Howdy All! Oh, you didn't know I was bilingual?J
 
Anyway, here are a set of extremely thought provoking questions that I humbly believe MUST be addressed if we're ever going to learn or practice the truth with regards to infant vs. adult baptism. PLEASE! Can you honestly answer these questions in good conscience before God and not be as challenged as I am? Please print out this short survey and be sure to write your answers in the spaces provided so that you can later refer back to them.
  1. What do you think is too young to be baptized? _____________________________________________
    • Why? ____________________________________________________________________________
    • What are your reasons? ____________________________________________________________
    • How old or young a person can your reasons be consistently applied to? ________________________
    • Are there any age limitations to your reasoning? ________________________________________
    • What are your "cut-off" points or ages? ________________________________________________
    • Could your same approach be used by someone else to an age BELOW your "cut-off"? _______ 
  2. Considering Jesus's the call to discipleship, approximately when is a person ABLE to answer that call?______
    • What is that age, as far as you understand it? _______________________________________________
    • Is that based solely upon a person's intellectual ability or willingness to respond? ___________________
    • Do you believe that God also looks at a persons ability to respond in physical actions and not just commitment? _________________________________________________________________________ 
  3. Mustn't be at the point WHEN, in a person's life, they are ABLE to answer (not just intellectually) the calls of Matt.10, Mark 10 & Luke 14 and a bunch more? _____________________________________________________
  4. About when is that in general human development as you observe it? ___________________________________
  5. Do you believe that there are any optional portions of this discipleship call, where it can still be "conditionally answered"? Or are they unconditional? ________________________________________________________
  6. In this regard, do you think that there are ANY 4, 5, 8,10, 11, 12 year olds that are not only willing with their commended and to be emulated childlike faith, but ABLE to give the disciple's life response that Jesus so clearly demands? _______________________________________________________________________________
  7. Am I reading too much into those demands or conditional statements of discipleship in the NT? ___________
    • If so, How? _______________________________________________________________________________
  8. At about, (or specifically if you know), what age or point in time in one's life are they ready for the Master's Call? _______________________________________________________________________________
    • Please illustrate with an 8, 10, 13 year old leaving their home, mother, father, children, etc.. ___________
    • Please describe the circumstances of a child faithfully disobeying their parents in order to Worship and serve our Christ? __________________________________________________________
    • Even unto death? __________________________________________________________
    • Do you truly believe that God would hold a child "accountable" to this standard of discipleship? ______
    • Down to what age? _________________________________________________________________________
    • If you might respond, "Of course not!", then are you saying that they would NOT be accountable? ____
    • Then why baptize them? ____________________________________________________________________
  9. Considering the nature of a child's faith (trusting nature & impressionable), doesn't it, of necessity, require more than a mere subjective level of "willingness"? __________________________________________________
    • Mustn't there also, of necessity, be a level of ability to give the response with one's life? _____________
    • Aren't all Christians required to assemble with the saints each Sunday? ____________________________
    • But weren't there times when Paul couldn't because he was in a prison cell? ________________________
    • Was God holding him accountable to "go to church" then? ______________________________________
    • No? ____ Why not? ______ Because he wasn't able, in his life's circumstance, to give the response to the call to assemble with the church while in prison chains? ______________________________________
    • Would it be fair to say that God wouldn't hold him accountable under such circumstances? __________
