Paedofaith

What is faith? What does it mean to place faith in something or someone? How does this faith in an object affect the believing subject? These questions are of the utmost importance for Christian theology and for the Christian himself, especially when we learn that it is by our faith, through our faith, or because of our faith that we are saved.

One of the ongoing discussions in the Church is over the way in which this faith is created, nourished, or bolstered by the use of the sacraments. Some say that these sacraments are means of grace. Others say they are memorials, often preferring not the use the word 'sacrament' at all. Calvin called a sacrament "an outward sign by which the Lord seals on our consciences the promises of his good will towards us in order to sustain the weakness of our faith; and we in turn attest our piety towards him in the presence of the Lord and of his angels and before men" (Institutes, 4.14.1). All truly Reformed thinkers are inheritors of Calvin's theology here. By this statement, he implies a few things:

1) The Lord is the one doing the sealing. First and foremost, a sacrament is a sign and seal of his faithfulness to us, not our faith in him. This is typical of all covenantal sacraments in the Bible. We do participate in the sacraments, but our participation is of secondary importance. God is the one keeping the covenant which allows us to keep the covenant.

2) The sacrament does not create faith, but neither it is a bare memorial. Rather, it really does sustain the faith which is already present in the believer. The way in which the sacraments operate is not mechanical, but pneumatic as the Holy Spirit uses them as he wills.

In light of this discussion, the Church has gone back and forth over the inclusion (or exclusion) of our children into this sacramental life. If Calvin is right, then can infants be included in the sacramental world of Christianity? If so, then which sacraments?

The answers from most of Calvin's inheritors has been this: Yes, children (including infants) are included into the sacramental world, but only the sacrament meant to display inclusion. In the OT, this sacrament was circumcision. In the NT, it is baptism. These two respective sacraments symbolize, sign, and seal ingrafting and the later gift of covenantal faith by the covenant keeping God. This is not a point of contention.

Yet, another question comes to fore: what about the sacraments which are meant to display dependency? This was the Passover in the Old and is the Eucharist in the New. What about these? Are our children excluded? Most Reformed folk say yes to this. Children (including infants) are excluded because they have not yet exhibited the faith necessary to warrant their inclusion.

For years, I have agreed with this line of reason and have felt uneasy when I saw paedocommunion being performed. An infant cannot believe in Christ and thus ought not receive his holy Supper. But I repeat my opening question: What is faith? Those of us who do believe must be careful of answering this question in a cavalier manner. Some days, our faith is very solid and definable. Other days, not so much. If faith is dependency, then clearly an infant can have such faith. That child's cries in the night are the cries of faith! The child knows that she cannot feed herself. She must have the mother's milk to live. So she cries out!

Thus, it is not surprising that when we look at John 4:53, we see various stages and exhibitions of faith (but faith nonetheless!) being spoken of. Here, an entire household believes in the power of Jesus Christ to save them, physically and spiritually. Even the one who was healed, the infantile son (Greek paidi,on) believes in some way, shape, or form. How are we to understand this except by the mysterious notion of paedofaith? It may make us uneasy, but it is not less true. Any denial of the ability of even the youngest of humans to believe is a denial of their personhood. It smacks of rationalism in demanding that we must be able to explain what faith is and how we have it (but our children do not). Clearly this flies in the face of not only John's understanding of saving faith, but also that of the psalmist:

"Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother's breast. From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother's womb you have been my God (Psalm 22:9-10)."

Yes, infants can believe. Simply put, they can trust (or depend) in the way the psalmist describes. When we baptize our children, the impartation of saving faith through the regeneration of the Holy Spirit is very much a possibility. In fact, it may be the mysterious rule rather than a rare exception. So we may want to begin considering (and there are those who are currently doing so) what it would mean to open the table to them. They have rested in Christ for their salvation; may they feast on him for their sustenance. They believe; may they believe more boldly still. While this faith may not be exhibited through more articulate adult means and methods, it can be exhibited and bolstered by their surrogate mother, the Church, and thus rejoiced in that God has truly been a God not only to us but also to them, our children after us.