Like Ishmael? When I asked a seminary-trained Reformed Baptist how he views the children of believers, he said "like Ishmael". My jaw continues to drop when I think of that remark. To be fair to him, I'm sure I caught him off guard and given time to think it through he would change his answer.

I continue to think this issue through. I finished Mark Horne's article, Is God the God of the Mature Professing Christian Only? It's a refutation of Greg Welty's critique of paedobaptism which I commented on last week. Here's the basic paedobaptist argument:
- Baptism is the sign of the New Covenant and incorporates you into Christ's body, the Church
- Just like the OT covenants there are elect and non-elect in the New Covenant, but which are elect and which are not is unknowable to man
- The covenant can be broken; unbelieving baptized individuals will be cut out of Christ and should be excommunicated from the church
- Since the elect will possess a persevering faith, by grace, all Covenant Keepers, whether infant or adult, should be considered regenerate
- There is a "special elect" among the children of the elect, and the door of baptism (into the Church) must not be closed to them through the offense that others cause

I will continue to study this topic, but Mark's paper explained Covenant Theology at a low enough level so that I could understand most of it. Some questions remain, but my conscience (hopefully shaped by Scripture) affirms that God must also be the God of my children.