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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][i]After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;[/i]—Rev. 7:9

Note (to racists) the part of “all kindreds”: every race and color of humans shall be there.

I like to think of heaven as similar to the Tardis in Doctor Who. There will be plenty of room, the more the merrier!

You can be there too:

[i]He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.[/i]—Mark 16:15

Notice you believe first THEN you are baptized. Being baptized as a baby does not count because a baby cannot confess Jesus and is unable to believe at such a young age.

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[i]Notice you believe first THEN you are baptized[/i] This is true only for adult converts. But for the dependents of adult converts, Peter baptized the whole household, with the reasonable presumption that that included the children.  Baptism is the sign of the new covenant, similar to how circumcision was the sign of the old covenant (Col. 2:11-12). Under the old covenant, circumcision was applied after profession of faith in converting adults, but then they in turn applied it to their (male) babies.  Romans 4:10-11 discusses this with regard to Abraham: He believed first, then afterward received circumcision as a "sign" and "seal" of the righteous he had by faith while still uncircumcised. Nevertheless, he applied this sign to his children. In fact, applying the covenant sign to your children was to be done on pain of death, apparently, as Moses was nearly struck dead for neglecting to circumcise his children, but was saved by the intervention of his wife Zipporah.

[i]a baby cannot confess Jesus and is unable to believe at such a young age[/i] Not true. John the Baptist leapt in the womb at being in the near presence of Christ (Luke 1). Paul further clarifies that the children of believers are "holy" (1 Cor. 7:14).

[/quote]You make logical fallacies. Baptism is not circumcism. There is no law that we are to baptize children.

Your presumption that Peter baptized babies is just that: presumption.

The Holy Spirit in the fetus John caused this reaction. This is also why abortion is evil: the fetus can be indwelt with the Holy Spirit.

I have no problem with infant baptism as a ceremonial rite but to say it drives out the evil spirits in the baby or that it fulfills the requirement of a believer’s baptism is wrong.

If the Catholic church would simply baptize —full immersion under water, not this lazy, silly sprinkling nonsense, baptizing Catholics who become confirmed after publicly confessing their belief in Jesus, then this would not be a problem.

The solution to take off the table one of Protestantism’s major issues with Catholicism is to incorporate baptism as part of the confirmation process.

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Being indwelt with the Holy Spirit (as you note in the fetus John) is the very definition of being a Christian. You make my point for me.

Also, infant baptism is NOT "one of Protestantism's major issues with Catholicism". Certainly, I disagree with the Roman church that infant baptism is regenerational [i]ex opere operato[/i]. But you should remember that all the major Protestant Reformers practiced infant baptism. Presbyterians, Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, Congregationalists, etc. all practice the baptism of adult converts AND the baptism of the children of believers.[/quote]I do not belong to a Protestant denomination. I attend a Bible church, so my knowledge of Lutherans etc. is limited.

You are more learned on this subject than I am.

[i]ex opere operato[/i] —infant baptism as regeneration, being born again, is the issue with infant baptism. This is a ceremonial rite, which is fine, but one should, after stating belief in Jesus the Christ, become baptized in the name of Jesus the Christ.

John was a special case. No baby is a Christian in the womb. However, it is my opinion that a baby does not sin because it does not know right from wrong. It is born with a sin nature which will manifest itself eventually.

[/quote]So for the first 1500 years or so after Christ's death Christians were doing it all wrong by baptizing their infants?[/quote]

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