The Christian literary sources, backed by secular word usage and Jewish religious immersions, give an overwhelming support for full immersion as the normal action.Baptism in the Early Church : History, Theology , and Liturgy in the First Five Centuries (Eerdmans, 2009), 857
The most plausible explanation for the origin of infant baptism is found in the emergency baptism of sick children expected to die soon so that they would be assured of entrance into the kingdom of heaven.Baptism in the Early Church : History, Theology , and Liturgy in the First Five Centuries (Eerdmans, 2009), 856