I confess I am far from a dyed-in-the-wool infant-baptism man. Not at all. In fact, I lean fairly strongly to believer's baptism, and go to a church that practices believer's baptism. At the same time, I understand the theology of infant baptism and respect it, and sometimes find myself on the fence, especially when I witness little kids not more than 6 or 7 getting baptised. That makes me
uneasy. Be that as it may, I found these words of Gilbert Meilaender's both thought-provoking and
challenging:
"For years I've been puzzled about the attitude many people appear to have toward baptism. Even if they don't seem to care all that much about the church, they still bring their new little son or daughter to be baptized. They seem to think of baptism as a natural result of their connection to this little baby. Since they were once baptized, their child should be too."
"But isn't the truth of baptism just the opposite of affirming a human connection? Being baptized is being handed over to God. The first thing to say about it, therefore, is that it is a deeply individualizing act. Having been baptized, that little child sets out on a journey in which she must learn to love Jesus more than father or mother. She is plunged into the waters of baptism, in which she must learn to swim." - from Letters to Ellen, p. 32
"But isn't the truth of baptism just the opposite of affirming a human connection? Being baptized is being handed over to God. The first thing to say about it, therefore, is that it is a deeply individualizing act. Having been baptized, that little child sets out on a journey in which she must learn to love Jesus more than father or mother. She is plunged into the waters of baptism, in which she must learn to swim." - from Letters to Ellen, p. 32