Expert: Edward Bode - 2/19/2006

Question
How can I respond to a friend that is baptist when she says that baptizing an infant is merely getting their hair wet?

Answer
For about 1400 years before the Baptists proclaimed their new theory about Baptism, the Christian world accepted the efficacy of infant Baptism.  First clear evidence of the practice comes from the second century A.D.  Further, when the Book of Acts speaks of households accepting Baptism, they might have included infants of the household.  So, the Baptists are bucking a very old and previously universally accepted practice.
Compared to the Baptists, Catholics have a different idea of the grace-giving qualities of the sacraments.  In the case of Baptism for infants, their knowledge and consent are not required for the Sacrament to bring about its effects.
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Best wishes, Allison.