Some quick observations (because it's almost LUNCH!)
1. There are NO age statements in Scripture about baptism. NOTHING that says one must first attain a certain age - or not.
2. I think there is much that can go wrong when we turn associations into prerequisites, or confuse the word "and" with the word "then." In all the baptism texts, not once does any of the 3 words that mean "then" are used. We need to be respectful to the texts. Much goes wrong when people insert sequence or chronological order into texts that just do not state it.
3. I think much depends on whether one's theology is "arrow down" or "arrow up" - is it about what we do for God (ordinances, hoops) or what God does for us (grace, mercy, blessings, gifts). And when it comes to the issue of baptism as a "Means of Grace" whether we are monergists (who believe God GIVES faith, life, justification) or a synergist (God OFFERS faith, life, justification). Since Scripture does not "answer" a lot of our questions, the fundamental views we have about theology tend to get employed.
4. I think there are verses that suggest that Baptism does something and none that suggest it is just an obedient response to the Law. See Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 6:11, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27, Ephesians 5:25-27, Titus 3:5, 1 Peter 3:18-22.
5. While there is no verse in the Bible that specifically states that infants were or were not baptized, I'm not sure I agree that the norm is not what Scripture says but rather the examples of stuff we see done in the Bible (in other words, what MAY or MAY NOT have been DONE is not authoritative or normative). Many will say, "Every example of baptism that happens to be recorded in the Bible is of one over the age of ____" To which my reply is, "so what?" And of course, it's not provable (see 1 Corinthians 1:16, Acts 16:15, etc., etc. where "whole households" were baptized; we have NO CLUE as to what age all were in the "household."
6. Some note the very INCLUSIVE language associated with the Sacrament (Matthew 28:19, Acts 2:38-39, Acts 16:15, etc.) and the promise that children can believe (Matthew 18:6, Mark 10:13-15, etc.). The Early Church Fathers also testify of the very early practice of infant baptism. Polycarp (69-155 AD), a disciple of St. John, states that he was baptized as an infant. Justin Martyr (100-166) states in 150 AD that Baptism replaces circumcision and should be given to infants. Irenaeus (130-200) in “Against Heresies” states that baptism is “given to infants, children, youth and the elderly.” The Council of Carthage (254 AD) which involved 99 Christian bishops, stated “We ought not hinder any person from Baptism and the grace of God, including infants and the newly born.” The idea of restricting and forbidding this to those under a certain (never disclosed) age was not a teaching until the Anabaptist movement of the 16th Century.
My perspective....
- Josiah
.