Baptism, ignorance and sending children to their deaths

I had the great privilege of baptising my daughter the other day. She has been a believer for many years, since she was a child, but came to the conclusion as a twenty-something that she wanted to demonstrate her obedience to Jesus as her lord and master. The baptism took place in the kitchen and was a simple case of one follower of Jesus baptising a person who had made a conscious decision also to be one. This is the biblical picture of baptism: a  decision to follow Jesus followed by a symbolic act of cleansing and obedience. No lessons; no special pool or vessel; no special meeting of the faithful.

I am thrilled that my daughter has made a conscious decision. It would be horrible if she were in the same dreadful place of imposed ignorance as the millions of people who have been baptised as infants.  She too could have grown up believing that decisions taken on her behalf as an infant actually meant something. She could have been fooled into thinking that a ritual in a special building was important and that the parroted responses of people, some of whom were probably atheists or agnostics at best, made her a member of the family of believers. Worst, she might have actually believed that Jesus' sacrifice was valid for someone who has not made a personal conscious decision for themselves. 

Parents who baptise their infant children do them an enormous disservice. They often believe, completely wrongly, that their children are somehow safer, but this is mere superstition.  Making promise on their behalf does not protect their children from godly wrath. The best thing to do for their children is to teach them to be inquisitive and loving.  This encourages them to seek for themselves and so make their own choices, which are the only choices that Yahweh will honour.

In matters of the spirit, ignorance is not bliss; it is death. Infant baptism encourages ignorance. Children can and do grow up thinking of themselves as part of a holy club. In most churches that practise infant baptism, they go through a further ritual at 'first communion' or 'confirmation', following a series of lessons that tend to focus particularly on the denomination's traditions. The entire process of growing up 'in the faith' is about indoctrination rather than questioning and fulfilling rites instead of making decisions. In other words, the emphasis is on maintaining ignorance. 

This last point is relevant also to many churches that do not practise infant baptism. Believers too often think that their children will be better off being indoctrinated, though no one ever calls it that of course, than in making their own choices. Children knowing facts about the bible, talking in religious terms that make parents go 'Ahhhh', and believing that they are part of a holy club are very common in churches that follow believers baptism. The legalism instilled in such churches is no different in Yahweh's eyes from any other form of legalism. Believers must make their own decisions and follow Jesus out of informed choice, not to please their parents or 'because it is right'. 

I have other children who have not made the same choice as my daughter. I hope that they will do so one day, but am glad that I have left them to make their own decisions as independent adults. I am glad that I did not train them to behave in such a way that they had the appearance of salvation without the substance. I am glad, relieved even, that I did not unwittingly instill ignorance into their malleable young souls.