9. Infant baptism. — There is no historical account in the NT of an infant being baptized ; but the indirect evidence of tlie practice is strong. In view of the analogy of circumcision, it would be strange, supposing that infants had been ex- cluded from baptism, that such exclusion should not have been mentioned. If infants needed to be brouglit into the inferior covenant by the outward sign of circumcision, still more would they need to be brought into the higher covenant by the out- ward sign of baptism. The Talmud says that infant cliildren of proselytes are to be baptized witli their parents (John Lightfoot, Hor. Hehr. on Mt 3« in Works, xi. [London, 1823] 53 ft"), and this was probably the custom in the 1st cent, (see above, 2). Our Lord by blessing little cliildren with an imposition of hands (Mk lO'^*' iraidla ; Lk 18" fipi(pv, ' babes ') shows that they are capable of
receiving grace. In Mt 10^^, Jesus speaks of giving ' one of these little ones ' a cup of cold water ' in the name of a disciple,' i.e. as a disciple (above, 8), showing that infants can be disciples. No limit is placed on the baptismal command of Mt 28^^ (' all the nations,' not 'all the adults'). The house- holds of Lydia, the Philippian jailer, Crispus, and Stephanas, not improbably included some infants, but all were baptized (cf. Ac 16^^ 'all his'). It is disputed whether 1 Co 7'* refers to infant baptism (Robertson-Plummer, Com. in loc., think that it does not), but at least it seems to point to the right of children to baptism, for otherwise could they be called ' holy ' or ' consecrated ' (ayia) ? Cf. Goudge and Alford, Comm. in loc.
When we turn from the NT to the successors of the apostles, we find that the practice of infant baptism was probably in force at least c. A. D. 69. For Polycarp at his martyrdom (c. A.D. 155 : for the date see Lightfoot, Apostol. Fathers, pt. ii. vol. i. [1889] 437 ff ) says that he had served Christ for 86 years. It is extremely unlikely that he was older, or at any rate more than 3 or 4 years older, than this at his death, and he must therefore have been baptized when he was an infant, or at least as a very young child ; he seems to have been born of Christian parents (ib. ). Justin speaks of men and women of 60 or 70 who had been made disciples (ilxadTjTe-vO-qcrav) from childhood (Apol. i. 15), and compares baptism to circumcision (Dial. 43). Iren- aeus (c. Haer. II. xxii. 4) says that Jesus came to save all who through Him are born again to God — infants, children, boys, youths, and old men. He passed through every age, becoming an infant for infants, thus sanctifying infants, etc. Ter- tullian (de Bapt. 18), who advocates delaying baptism lest it should be rashly administered, especially in the case of infants, bears witness to the common practice of his day. It is to be noted that he does not blame infant baptism as a novelty, as he assuredly would have done had it been such. And thereafter the evidence of its existence is very abundant; see, e.g., Cyprian, Ep. Iviii. ; Can. of Hipp. xix. (113, ed. Achelis), and all the Church Orders.
It is objected to these arguments that faith is required in the NT for baptism, and that infants cannot have faith. But this is not a true objec- tion. If an adult coming to baptism has not faith, he puts the barrier of non-faith between God and himself ; he cannot be in a neutral condition, but, if he does not believe in God, must disbelieve in Him. With an infant it is not so. In the age of innocence he cannot put a barrier between God and himself, and therefore the fact that he has not yet learnt to have an active faith does not I)reclude the working of the grace of God within him,
LiTERATTTRE.— R. Hookcr, Eccl. Pol., bk. V. (ed. Bayne, London, 1902), esp. chs. Ivii.-lxvi.; H. B. Swete, The Holy Spirit in the Neio Testament'^, do. 1910, esp. App. I and J ; D. Stone, Holy Baptism, do. 1899 ; A. J. Mason, The Relation of Confirmation to Baptism^, do. 1893; D. Macleans, The Ueavenlrj Citizenship of Infants, do. 1891 ; F. H. Chase, Confirmation in the Apostolic Aqe, do. 1909; A. C. A. Hall, Confirmation, do. 1900 ; F. E. Warren, Liturgy and Ritual of the Ante-Nicene Church"^, do. 1912; A. J. Maclean, The Ancient Church Orders, Cambridge, 1910 ; artt. on 'The Lord's Command to Baptize' in JThSt vi. [1904-05], vii. [1905-06], viii. [1906-07], by F. H. Chase and J. A. Robinson; artt. on ' Baptism ■ in JIDB i. (A. Plummer), DCG i. (M. Dods), SDB (C. A. Scott), EBi i. (J. A. Robinson), ERE ii. (J. V. Bartlet, K. Lake, H. G. Wood); art. 'Laying on of Hands' in HDB iii. (H. B. Swete); artt. 'Confirmation' in ERE iv. (H. J. Lawlor and H. Thurston).
A. J. Maclean. BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD.— See Baptism,
BARAK.— Barak (Bapd/c) was the ally of Deborah in the life-and-death struggle of Israel with the Canaanites. He won the great battle of Kislion (Jg 4. 5). He is named in the roll of the OT heroes