A Sincere Question(s) for Paedo’s

For those unfamiliar with the terminology, by the use of Paedo’s, I am referring to those who hold to the practice of baptizing infants…those who believe that the children of believing parents should be baptized. For the sake of balance, Credo’s would be referring to those who practice the baptizing of only those who profess faith in Christ. They do not believe anyone should be baptized who does not express faith.

Here is my question, and it is a sincere one.

Under the Old Covenant, a father and his male children would be circumcised as a sign of the covenant, but the whole family would be considered under and a part of that covenant community. When an alien (an outsider, a foreigner) expressed a desire to join the covenant community of Israel, he and his male children would be circumcised as an outward sign that the whole family was now a part of that covenant community.

Under the New Covenant, Paedo-Baptists believe that when a man expresses faith in Christ and is saved, not only is he to be baptized, but his children are to be baptized as well as an outward sign that they are all under and a part of the covenant community of the body of Christ. The New Testament gives us examples of what it calls “households” being baptized.

My question is this: If you, as a Paedo-Baptist, believe that there were children being referenced in the NT accounts of households being baptized, then do you also believe that there were older members of those households also being baptized but who did not express faith, such as the wife of the household?

The reason I asked that is this: Do you, as a Paedo-Baptist, believe that when an adult male head-of-household gets saved, his unbelieving female spouse along with his unbelieving male and female children should also be baptized as a sign that they are now under and a part of the covenant community of the body of Christ?

If you do not hold that an unbelieving female spouse should be baptized, why not? In your view, does not “household” mean the whole household, regardless of whether or not those individuals have faith or not? If you believe that the whole household is now a part of the covenant community of the body of Christ, why would you exclude the spouse from that outward sign, even though they may not yet express faith? And what about other dependent family members, regardless of their age? What about unbelieving parents of the newly professing male Christian who are also a part of his household? Under your view, shouldn’t they also be baptized as a sign of their now being a part of that covenant community? What about children who are no longer infants, but are already of an age where they can make a decision for themselves?

Finally, if you do not believe that the unbelieving female spouse of the believing husband should be baptized, then why are unbelieving female children baptized?

I am totally sincere when I ask these questions, and I would truly hope to see some honest answers to these questions concerning Paedo-baptism.

Thanks.