Infant Baptism and Church Membership: Issues and Ambiguity

Abstract

People are initiated into the church by baptism. But what does it mean when baptism is administered to an infant? What does it mean that a baptised child is a member of the church? What privileges and responsibilities accompany that membership? This article explores discussions of and decisions about the admission of baptised members to the Lord’s Supper and the discipline of baptised member in the Christian Reformed Church in North America. Marked by a lack of consensus about the status and spiritual standing of baptised children, these discussions and decisions reveal ambiguity about infant baptism and church membership.