  10. Applying the same logic and understanding of the Scriptures then,.......
    • Would you agree that God doesn't hold people accountable to respond in ways that it is just plain impossible? _______________________________________________________________________
    • If a child would not be held accountable to respond to God by "hating his father or mother", or "leaving his home or possessions", or "hating his own life", then to that degree, would you then agree that they are NOT ACCOUNTABLE to be the DISCIPLES Jesus describes in the NT? ________________________
    • And would you now like to take the position that someone can be accountable for their sin, but not accountable for the disciple's response? _____________________________ Just wondering!?!? _______
  11. If it's just the intellectual knowledge and desire???... If that's all there is to it, then why aren't we actively, by faith in answer to our mission, reaching out to, and bypassing parents where necessary, :
    • for every child that is "ABLE, to his or her degree"?.... ________________________________________
    • that there is a God, Heaven and hell?, ______________________________________________________ 
    • that they do wrong things, that they are sinners?, ___________________________________________ 
    • that their sin separates them from God?, ___________________________________________________ 
    • that they are hell-bound?, ________________________________________________________________ 
    • that they need to give their life to God?, ____________________________________________________ 
    • regardless of what Mommy or Daddy may think?, ____________________________________________ 
    • that they need to be baptized immediately?, _________________________________________________
    •  and worship faithfully with the saints?, _____________________________________________________ 
    • regardless of any family opposition?, _______________________________________________________
  12. I'm obviously having a hard time with that. Don't you think I should? Why?______________ Why not? _____
  13. Do you believe that there are children that are being baptized "too soon" or before they need to? _________
  14. If so, will that baptism do them any good later on? ________________________ If so, how? _______________
    • Please provide the verses in support of your position? _________________________________________ 
  15. Would a child, thusly baptized too soon, be a true Christian as through Rom.6 or Gal.3? _________________
  16. Do you think that the deacons, elders and preachers that I've met in the church that were baptized at 9 and under, really ever became Christians through their child or infant baptism? _____________________________
    • Please provide the verses in support of your position? __________________________________________
  17. If so, why are my fears for them and the church unfounded? L ______________________________________
  18. Wouldn't we therefore have people who are NOT children of God, in positions of "leading" the children of God? ______________________________________________________________________________________
  19. Presuming you see why I'm asking these specific questions, ... while I know that we must be gentle and patient when correcting those in opposition, doe you believe it is necessary to clarify these questions? ___________________________________________________________________________________________
  20. Why? ________________________________  Why Not? ____________________________________________
  21. When they are Preachers, Elders, Deacons or otherwise self-appointed "leaders", isn't it fair to expect them to have the matter resolved on the issue of their own salvation? ____________________________________ 
    • Don't they fall under a stricter judgment? ________________________________
    • Isn't it fair to expect them to know better? ________________________________
    • If not, Why not? ______________________________________________________
  22. Hence, isn't it right to talk with them differently than I would a non-Christian or new convert? ____________
    • With a greater passion? ___________________________________________________________________
    • With a greater sense of urgency? _________________________________________________________ 
  23. I know that some have said that if we weren't supposed to baptize children, then the Bible would be more clear on the subject.... But considering the fact that the Bible only says that "men and women" were baptized.....
    • Could it be that the Bible is very clear? _____________________________________________________
    • Could it be that our understanding is what is unclear? ________________________________________
    • What would you think it the cause for such a lack of clarity in understanding? ______________________
  24. Some, if not most, denominations make the same statement in regards to an eternal necessity for baptism at all!....
    • Could it be that it is, as it appears to me, quite clear? ____________________________________________
    • That they were baptized, or added, or persecuted, "men and women alike"? ________________________
  25. How am I reading too much into that? (Because that's a key issue for me, besides discipleship)? _________ L
  26. Now, one final exercise for this discussion................... A Woman was in a terrible car accident with both her children in the car with her. Two boys. One was 8, the other 16. The 16 year old was never baptized yet, though he faithfully attended church with his family. He just didn't feel ready to make that kind of commitment. His younger brother was 8 when he was baptized earlier that year. Both brothers died in the crash, along with their mother. Though the preacher tried, the father of the boys was inconsolable. You see, he dreaded that his 16 year old went to hell, based on something the preacher taught and practiced. The preacher tried to explain to the father that we shouldn't be so sure that he went to hell. "After all, he was just a 16 year old boy!" Then the father asked his minister a few questions.....
    • "But didn't you baptize my 8 year old because you believed that he was a 'hell-bound' sinner?"________
    • "Both my boys were 'normal' kids, who developed normally for their ages. Are you saying that there was something 'wrong' with my 16 year old's ability to understand?" __________________________________
    • "Don't you believe that my 8 year old would have 'gone to hell' if you hadn't baptized him?" ___________
    • "Then how can you bring yourself to say that 'maybe' my 16 year old could still go to heaven?" _______
    • "Preacher, I know that the only differences between my 2 loving boys was that one was twice as old as the other, and that you baptized the 8 year old as a 'hell-bound sinner', and my 16 year old didn't yet take that step... So tell me, Mr. Preacher, what do you have to offer from your theology, that is consistent with your practice, that can give me comfort?" ________________________________________________
    • "If there is a 'good chance', as you put it, that my beloved 16 year old is 'in heaven right now, because God is a merciful God Who doesn't hold children accountable to the same standards as adults', then WHY did you baptize my 8 year old? ________________________________________________________
    • Thus, haven't you caused me to fret for my 16 year old's soul needlessly? ________________________
  27. Do you now see any difficulties with the preacher's position? _______________________________________
    28.
Thanks again for sharing your valuable time in taking this survey and discussing it with others as together we "search the Scriptures daily to see whether these things are so".