The Highway Forums General Discussion Theology Discussion Forum "We sometimes allow children to die unbaptized. ."

There is no Arminianism, inconsistency, or false doctrine. The WELS Q&A statement is poorly wordly (you didn't complete the sentence which perhaps even a Reform theologian might agree?); however, I think I understand what they are trying to say.

The fact that a baby may reject the saving grace freely offered by God to all babies in the sacrament of baptism is not because that particular baby resists God more than any other baby. All babies are equally and totally in bondage to sin, spiritually dead, and are not free to either accept or reject the grace offered by God in the sacrament. All babies resist the grace of God offered in baptism until and unless they are regenerated by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit overcomes resistance to grace and makes unwilling babies willing but only when and where God pleases.

With regard to your Large Catechism citation, yes, Luther is teaching presumptive baby belief in baptism ("We bring the child in the conviction and hope that it believe"). As he says elsewhere, if any baptism (regeneration) is certain, it is an infant baptism because infants don't hypocritically ask to be baptized. But he is not teaching infallible baby belief ("we pray that God may grant it faith"). He is teaching infallible validity of baptism because the validity of baptism is based upon the word of God not the faith of men or babies.