Infant or adult baptism?

Christian denominations widely differ on teachings about baptism. Some say that it is right for baptism to be carried out even six weeks after a child is born while others have contrary opinions, saying that one should be baptised after he or she has become mature enough to understand the Bible. Pastor Emmy Musonera of Glory of God Temple says his church follows strictly biblical teachings on baptism. He says that the main reason for baptism is that it accomplishes the washing away of sin. “It’s therefore imperative that a person should be baptised when he or she has come to an age where they know what sin is all about,” he says. The pastor adds that his church doesn’t baptise infants but only those who have reached the age of 12 years and above. “This is the age that we recommend people to get baptised at. We first teach them the meaning of baptism and how they should behave after they are baptised. They are fully aware of the Christan duties they have after being born again and they are able to live their spiritual life responsibly.” Pastor Musonera says they only baptise when someone has the capacity to understand biblical teachings. “We don’t baptise when someone has not understood the full meaning of the Bible. That’s why we normally take those who are about to be baptised to a one-month biblical orientation.” He agrees that different churches have different views on baptism and that’s why some Christian denominations don’t see anything wrong in baptising infants. “But we should be aware that Jesus Christ was baptised at an age when He was spiritually mature.” Pastor Musonera cites a biblical incident when Nichodemus approached Jesus and was told that unless he was born again, in water and spirit, he wouldn’t enter the Kingdom of God. “Nichodemus asked how a big person like him could enter into his mother’s womb and be born again. But Jesus told him that he had to be baptised first.” James Karisindi of Christians Gospel Church in Kacyiru says that all people are born sinners and so the age at which a person is baptised doesn’t matter. “We inherit sin from our parents and grandparents; therefore, it doesn’t matter when a person is baptised according to our church. But what we know is that baptism is not a direct flight to heaven. Whether you’re baptised as an infant or as an adult doesn’t matter. What matters is your spirituality.” But Father Marcel Uwineza of Catholic Church, Remera, says that, “We’ve got to face the fact that Christian life is a process, a lifelong process. It’s not limited to some particular period of one’s life. It’s a whole life. One can therefore receive baptism at any time in their life but this is received once.” He adds that the problem of the theology of infant baptism is that “it is essentially a problem of integrating one’s understanding of the biblical references, more importantly the theology of baptism one gets from the New Testament, and one’s assessment of the traditional practices of the churches with an overarching understanding of the meaning of baptism.” Thus, according to Catholics, one can get baptised at any age so long as he or she lives the rest of their spiritual lives according to biblical teachings.