Refusing the Font

Those two great hellfire-breathers, John Calvin and John Knox, demanded that the Ecclesiastical College at Geneva deny baptism to children whose parents were not in good church standing. They failed, but ever since, the subject has risen periodically to plague Protestant parishes. Can any child be turned away from the font, however lapsed or feckless his parents or godparents may be? Yes, indeed, say some hard-boiled clergymen.

In England, the Anglican Church Times put the problem on to boil again. "It is common knowledge that, in the present state of England, many parents bring their children to the font to be 'done' with scant knowledge of what is really involved . . . Statistics show that roughly two-thirds of the children baptized in infancy are never brought to confirmation . . .

"But scruples on these scores should never be allowed to prevent the administration of baptism altogether. Our Blessed Lord was insistent that little children be allowed to come to Him. For a priest to repel an infant from the font means that he shoulders a responsibility which few indeed . . . can be willing to bear."

The resulting flurry of indignation included both factions. Wrote Layman Alan Frost of Folkestone: "Such a view can only be based on the presumption that England is still a Christian country . . . Is it not time [to see] that England is pagan, and that missionary methods are the only ones which can be used?" A Lancashire correspondent had a pointed argument for the other side: "St. Augustine told Bishop Julian that if he refused to baptize children the men would spit in his face and the women would throw their sandals at his head. Take note that women are wearing sandals again . . ."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.