Rev. Dalton Rushing’s article, “Why I Affirm Infant Baptism,” has me thinking this morning. I know, scary, isn’t it? I believe that infant baptism is a defining doctrine of The United Methodist Church. If we were to lose (God forbid!) infant baptism, we would cease to be Methodist. It is the core doctrine and practice that grounds all we do firmly in God’s grace and reminds each of us that “it’s not about me.” In our culture, where we have become slaves to individualism, it is a message that needs to be proclaimed as often as possible.
Rev. Rushing says…
Infant baptism reminds us that God’s power is much larger than a simple decision; salvation is much broader than a moment in time. When we see an infant baptized, we see the ultimate argument for the power of God’s grace: even in this child, who cannot feed herself, or clothe herself, or make her own decisions–even in this child–God is at work.
Our theology of Baptism proclaims with certainty that there is no limit to God’s amazing grace. What do we, as United Methodists, need to do to reclaim this central doctrine of our faith tradition?
Dalton Rushing on Infant Baptism was first posted on March 4, 2013 at 10:27 am.
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