FACT CHECK: Debunking Protestant Errors About Catholicism! “Baptizing Babies is wrong”
In our ongoing series answering common Protestant objections to Catholicism, Catholic convert and notable truther (in every sense of the word) Nina Leone asked about the basis for the practice of infant baptism. It is worth noting off the bat that this practice is not isolated with the Christian Religion. It is also practiced among the Eastern Orthodox (who date back to the 11th century), as well as almost every traditional Protestant sect: Anglicans, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Methodists, etc.
In fact, Protestant scholar Timothy LeCroy, who serves as Visiting Instructor of Historical Theology at Covenant Theological Seminary (a Protestant seminary) makes the following observation: “Infant baptism was the universal practice of the church until after the Protestant Reformation. At the onset of the Reformation, none of the magisterial reformers abandoned the practice of infant baptism, but began to vigorously defend it with fresh biblical rationale… To this day, churches that are the ecclesial and theological heirs of the Protestant Reformers have continued that practice of infant baptism. These would be Lutherans, Presbyterians, Reformed of various kinds, and Anglicans… In these churches there is a continuous and consistent theology and practice of infant baptism that goes back to the days of the early church… the 17th century theology of credo-baptism was quite new, even by the timeline of the Reformation. There is no real historical precedent for the view before the 17th century and no place where it was practiced outside of England.”
We would be wise to recall that Our Lord condemned traditions of men. In Mark 7:8, He says, “You have disregarded the commandment of God to keep the tradition of men.” St. Paul writes in Galatians 1:8, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” Thus, even at the onset, we see that the practice of withholding infants from Baptism is condemned since it originated with men nearly 1600 years after Jesus. And since it is a different gospel from the one preached by the Apostles, it is anathema. If it were preached by the Apostles, we would surely find some evidence of it in the early Church, but we find just the opposite. We discover that the practice of infant baptism traces all the way back to the beginning.
In 215 AD, St. Hippolytus teaches, “Baptize first the children, and if they can speak for themselves let them do so. Otherwise, let their parents or other relatives speak for them.” Origen explicitly states that this teaching was handed on specifically from the Apostles themselves to their successors. He writes, “In the Church, baptism is given for the remission of sins, and, according to the usage of the Church, baptism is given even to infants… The Church received from the apostles the tradition of giving baptism even to infants. The apostles, to whom were committed the secrets of the divine sacraments, knew there are in everyone innate strains of [original] sin, which must be washed away through water and the Spirit.” St. Cyprian, in addressing the question of whether infants should be baptized after eight days old rather than three or four days, writes, “We all judge that the mercy and grace of God ought to be denied to no man born.” Notice that Cyprian takes it for granted that this was the belief and practice of the Church. No one disputed whether infants should be baptized; rather, they discussed how many days ought to pass before a newborn baby receives the grace of Baptism. These Fathers are just a small sampling, and they all predate Constantine in case anyone was wondering.
Of course, the doctrine of Baptismal regeneration goes without saying. Nobody in the early Church, at all, taught anything different. With one accord, they all spoke the same voice regarding John 3:3-5, where Our Lord said to Nicodemus, “Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Every single Church Father all taught that this passage was where Jesus declared the necessity of Baptism. Every single one. Century after century after century. Now who should we turn to in order to obtain an accurate understanding of Jesus’ words in John 3? Should we turn to Pastor Bob, or should we turn to those who inherited the teachings of the Apostles in the earliest centuries? Heroic Christians, many of whom became martyrs. Many of whom defended the faith against heretic after heretic, and helped develop the beautiful Trinitarian theology we all take for granted today; helped develop our understanding of the Hypostatic Union of Christ; helped determine which books belonged in the New Testament. Because every last one of them said John 3:5 taught baptismal regeneration. Pastor Bob may be a nice guy and may give some good sermons and perhaps read some books, but he is wrong on this issue.
