A Difficult Subject...
Perhaps a place to start this study is with a synopsis of the difference beliefs of some of the major religions and why they believe the way they do.
Catholics (1.3 billion)... Baptism is the responsibility of parents... they are responsible for bringing their child to the Sacrament of Baptism as soon after birth as possible.  In order that a child be baptized, it is necessary that the parents consent that there is reasonable hope that the child will be brought up in the Catholic Faith.  Baptism is usually done by "pouring" a small amount of water (usually from a sea shell) over the infants head. 
If you have a child to be baptized who has reached the age of reason (7 years, according to Catholic tradition), they will receive different preparation which will be for the full complement of the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist). 
Confirmation is a Sacrament in the Catholic Church in which the one who is confirmed receives the gifts of the Holy Spirit through the imposition of hand and anointing with oils by the bishop.  (Catholics believe the basis for this sacrament is taken from Acts 8:14-17... "When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God’s message, they sent Peter and John there.  As soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.  Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit.")  
Eucharist refers to Holy Communion (the Body and Blood of Christ), which is consumed during a Catholic Mass.  Catholics cannot receive communion until after confirmation.  
Pentecostalism (280 million)... Pentecostals believe that baptism is only for believers.  As such, they do not practice infant baptism.  To be baptized in a Pentecostal church, a candidate must profess faith in Jesus Christ and repentance of sin.  Most Pentecostal churches don't rigidly define the age at which a person may be baptized, but the candidate must be able to understand the significance of baptism and why they want to be baptized.  The vast majority of Pentecostals practice baptism by full immersion.  The belief that full immersion is appropriate is based on descriptions of baptisms in the New Testament, Paul's referring to baptism as a "burial" in Colossians 2:12 and Romans 6:4, and the literal meaning of the Greek word "baptizo" (the accepted translation of baptizo is "to submerge"... although sometimes it is translated "to drown" and sometimes as "to dip"); in English versions of the New Testament "baptizo" is most often translated as "baptize".
Baptist (100 million)... Baptists are one of the very few denominations which practice baptism by immersion and do so as a symbol of having been saved, not as a requirement for salvation.  The New Testament records that baptism always followed conversion, never preceded it, and was not necessary for salvation (Acts 2:1-41; 8:36-39; 16:30-33).  Baptists look to the Bible as the sole authority for faith and practice, therefore believe that baptism is only for those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  Furthermore, Baptists point out that in the New Testament a commitment to believe in and follow Jesus as Lord and Savior was always voluntary.  Therefore, baptism as a sign of such commitment ought always to be voluntary.  Because of these convictions based on the Bible, Baptists do not baptize infants.  Although some early Baptists baptized by pouring or sprinkling water over a person, Baptists concluded that immersion of a person’s entire body in water was the only biblical way to baptize. Therefore, in spite of persecution, inconvenience and ridicule, they began to practice baptism only by immersion.  Today, that is the Baptist way throughout most of the world.
Lutheran (80 million)... Babies, older children, and adults can be baptized.  Almost all Lutherans perform baptism by sprinkling or pouring water over the head (although Martin Luther preferred immersing the baby or adult three times in water).  Some Lutheran congregations instruct the very young (such as age 7), some confirm children at about the 5th grade, or the 8th grade, after which they make their first Holy Communion.  In understanding the Eucharist they then receive First Communion before beginning the confirmation process several years later.  Some Lutheran congregations traditionally make a public profession of the young persons faith in a public ceremony.  Students often begin taking catechism classes at about age twelve and are usually confirmed at age fourteen.  In the Lutheran church, baptism is considered a miraculous means of grace that God uses to create faith in the heart of a baby, in seed form, which requires nurturing from God’s Word, or faith will die.  Baptism begins the faith that will grow as the child grows in knowledge of God.  In the case of older children and adults, they already believe, but baptism strengthens their existing faith.  Lutherans do not believe that Baptism is ABSOLUTELY necessary for salvation.  All true believers in the Old Testament era were saved without baptism.  Mark 16:16 implies that it is not the absence of Baptism that condemns a person but the absence of faith, and there are clearly other ways of coming to faith by the power of the Holy Spirit (reading or hearing the Word of God).
Methodism (70 million)... From the earliest times, children and infants were baptized and included in the church.  The baptism of children and their inclusion in the church before they can respond with their own confirmation of faith is a vivid and compelling witness to prevenient grace (prevenient is a strange word that is seldom used... dictionary definition is anticipating or preceding).  It makes no difference whether you were baptized as an adult or as a child; we all start on that journey at baptism.  At the appropriate time, the child will make his or her first confession of faith in the ritual the church calls confirmation.  Most often, this is at adolescence or at the time when the person begins to take responsibility for their own decisions.  Methodists believe that baptism is a sign of regeneration and new birth.  And they accept all modes of baptism (sprinkling, pouring, immersion, etc.) as valid.  Methodists are open to baptism of both those who confess faith themselves, and those whose parents or sponsors confess faith.
Conclusions... Catholics, Lutherans, and Methodist baptize infants... Pentacostals and Baptist do not.  Catholics baptize by pouring, Pentacostals and Baptist by immersion, Lutherans by sprinking or pouring, Methodist by sprinking, pouring, or immersion.

