Baptism Of Infants, One More Time

Last updated on: December 15, 2017 at 7:51 am by Scot McKnight

Baptism Of Infants, One More Time 2017-12-15T07:51:22-06:00 Scot McKnight

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

How does one decide about baptism? Should we baptize adults only or should we also baptize infants of Christians?

Some of the leading edge of scholarship on this question, which requires not only good solid study of the Bible but also of the patristics, has been done by evangelicals (in a broad sense).

Once again, we turn to Kenneth Stewart’s fine book In Search of Ancient Roots.

Method first.

Christians of orthodox faith are in general agreement that, as to what are considered as “primary” doctrines of our faith, we ought not to hold as theologically true what can be shown to be historically doubtful. When the apostle Paul summarized elements of the early Christian “kerygma” in 1 Corinthians 15:3-7, the thrust of his argument was that these elements of our faith (Christ’s death for our sins, his burial, and resurrection on the third day)—because faithfully witnessed—are necessary parts of our Christian confession.

Now the situation is admittedly more complicated when we come to consider what may be termed “second-order” doctrines of our faith. … In even these secondary convictions, we seek to uphold the principle that we should not hold as theologically true what may be shown to be historically doubtful.

So Stewart goes to the issue of infant baptism (which he affirms), thinking scholarship has been done well by evangelicals, and he turns to David Wright, a specialist on the topic, and Everett Ferguson, another specialist on the topic. Wright is Church of Scotland, whose views were chastened by his study over decades of study, and Ferguson is Churches of Christ, whose views were not chastened but confirmed by his study of patristics.

OK, something needs to be said. I have a book coming out next year called It Takes a Church to Baptize.

Here are their converging conclusions, from Stewart, pp. 129-131, who himself believes in infant baptism but thinks it was an optional practice that became more fixed over time:

The baptism of Jesus rather than baptism as administered in the apostolic ministries recorded in Acts was reckoned by early Christianity as the pattern or paradigm of Christian baptism.

Jesus neither commanded nor explicitly provided for the baptism of infants.

The household baptisms of Acts 16 and 1 Corinthians 1 will not bear the weight assigned to them by advocates of infant baptism. [This is mistaken because you have to ask (1) why one would even bring up “household” at all when a head of the household was baptized, (2) why it is the case in the ancient world that people’s religions were chosen for them by their parents and family and region and thus why there’s no clear demarcation between that custom and earliest Christianity, and (3) what “household” included when the term was used in the ancient world.]

There is no support to be found for infant baptism in the Didache or in the writings of those second-century leaders known as the apostolic fathers.

No church father before Cyprian (d. 258) proposed that the Old Testament circumcision of infant males found its fulfillment in the baptism of the infant children of Christians. Augustine later developed this idea further.

No major early Christian writer substantially addresses the question of the baptism of children before Tertullian (ca. AD 220), soon followed by Origen.

Infants suffering from life-threatening conditions probably provided the occasion that made baptism seem appropriate for the very young.

There is no biography of a church father in the opening centuries making plain that the individual (even if raised in a Christian family) received baptism in infancy.

Early Christian architectural remains indicate that pools or baths, supplied with moving water, were the normal venue for baptisms, which were administered by immersion or pouring; this pattern was departed from only in the fifth century (reflecting the universalizing of infant baptism), except in the East, in which immersion has remained the norm.

Under all normal circumstances, early Christian baptism followed extensive catechetical training ensuring that the baptismal questions were answered by instructed persons.

The theological writings of Augustine against Pelagius, by their exposition of the doctrine of original or birth sin, provided a plausible theological basis for the necessity of the baptism of the young. This theological necessity had not been so apparent earlier to writers like Tertullian.

Well, I’d want to include the following, mentioned by Stewart but these are early important texts on infant baptism:

Irenaeus: “He came to save all through means of Himself – all, I say, who through him are born again to God – infants, and children, and boys and youths, and old men” (Against Heresies 2.22.4).

Hippolytus: “The children shall be baptized first. All of 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 (Apostolic Tradition 21.4). [There are good reasons to think this is at least reflective of the middle of the 2d Century.]

Origen: “On this account also the church had a tradition from the apostles to give baptism even to infants. For they to whom the secrets of the divine mysteries were given knew that there is in all persons the natural stains of sin which must be washed away by the water and the Spirit. On account of these stains the body itself is called the ‘body of sin’”(Comm. on Romans 5.9.11 [on Romans 6:5–6]).

Uncategorized

Previous Post

December 11, 2017

Burned Out on Revivalism

Next Post

December 12, 2017 N.T. Wright's Newest: A Biography Of Paul

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Acts of the Apostles Adam Advent Anabaptism Angels Anglican Apologetics Atonement Baptism BCP Prayers Bible Biblical Studies Birds Blogging Bloglossary Bonhoeffer Books Calvinism Christianity Church Church History Coffee Colossians Commentary Recs Conversion Creation Creeds Culture Death Ecclesiastes Economics Education Embracing Grace Emergent Emerging Movement Eschatology Essays Ethics Eucharist Evangelicalism Family Fasting Fathers Fellowship of Differents Footsteps Tour Fun and Whimsical Gospel Grace Happiness Heaven Hell Holy Spirit Irenaeus James Jesus Jesus Creed Job Justification Kingdom of God Law Lectures Lent Liberalism Love and Marriage Mabanteneni Manhood Mary Miracles Missio Alliance MissioLife Missional Missional Jesus Movies and Film New Perspective Northern Seminary OneLife Origins Project Orthodox Parables Pastor's Spouse Pastoring and Leading Pastoring and Preaching Patristics Paul Paul-John Tour Pharisees Pietism Political Theology Prayer and Formation Preaching Problems for Faith Psalm 119 Psalms Public Issues Purgatory Religions Resurrection Revelation Romans Rule of JCreed Science and Faith Sermon on the Mount Sports Ten Commandments Theology Third Way Top Ten Lists Translations Uncategorized Universalism University Ministry Way Out Weekly Meanderings Wisdom Women and Ministry Work Worship Writing & Blogging Youth Ministry

Select a Month July 2021 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 0000

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Sabbath" mean?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Sacrifice Feast Rest Holy