In the Bible, Ezekiel 18:20, it proves that mortal sin does not exist so why do Catholics insist that it does?

Question

The book of the Bible, Ezekiel, chapter eighteen, verse twenty states: The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him. (New International Version of the Bible). This Bible verse clearly states that infantile babtism is wrong, therefore, why do Catholics continue to pursue this extremely unbiblical act?

Answer 1

+ Mortal and Venial Sin +

As described in Ezekiel, any violation of the Law will condemn an "unsaved" person. And everyone violates the Law. Only in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ could anyone be "saved."

Here is the joint declaration of justification by Catholics (1999), Lutherans (1999), and Methodists (2006):

By grace alone, in faith in Christ's saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping us and calling us to good works.

But once you are saved, you can choose to renounce your salvation through mortal sin.

1 John 5:16-17 - If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give him life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I do not say that you should pray. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly.

Mortal sin is a grave infraction of the law of God that destroys the divine life in the soul of the sinner (sanctifying grace), constituting a turn away from God. For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must be present: grave matter, full knowledge of the evil of the act, and full consent of the will.

Venial sin is a sin which does not destroy the divine life in the soul, as does mortal sin, though it diminishes and wounds it. Venial sin is the failure to observe necessary moderation, in lesser matters of the moral law, or in grave matters acting without full knowledge or complete consent.

But continual venial sin can slowly but surely totally separate you from God, placing you into the state of mortal sin.

http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt3sect1chpt1art8.htm#1854

+ Infant Baptism +

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, "Born with a fallen human nature and tainted by original sin, children also have need of the new birth in Baptism to be freed from the power of darkness and brought into the realm of the freedom of the children of God, to which all men are called."

Infant baptism is not a new thing. There are non-biblical documented sources starting in the second century telling of infant Baptism.

There are even several passages in the Bible where whole households were baptized. This would include everyone who lived there, men, women, children, and infants.

Acts 16:15, "After she and her household had been baptized"

Acts 16:33, "then he and all his family were baptized at once."

Acts 18:8, "came to believe in the Lord along with his entire household, and many of the Corinthians who heard believed and were baptized."

1 Corinthians 1:16, "I baptized the household of Stephanas"

St. Paul wrote that baptism has replaced circumcision (Col 2:11-12), and in Judaism circumcision was performed primarily on infants.

http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt2sect2.htm#1250

+ With love in Christ.

Answer 2

Ezekiel 18;20, The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

I have read this scripture in the KJV and I'm not sure where you are coming from. Up until now everyone died not just the sinner.
I really don't see anything in this scripture alluding to baptism either infantile, or adult. But I do thank-you very much for asking this question. This is a very important scripture.

I Cr 13;8a
10-26-6

Answer 3

This is an interesting question!

the act of Christening does not appear on the Bible for the mere fact that it is pointless. Let me explain. The act of Baptism a conscious act, meaning that the person being baptised is fully aware of what he is doing and why. The act of Baptism is centered on the renewal of you spirit, therefor leaving your old life and ways behind you and beginning a new walk with God.

Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

As for Mortal sin, I am not certain what exactly you mean. Whether it be acts that lead to death, or the sins of the father? Please elaborate and i will answer this as well.

Answer 4

First, you only focused to one part of the bible. You have to read it all, hoping, that it may help you understand it further. Secondly, if you are a Catholic, you should only read the 'accredited' bible, so as not to weaken your faith, Most of the religions have their own 'version' of the bible. In this regard, you should only read the bible recognized by the catholic church. This will help you strengthen your faith. For Catholics, there are 2 types of sins which are venial and mortal. You only need to confess your sins if you have committed mortal sins. (theoretically) You cannot receive communion if you have committed mortal sin(s). If, knowingly, you committed mortal sin(s), go to the priest first and confess before receiving communion. Sorry for this answer getting wayward. The best way to answer this is to read/buy books, in a Catholic perspective, that will relate to your questions. In the end, you will be involved in the Catholic way of life.

