Is Infant Baptism Biblical?

Why do Catholics baptize infants when so many other Christians baptize later in life - when there is an "understanding"?  That was one of the questions that arose after one of my Scripture study courses.  Several people in the class complained that friends or relatives of theirs attend various protestant churches and question this Catholic practice.  One person even challenged our notion of infant baptism by stating he wanted biblical proof of "one baby being baptized".  Here was my response:

The Church teaches that baptism is a sacrament that removes sin - both original and actual.  In the case of an infant or young child it only removes original sin.  If it is an older person, it would remove both original and actual sin.  

It is also written in Scripture.

For example, in Acts 2:38, Peter states "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."  If you notice,  Peter does not restrict this teaching to adults.  He added in v39, "For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to him."

In Acts 16:14-15, Scripture tells us that, "One of them, a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, from the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God, listened, and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying.  After she and her household had been baptized, she offered us an invitation, 'If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my home,' and she prevailed on us."  The "household" was baptized.  It doesn't say only the adults and older children were baptized.

In Acts 16:33, it goes on to state, "He took them in that hour of the night and bathed their wounds; then he and all his family were baptized at once."

None of the above verses excludes infants, nor does it state that specifically only adults are to be baptized.

In Luke 18:15-16, Luke states, "Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them; and when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.  But Jesus called them to him, saying, 'Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God'."   Many fundamentalists will say that this does  not apply to infants as infants would not be able to approach him on their own.  However, the passage states they were bringing "even infants to him".  And notice what Jesus says, "to such (referring to infants and children that were brought to him) belongs the kingdom of God".  So, if Jesus himself said, "let them come to me", who are we to say, "no" and withhold baptism from them?

There is also MUCH writing about the topic by the early Church Fathers.  I will only quote two here:

St. Irenaeus of Lyons:  "For he came to save all through himself - all, I say, who through him are born again to God - infants, and children, and boys, and youth, and old men."   AD 189

St. Hippolytus of Rome:  "The children shall be baptized first.  All the children who can answer for themselves, let them answer.  If there are any children who cannot answer for themselves, let their parents answer for them, or someone else from their family."   AD 215

I hope this brings some clarity for anyone reading who always wondered about infant baptism.  God bless!