Q: "Infant baptism is actually dedication of the child to God - confirmation is the real baptism."

A: Dedication is dedication. Baptism is baptism. Confirmation is confirmation. They are not the same. When we baptize infants, we pray earnestly to God that the Holy Spirit may be upon the child to cleanse it from original sin. As a newborn, the only sin that you have is the sin that has been passed down by Adam and Eve (ie - original sin) so how can you go to hell when the Holy Spirit has cleansed the baby of its sin? After the baptism, it is the responsibility of the child's parents and godparents to bring up the child in good religious faith. At a later date after the child has gone through religion class and he has declared his faith and is thus deemed ready, he is to be confirmed so as to be declared a true member of the Church. Confirmation is usually done in the child's teenage years or even as a grown-up. One might argue that the child does not know what the real meaning of baptism is so there is no meaning and thus no effect of baptism; the child is still not 'saved'. Well, let me ask him this: When we were born in this physical world, did we have to know what the meaning of life was before we could be born? Of course not! We are expected to live on and find out about ourselves, about others, and about life; thus we are to grow. Baptism is a beginning to a new life with Christ; we die with him and then we are born with him. We are expected to live on in our spiritual lives and grow in it. See also Luke 18:15-16 (NIV) and Acts 16:33 where it says "...he and ALL HIS FAMILY were baptized." In those days, a family would have the parents and children where children are of an age anywhere between 0 and 13 years old.