Answer 5

Stop criticizing the Catholic Church when your churh probably started existing only 100 years ago the result of some disgruntled or maybe drunken preacher. All the versions of the bible were translations of copies handed down by Catholic Monks who manually and accurately copied them over the centuries before thr printing press came into existence. Should I pitty you for entrenching yourself in the historically wrong side? I wonder!

Answer 6

The catholics pray to the dead because their religion is one of works and paganism. They use their teachings from the catholic church over the truths from the scriptures. The model prayer Jesus gave us prays to God only. Nowhere in the scriptures does Jesus allow us to pray to anyone other than Him The catholics believe mary is working with God as a god helping Him because His powers are limited. They believe God does not have the power to hear everyone prayers at once and only mary has the power to hear all the prayers at once. The catholics believe mary is more powerful than God himself because He needs mary's help.

Answer 7

Because the Apostles did it. Infant baptism has been shown to be practiced by the very early church in archaeological digs.

Answer 8

Of course it doesn't exist, I don't believe it exists.

Answer 9

Better safe then sorry?

:)
Best Wishes...
T.

Answer 10

Since Exekiel 18:20 has absolutely nothing to do with Baptism, I find it impossible to accept your hypothesis. The bible verse, taken in and of itself, is an endorsement of predestination, and that is a profoundly unChrsitian principle on account of the fact it does not leave open the very Christian principle of being born again in Christ.

Your interpretation of Ez 18:20 is weak.

You must interpret OT text in light of the NT, and you must interpret NT verses in light of all other NT verses.

What's more, if you are going to claim infant Baptism a fallacy, you had better base that conclusion on more than a single Bible verse. That is, if you want to be taken seriously.

Try this:

Infant Baptism
Gen. 17:12, Lev. 12:3 - these texts show the circumcision of eight-day old babies as the way of entering into the Old Covenant - Col 2:11-12 - however, baptism is the new "circumcision" for all people of the New Covenant. Therefore, baptism is for babies as well as adults. God did not make His new Covenant narrower than the old Covenant. To the contrary, He made it wider, for both Jews and Gentiles, infants and adults.

Job 14:1-4 - man that is born of woman is full of trouble and unclean. Baptism is required for all human beings because of our sinful human nature.

Psalm 51:5 - we are conceived in the iniquity of sin. This shows the necessity of baptism from conception.

Matt. 18:2-5 - Jesus says unless we become like children, we cannot enter into heaven. So why would children be excluded from baptism?

Matt 19:14 - Jesus clearly says the kingdom of heaven also belongs to children. There is no age limit on entering the kingdom, and no age limit for being eligible for baptism.

Mark 10:14 - Jesus says to let the children come to Him for the kingdom of God also belongs to them. Jesus says nothing about being too young to come into the kingdom of God.

Mark 16:16 - Jesus says to the crowd, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved." But in reference to the same people, Jesus immediately follows with "He who does not believe will be condemned." This demonstrates that one can be baptized and still not be a believer. This disproves the Protestant argument that one must be a believer to be baptized. There is nothing in the Bible about a "believer's baptism."

Luke 18:15 – Jesus says, “Let the children come to me.” The people brought infants to Jesus that he might touch them. This demonstrates that the receipt of grace is not dependent upon the age of reason.

Acts 2:38 - Peter says to the multitude, "Repent and be baptized.." Protestants use this verse to prove one must be a believer (not an infant) to be baptized. But the Greek translation literally says, "If you repent, then each one who is a part of you and yours must each be baptized” (“Metanoesate kai bapistheto hekastos hymon.”) This, contrary to what Protestants argue, actually proves that babies are baptized based on their parents’ faith. This is confirmed in the next verse.

Acts 2:39 - Peter then says baptism is specifically given to children as well as adults. “Those far off” refers to those who were at their “homes” (primarily infants and children). God's covenant family includes children. The word "children" that Peter used comes from the Greek word "teknon" which also includes infants.

