Infant Baptism vs. Baby Dedication: Part I

I’ve had a couple infant baptisms over the past few months and have a number of couples that are expecting babies to arrive soon and the topic of baptism vs. dedication was brought up recently. I don’t think “vs.” is the best way to frame it but we’ll work with it for the purposes of this post. A couple different thoughts were raised so I thought I would write a two-part post in response.

Is infant baptism scriptural? 
It was not uncommon for the apostles to baptize entire families, including babies & small children. We see examples of this in Acts 16:11-15, 31-34; 18:7-8; 1 Cor. 1:16. Baptizing an infant would fit well with the Jewish thought of covenant and how baby boys would be circumcised on the eighth day to represent their involvement in the covenant and then have the opportunity to “own” that for themselves at their Bar Mitzvah (Bat Mitzvah for girls). In The United Methodist Church, the opportunity to “own” one’s infant baptism comes through the process we call Confirmation.

John Wesley talked about a form of grace he called prevenient. The idea is this type of grace comes before, or prior to, one’s realization of its presence. It is by God’s grace that we even become aware of God’s grace. For me, infant baptism has become one of the most beautiful pictures of God’s prevenient grace, present in a baby’s life before s/he is ever aware of it. It seems as though infant baptism speaks to the very nature of grace, which is always prior.

What are your thoughts? Where do you see yourself on this topic? Look for Part II talking about doing a baby dedication at an infant baptism church.