INFANT BAPTISM: EVALUATION OF CALVIN’S ARGUMENTS

Abstract

Infant baptism is a significant practice in the history of the Christian Church. This practice is arguably said to have originated from the apostolic church. As to whether the ritual is biblical or not, has always been the bone of contention among theologians. John Calvin, based on some sporadic Bible passages, argues that infant baptism is biblical. However, arriving at such a conclusion seems to betray a misconstrual of the scriptural references in question. Upon a painstaking appraisal of Calvin’s arguments, this study contends that infant baptism is based on tradition rather than Scripture.