Or we can ask this particular individual, very well known to Protestants, what his views on baptismal regeneration were. I am sure Pastor Bob has even heard of him, too. After all, this is the guy that invented Sola Scriptura and handed it to the world. His name is Martin Luther. In his Large Catechism of 1529, the man who taught that all we need is Scripture alone wrote this: “Expressed in the simplest form, the power, the effect, the benefit, the fruit and the purpose of baptism is to save. No one is baptized that he may become a prince, but, as the words declare, that he may be saved. But to be saved, we know very well, is to be delivered from sin, death, and Satan, and to enter Christ’s kingdom and live forever with him… Through the Word, baptism receives the power to become the washing of regeneration, as St. Paul calls it in Titus 3:5… Faith clings to the water and believes it to be baptism which effects pure salvation and life… you may say: It is a fact that I am baptized, but, being baptized, I have the promise that I shall be saved and obtain eternal life for both soul and body.”
Baptismal regeneration is explicitly taught by Our Lord, as well, in Mark 16:16: “He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved.” St. Peter proclaims in Acts 2:38-39, “Do penance, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins: and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is to you, and to your children.” Notice, too, the emphasis on the promise belonging to both the adult reader, and “to your children.” And this is right in the context of St. Peter connecting baptism to the remission of sins. The way some interpret (or twist) Scripture today, you would think they would want to correct Jesus Himself and St. Peter. But the face value teaching of Sacred Scripture stands for what it is. In Acts 22:16, we read, “Rise up, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, invoking his name.” 1 Peter 3:21 says, “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition could not be more clear on this topic.
In Luke 18:15-16, we read that “they were bringing even infants” to Jesus, and that Our Lord taught, “Let the children come to me for to such belongs the kingdom of God.” As we have seen already from John 3:5, Titus 3:5, Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38-39, Acts 22:16, 1 Peter 3:21, as well as the unanimous testimony of the early Church, Baptism is integral to the process of belonging to the Kingdom. And, as Luke 18 shows, “even infants” can be “brought” to Him. This shows us that children are included in the call of salvation. The apostolic Church baptized whole “households” (Acts 16:33; 1 Cor. 1:16), a term encompassing children and infants as well as servants. The very use of the term “households” indicates an understanding of the family as a unit.
Acts 16:33, in particular, says, “immediately he and all his household were baptized.” The Greek term for “all his household” is panoiki. Dr. Robert Sungenis notes that in its dative form, the translation is “with all his household,” and that in the Septuagint, which is the earliest extant Koine Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, panoiki is used in Genesis 50:8, Exodus 1:1, and Judges 18:21, each indicating that the term includes children, “little ones.”
Baptism is the Christian equivalent of circumcision, or “the circumcision of Christ”: “In him you were also circumcised with the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead” (Col. 2:11–12). Thus, like circumcision, baptism can be given to children as well as adults. In the Old Covenant, children were recipients of circumcision, as well as adult converts. Genesis 17:10-12 says, “This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household.” Thus, if Baptism is called “the circumcision of Christ” in the New Covenant, then it follows that the fulfillment obviously also includes children. The difference is that circumcision was powerless to save (Gal. 5:6, 6:15), but “baptism now saves you” (1 Pet. 3:21). And, “There is no longer male or female; for you all are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatian 3:28).
We see that the Catholic Christian practice of baptizing infants is firmly rooted in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, with unanimous consent from the early Church. We see that even the original Protestant sects, including the very founder of the Protestant Revolt himself, Martin Luther, all accepted, taught, and practiced infant baptism; and they used Scripture alone as their template for doing so. We see the first ones to deny this doctrine and practice came roughly 1600 years after Jesus and the Apostles, which proves that the denial of infant baptism is itself a tradition of men, which Our Lord condemns. We now sincerely pray for all Protestants to convert to the Christian Religion established by Jesus Christ, found in His One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. May they find the joy and peace of receiving Our Lord in the Eucharist.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. We love you. Save souls. Amen.
By: Joe Moreaux
