[net.religion] Unbaptized infants

cjh@petsd.UUCP (Chris Henrich) (11/30/84)

[]

> >I think most schools of thought still hold that an unbaptized
> >baby goes to hell, or at least "limbo".  Wonderful!
> 
> Maybe Roman Catholic schools of thought do, and maybe even some others.
     Some Roman Catholics (e.g. Saint Augustine) have thought
so.  Most of us have felt uncomfortable with the doctrine (and
I leave to your imagination what Jesus would have said about
it).  "Limbo" is one of the kludges that theologians have
thought up to evade the doctrine without quite denying it. 
For me, it is sufficient to quote Saint Anselm (I think) to
this effect:

     Which do you think will prevail: the philosophy of 
     Augustine, or the mercy of Christ?


> But I can't be sure that *most* schools of thought do.
> I can only speak for my denomination, Presbyterian, which makes
> it very clear that infant baptism is not "magic," and that the
> sacrament itself conveys no saving power.  The sacrament is a
> symbol of God's acceptance of the child into a covenant family
> of believers.

     I think this is how most Catholic theologians understand
Baptism. The "magic" model of the sacraments dies hard,
though.

:-)     How did we get to this subject while flaming at Jeff
:-)Sargent and his theories of homosexuality? 

Regards,
Chris

--
Full-Name:  Christopher J. Henrich
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yiri@ucf-cs.UUCP (Yirmiyahu BenDavid) (12/03/84)

Baptizing is more appropriate for net.religion.christian.
Please discuss it there unless there is some issue bridging
other religions as well.