Biblical references...
Acts 2:38... Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
Acts 8:12... But when they believed Philip as he was preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were being baptized.
Acts 8:14-17... When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria.  When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.  Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
Acts 8:36-39... As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch *said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?”  And he ordered that the chariot stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him.  When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing.
Acts 9:18... "And immediately something like fish scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized"
Acts 10:47-48... “Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?”  And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ..."
Acts 16:30-33... and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”  And they spoke the word of God to him together with all who were in his house.  And he took them that very hour of the night an washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household.
Acts 18:8... "Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord together with his entire household; and many of the Corinthians, as they listened to Paul, were believing and being baptized."
Acts 19:1-5... Now it happened that while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples.  He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “On the contrary, we have not even heard if there is a Holy Spirit.”  And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.”  Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”  When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Acts 22:16... "Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins by calling on His name."
Mark 16:15-16... (we hesitate to include these verses, because most scholars now agree that verses 9-20 of Mark chapter 16 were added later by scribes and that the verses were not written by Mark).  And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.  The one who has believed and has been baptized will be saved; but the one who has not believed will be condemned."
1st Corinthians 1:16... But I did baptize the household of Stephanas also; beyond that, I do not know if I baptized anyone else.
2nd Corinthians 5:10... For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive compensation for his deeds done through the body, in accordance with what he has done, whether good or bad.
1st Peter 3:20-21... "... during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.  Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you..."
1st John 3:5... "You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin"
John 3:5... "Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."
Matthew 28:19-20... "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Luke 2:22... "And when the days for their purification according to the Law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord"
Galations 3:26-27... "For you are all sons and daughters of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ."
Romans 6:3-4... "Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?  Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life."
Exodus 13:1-2... "Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the firstborn of every womb among the sons of Israel, among people and animals alike; it belongs to Me.”
Ezekiel 18:20... The person who sins will die.  A son will not suffer the punishment for the father’s guilt, nor will a father suffer the punishment for the son’s guilt; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.
Psalms 37:5-6... "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this:  He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun."
Psalms 106:37-38... "They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons, and shed innocent blood..."
Jeremiah 19:4-5... "Since they have abandoned Me and have made this place foreign, and have burned sacrifices in it to other gods that neither they nor their forefathers nor the kings of Judah had ever known, and since they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, a thing which I did not command nor speak of, nor did it ever enter My mind"

Discussion thoughts... This discussion will be divided into several sub-sections:
"Original sin" and "communion procedure"?
These two subject are related to the process of baptism but will not be discussed here... see separate studies entitled "communion" and "original sin" to be published at a later date.

Sub-Section 1:  Should babies be baptized?
In Mark 16:15 (see comment above about this verse) Jesus said to go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation and baptize those who believe... to state the obvious... babies cannot understand the gospel and believe, so this passage does not apply to babies.  Galatians 3:26-27 points out that you must have faith in Christ Jesus before baptism... babies cannot yet have that faith.  Acts 8:12 states that men and women were being baptized... not babies.  Acts 2:38 says repent and be baptized... how can a baby repent (they don't yet have knowledge of good and evil)?  Acts 16:30-33 and other scriptures talk about everyone in a household being baptized, but none of those scriptures state infants or babies were baptized.
Conclusions... Several things must happen before being baptized... a person must hear, understand and believe the gospel, they must repent of their sins and confess Christ... these are all things that a baby cannot do!

