Faith of Children by Proxy Essay

In response to the query as to how an infant can be capable of making an act of faith, which is regarded as being necessary for baptism; Catholics refer to faith of infants born into Christian home, as guaranteed by faith of their parents and sponsors. The parents of such infants have the bounding duty to bring them up as Christians. When such children have grown in the faith their baptism is now given ‘confirmation’. In Mark 2: 1-5, an example of faith by proxy, sufficient for salvation of another is often cited by Catholics. ‘And after some days, He again entered into Capernaum. And it was heard that He was in the house. And so many gathered that there was no room left, not even at the door. And He spoke the word to them. And they came to Him, bringing a paralytic, who was being carried by four men. And when they were not able to present him to Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. And opening it, they lowered down the stretcher on which the paralytic was lying. Then, when Jesus had seen their faith, he said to the paralytic, â€Å"Son, your sins are forgiven you. †Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ {Mark 2:1-5} In this passage, the Lord Jesus offered salvation and remission of sins to a paralytic man, based on the faith of those who brought him to Jesus, not necessarily on the faith of the sick man himself; because he was obviously incapable of professing his own faith. Therefore in like manner, Catholics who take their infants to Jesus for baptism are substituting their faith for that for the faith of their children. Another example of faith of one person guaranteeing salvation for another is found in the book of Matthew: ‘And when he had entered into Capernaum, a centurion approached, petitioning him, and saying, â€Å"Lord, my servant lies at home paralyzed and badly tormented. † And Jesus said to him, â€Å"I will come and heal him. †And responding, the centurion said: â€Å"Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my servant shall be healed†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  And, hearing this, Jesus wondered. And he said to those following him: â€Å"Amen I say to you, I have not found so great a faith in Israel†. And Jesus said to the centurion, â€Å"Go, and just as you have believed, so let it be done for you. † And the servant was healed at that very hour. { Matthew 8: 5-13} Salvation for Whole Household Examples abound in the Holy Scriptures where the faith of the head of a household led to salvation of the whole household, children included. In Acts11, we read about a man being saved along with his entire household after Simon Peter had preached the gospel to them. ‘†¦. And he described for us how he had seen an Angel in his house, standing and saying to him: ‘Send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is surnamed Peter. And he shall speak to you words, by which you shall be saved with your whole house. ’ And when I had begun to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as upon us also, in the beginning. ’ {Acts 11:13-15} Therefore, Catholics take the informed Biblical view that since a whole household can be saved by the profession of faith of the head of the house and consequently all members of the household are baptized including little children, the Bible supports the Catholic practice of baptism of infants. Authority from Church Accepted Tradition The second major source of authority for the Catholic practice of baptizing infants is the accepted practice dating back to the very beginning of Christianity, the Apostolic Church. Right from the earliest days of the Christian Church, infant baptism has been an accepted practice. One Church authority, Origen wrote in the third century AD: â€Å"Baptism is given for the remission of sins; and according to the usage of the Church, Baptism is given even to infants. And, indeed, if there were nothing in infants that required the remission of sins and nothing in them pertinent to forgiveness, the grace of Baptism would be superfluous. † (Origen, Homily on Leviticus 8:3 — AD 244) The Roman Catholic Church which succeeded the early Apostolic Church reaffirmed the correctness of the practice of baptism for infants and has continued the practice to this day. WORKS CITED Origen, Homily on Leviticus 8:3 — AD 244 The Sacred Bible: The Acts of the Apostles http://www.catholicdoors.com/