Cap. IX Arg. 11 Sol: why baptism more useless on our view than theirs? — they also grant eternal damnation of reprobates, church-born baptism by command, and reprobation before birth
That premised, I ask why baptism of many infants is called useless and sealing nothing on our view rather than on theirs. Because God from all eternity decreed to damn the reprobate? They dare not deny that. Because reprobation by decree and baptism by command clash? They too grant that all born in the Church must be baptized by God's command, and that many of them were nonetheless reprobated by his eternal decree before they were born. Or because they teach damnation fixed in God's eternal, certain, infallible knowledge, whereby as before his eyes he saw a man bound by sin's guilt? We profess the same.
Latin
Hoc praemisso, quaero cur ex nostra sententia Baptismus circa multos infantes administratus inutilis statuatur, et nihil obsignare, potius quam ex sententia adversariorum. An quia Deo decretum est ab omni aeternitate damnare reprobatos? At hoc ipsi non audent negare. An quia Reprobari ex decreto Dei et Baptizari ex mandato Dei sibi adversentur? At ipsi etiam agnoscunt omnes in Ecclesia natos ex mandato Dei baptizandos, et multos horum nihilominus aeterno Dei decreto fuisse reprobatos antequam nascerentur. An denique quia illi damnationem infixam docent aeternae, certae et infallibili notitiae Dei, qua veluti ante oculos cernebat hominem peccati reatu constrictum? At nos etiam idem profitemur.