Early Church Fathers
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Augustine said infant baptism is Apostolic
“What the universal church holds, not as instituted by councils but as something always held, is most correctly believed to have been handed down by apostolic authority. Since others respond for children, so that the celebration of the sacrament may be complete for them, it is certainly availing to them for their consecration, because they Continue reading
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Did Tertullian View Infant Baptism as an ‘innovation’?
Short answer, no. In the book Believer’s Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ, Steven A. McKinion suggests that Tertullian’s De Baptismo was “written in response to the innovative practice of infant baptism” (p. 173; emphasis mine). Unfortunately, such a statement reveals a reluctance to deal with Tertullian on his own terms, in his own context. Bryan Holstrom, author of Infant Baptism Continue reading
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More about Origen on Infant Baptism
Here are some quotes from Origen on infant baptism, including the quote I used in my last post about Origen: 1. In his Homilies on Luke (XIV on 2:22a) he remarks “therefore children also are baptized”. 2. In his Homilies on Leviticus (VIII 3 on 12.2) he says baptism is given “according to custom of the Church, to infants Continue reading
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Origen on Infant Baptism
“For this reason, moreover, the Church received from the apostles the tradition of baptizing infants too.” – Origen, Commentary on Romans, (ca.244 A.D.) “Origen could, of course, have been wrong about the apostolic origins of infant baptism. He was writing, it must be recalled, the best part of two centuries after the time of the apostles, and Continue reading
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