Sub-Section 2:  Should babies be christened or consecrated or dedicated?
According to Luke 2:22 Jesus was consecrated at Jerusalem when he was 40 days old... this was done in accordance with the old testament law in Exodus 13:1-2. 
Conclusions... Consecrated was an old testament process usually related to first born sons or consecration of priests.  Christening usually means the same procedure as baptizing but sometimes is done without water.  Dedicated usually means that the infants parents dedicate the child to being brought up as a Christian.

Sub-Section 3:  Confirmation procedure?
The word "confirmation" cannot be found in the bible... the word "commit" is found in Psalm 37:5-6... but is not used as a confirmation term.  "Confirmation" is a process used by many different religions... in the discussion of 5 major religions discussed above, it is used by Catholics, Lutheran and Methodist (the time and method of confirmation is quite different in each religion)... a confirmation process is not used by Pentecostals and Baptists.  Catholics base confirmation on Acts 8:14-17... saying that the confirmand receives the Holy Spirit when the Priest performs the laying on of hands ritual.
Conclusions... without scriptures discussing confirmation it is impossible to reach biblical conclusions about confirmation!

Sub-Section 4:  How should a person be baptized - sprinkled, poured, or immersed?
Biblical scholars have different conclusions about the Greek word "baptizo" as to its exact
translation.
Conclusion... without translation conclusions (where even biblical scholars disagree) there is no way for us to reach a conclusion!

Sub-Section 5: When should a person be baptized?
This delves into the "Age of Accountability" (see our separate discussion about the "age of accountability").
Conclusions... Several things must happen before being baptized... a person must hear, understand and believe the gospel, and they must repent of their sins and confess Christ!

My Beliefs...
Should babies be baptized, christened, consecrated, or dedicated (sub-section 1 above) is somewhat difficult to answer... Sub-Section 1 discussion is very clear that a person must hear, understand and believe the gospel; and that they must repent of their sins and confess Christ BEFORE being baptized... this cannot happen before they reach the age of accountability!  That being said... I do not see it as a problem if an infant is christened or consecrated or dedicated and the parents make promises that they will bring up the child in a Christian way. (notice I did not use the term baptized... neither do I see it as a conflict with scriptures if the infant is "sprinkled" or "poured" when they are christened or consecrated or dedicated... I disagree with "immersion" simply because it could be dangerous).

Confirmation (sub-section 3 above) may be an important step toward being "saved" (please read our other study entitled "Am I Saved")... but, as discussed above, since there are no scriptural descriptions of the confirmation process, it is impossible to reach biblical conclusions of its importance.  In a "perfect world order", this is what might happen... (1) a baby is born, (2) the baby is "dedicated" (notice I do not say baptized) soon after birth and the parents promise Christian upbringing, (3) the child reaches the age of accountability, hears, understands and believes the gospel, repents of their sins, confesses Christ in a "confession of sin" process, and (4) is baptized and receives the Holy Spirit. --- BUT, this may not be the way it happens... the baby may not be born to Christian parents, may know nothing about the gospel till many years later... then hears, understands and believes the gospel, repents of their sins, confesses Christ, is baptized and receives the Holy Spirit... either scenario is OK!

Sprinkled, poured, or immersed (sub-section 4 above) is difficult to answer... over the years beliefs have become policies that sometimes cannot be confirmed by actual scriptures!  When biblical scholars disagree on translations, who are we to "guess" the answer! 

Synopsis of my beliefs:
   1. Infants should not be baptized.
   2. Infants should be dedicated (not baptized) along with parents promises of Christian
       upbringing and the infant may, or may not, be sprinkled (or poured) but not immersed.
   3. Repentance and baptism is important... at some point after a child reaches the age of
       accountability, they must hear, understand and believe the gospel, they must repent of
       their sins, confess Christ and be baptized.  It makes no difference whether the person is
       immersed, poured, sprinkled, or receives 3 drops of water (in some arid countries, water
       was scarce and people were baptized with 3 drops of water)... it's what is in the person's
       heart that is important!  There are those who will argue that baptism is not essential...
       when Jesus died on the cross he saved a man next to him... that man was never baptized
       but is in Paradise!  Baptism was not practiced until new testament times... certainly there
       are people from the early days of this world (un-baptized) that will be in heaven... the
       counter argument to that statement is that Jesus had not yet decreed that all must be
       baptized (see John 3:5 and Matthew 28:19-20).  My conclusion is that ALL must be
       baptized!
   4. Baptism is especially important to the person receiving baptism... it gives that person
       physical evidence that they are entering a new phase of their life... it is something that
       cannot be "undone"!

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