Luke 1:59 - this proves that "teknon" includes infants. Here, John as a "teknon" (infant) was circumcised. See also Acts 21:21 which uses “teknon” for eight-day old babies. So baptism is for infants as well as adults.

Acts 10:47-48 - Peter baptized the entire house of Cornelius, which generally included infants and young children. There is not one word in Scripture about baptism being limited to adults.

Acts 16:15 - Paul baptized Lydia and her entire household. The word "household" comes from the Greek word "oikos" which is a household that includes infants and children.

Acts 16:15 - further, Paul baptizes the household based on Lydia's faith, not the faith of the members of the household. This demonstrates that parents can present their children for baptism based on the parents' faith, not the children's faith.

Acts 16:30-33 - it was only the adults who were candidates for baptism that had to profess a belief in Jesus. This is consistent with the Church's practice of instructing catechumens before baptism. But this verse does not support a "believer's baptism" requirement for everyone. See Acts 16:15,33. The earlier one comes to baptism, the better. For those who come to baptism as adults, the Church has always required them to profess their belief in Christ. For babies who come to baptism, the Church has always required the parents to profess the belief in Christ on behalf of the baby. But there is nothing in the Scriptures about a requirement for ALL baptism candidates to profess their own belief in Christ (because the Church has baptized babies for 2,000 years).

Acts 16:33 - Paul baptized the jailer (an adult) and his entire household (which had to include children). Baptism is never limited to adults and those of the age of reason. See also Luke 19:9; John 4:53; Acts 11:14; 1 Cor. 1:16; and 1 Tim. 3:12; Gen. 31:41; 36:6; 41:51; Joshua 24:15; 2 Sam. 7:11, 1 Chron. 10:6 which shows “oikos” generally includes children.

Rom. 5:12 - sin came through Adam and death through sin. Babies' souls are affected by Adam's sin and need baptism just like adult souls.

Rom. 5:15 - the grace of Jesus Christ surpasses that of the Old Covenant. So children can also enter the new Covenant in baptism. From a Jewish perspective, it would have been unthinkable to exclude infants and children from God's Covenant kingdom.

1 Cor. 1:16 - Paul baptized the household ("oikos") of Stephanus. Baptism is not limited to adults.

Eph. 1:1; Col. 1:2 - Paul addresses the "saints" of the Church, and these include the children he addresses in Eph. 6:1 and Col. 3:20. Children become saints of the Church only through baptism.

Eph. 2:3 - we are all by nature children of wrath, in sin, like all mankind. Infants are no exception. See also Psalm 51:5 and Job 14:1-4 which teach us we are conceived in sin and born unclean.

2 Thess. 3:10 - if anyone does not work let him not eat. But this implies that those who are unable to work should still be able to eat. Babies should not starve because they are unable to work, and should also not be denied baptism because they are unable to make a declaration of faith.

Matt. 9:2; Mark 2:3-5 - the faith of those who brought in the paralytic cured the paralytic's sins. This is an example of the forgiveness of sins based on another's faith, just like infant baptism. The infant child is forgiven of sin based on the parents' faith.

Matt. 8:5-13 - the servant is healed based upon the centurion's faith. This is another example of healing based on another's faith. If Jesus can heal us based on someone else’s faith, then He can baptize us based on someone else’s faith as well.

Mark 9:22-25 - Jesus exercises the child's unclean spirit based on the father's faith. This healing is again based on another's faith.

1 Cor. 7:14 – Paul says that children are sanctified by God through the belief of only one of their parents.

Exodus 12:24-28 - the Passover was based on the parent's faith. If they did not kill and eat the lamb, their first-born child died.

Joshua 5:2-7 - God punished Israel because the people had not circumcised their children. This was based on the parent's faith. The parents play a critical role in their child's salvation.