2nd Opinion: When should a child be baptized

Posted: 8/05/05

2nd Opinion:
When should a child be baptized?

By Roger Olsen

It's an age-old question for Baptists, Mennonites, Pentecostals and others who practice believer baptism. When is a person mature enough to receive water baptism? Most Anabaptists (Mennonites, Amish) wait until the candidate has had a profound religious awakening with sorrow for sin and repentance. They believe true conversion (as opposed to raising the hand to “receive Jesus as Savior and Lord”) cannot happen until after the onset of adolescence. Many reserve baptism for 16-year-olds.

In contrast, many Baptists and Pentecostals baptize children as soon as they ask for baptism, so long as they express faith in Jesus Christ. I have observed children as young as 6 and 7 being baptized in Baptist churches. But many Baptists call this “kiddie baptism” and compare it with infant baptism. Is a 6-year-old sufficiently mature to repent and trust in Christ alone for eternal salvation? Can a 7-year-old know what these concepts mean?

The Bible does not settle the issue. We wish it did. Nor do Baptist consensus statements give concrete guidance. When I first became a Baptist, I joined the American Baptist Churches, U.S.A. I discovered that most American Baptist pastors would not baptize anyone under 12. That has become a widespread consensus without formal policy.

But at age 10, my precocious daughter insisted she be baptized. She gave a glowing testimony of repentance and faith, and there was no doubt she had experienced conversion. Our American Baptist pastor refused to baptize her, and I respected that. His own policy was that candidates for baptism must be 12 or older. In general, I agreed with that. But my daughter's case seemed different. She showed every ability to articulate her experience and belief. So, with our pastor's permission, I baptized her myself during a Sunday morning service.

How young would I go with baptism of children? Since moving to the Southwest, I have become increasingly uncomfortable with a habit I observe among some law-enforcement officials. One seminary student doing his ministry internship with a jail chaplain told me he saw children as young as fourth grade (10 years old) in the county jail! I read in the newspapers that in some southern states (and possibly others) children as young as 10 can be and sometimes are prosecuted as adults. I believe this is a travesty. Children that young may commit crimes, but they should be dealt with in juvenile courts, and their sentences should be aimed at rehabilitation and not retribution.

This I believe about children and the law. What does that tell me about how I should regard children and baptism? It would seem inconsistent to believe that a child is not fully responsible for his or her crimes and yet at the same time believe that child can repent and receive Christ in a fully personal, responsible manner. Could the practice of baptizing young children contribute to a social tendency to treat them as little adults in the legal system?

As I have ruminated about this, I have come to the conclusion that for several reasons, it would be best to reserve water baptism until young people are of the age of legal accountability and that legal accountability (adult trial and sentencing) should be reserved until 16. In other words, I have come to agree with the traditional Mennonites and Amish–and probably with our own Baptist ancestors who came into contact with the Anabaptists in Holland and were strongly influenced by them.

Even if a child truly repents and believes on Christ at age 12 (or younger), he or she is not ready for full responsible church membership. Anyone younger than 16 can hardly be trusted with serving on a church committee or as a deacon. Traditionally, baptism ushers one into church membership. It is a public act of commitment. Baptism should follow a period of discipleship during which the candidate shows signs of Christian maturity. This was undoubtedly the practice of the earliest Christian churches of the Roman Empire. Finally, baptizing children younger than 16 implies that they are “little adults” who should be treated that way if they commit a crime. This leads to uncivilized and barbaric treatment of children in adult courts and jails.

I realize what a radical suggestion I am making, and I mean no offense to anyone who was baptized younger than 16. I am just such a person. I was baptized at age 10–like my daughter. But now I regret it. I wish my church had waited until I was older to baptize me. I barely remember the event, and I am not at all sure how meaningful it was to me. As I remember myself at age 10, I think I was a mere child and not yet ready to make a responsible act of commitment such as baptism.

Of course, I don't expect anyone to make such a drastic change in practice just because I suggest it! What I suggest is that churches give serious consideration to the matter and back up their pastors if they would rather wait to baptize children who walk the aisle to accept Christ before adolescence. Consider the consequences. Baptist churches are baptizing children younger and younger all the time. What next? Infant baptism? God forbid! And yet are we not already getting close to it by baptizing 6-year-olds?

Let's begin conversations about the matter in our churches and have the courage to say “wait” to those who want baptism too early.

Roger Olson is professor of theology at Baylor University's Truett Theological Seminary.