forget that we have a separate process called confirmation as well as baptism. If you are baptized as an infant, as I was, then confirmation is when you "claim the faith of the Church proclaimed in baptism as [your] own faith." (If you are baptized as an adult, on the other hand, you get confirmed at the same time.) So we do have a ritual way of affirming that personal choice a person makes about their life of faith. Baptizing babies is a reminder, though, that God's grace precedes whatever personal decision we make.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: Thanks
Date: 2005-11-28 07:17 am (UTC)I think you're right that baptism may be analogous to tevillah (is that the right word?) or to circumcision, depending on the circumstances. The idea of being born into a covenant is somewhat alien to Christianity, though. And perhaps, in a sense, that's why we have infant baptism at all -- because we don't really think of children has being born Christian, even if they're born into Christian families.
Also, don't forget that we have a separate process called confirmation as well as baptism. If you are baptized as an infant, as I was, then confirmation is when you "claim the faith of the Church proclaimed in baptism as [your] own faith." (If you are baptized as an adult, on the other hand, you get confirmed at the same time.) So we do have a ritual way of affirming that personal choice a person makes about their life of faith. Baptizing babies is a reminder, though, that God's grace precedes whatever personal decision we make.