Bible Question:
Dear orthodoxy, I am happy for you. Absolute faith in personal dogma is admirable. I agree that you should stand by it. I am not sure where you got 'it is simply a historical fact that the church had always baptised its infants until the Anabaptists came along in the sixteenth century and the Baptists in the eighteenth.' Please tell me from the Bible your clear references for child-or-infant baptism. Only Anabaptists and Baptists (but not all Baptists) recommend the baptism of a believer? (there is but one baptism into Christ per believer) Obviously you have not met many Pentecostals or Charismatics or independents that have strayed from your form of orthodoxy. It is possible that they were not included in your education. My friend, there are quite a few Christians that do not follow the pattern you have been taught. I can only humbly suggest that you go to a variety of churches and fellowships to broaden your outlook toward 'other' believers. This might help you in your pursuit to serve Christ by serving Christians, rather than a limited form of Christianity. Print out this conversation and ask the opinion of your teachers. As I read the Word of God, I see that the Lord desires us to be of one faith in Him, not in lockstep tradition. In any case, I personally depart from the 're-baptism' topic, and simply state that water baptism in the Bible was for believers in Christ Jesus as a gift and a strength to their walk in Him. Peace upon you in Jesus' name, charis |
Bible Answer: Oh my. First of all, I detect a distinct, anti-tradition vibe here. Your first paragraph is simply sarcasm. Next, you have misconstrued me again. I never meant to say that only Anabaptists and Baptists baptise. How you could have gotten that from my post is beyond me. I assumed that believers' baptism would be understood as contra infant baptism. Of course I believe in baptism. Every Christian church baptizes believers, but only churches that have come out of traditions that have been influenced by the Anabaptists refuse to baptise infants. The Pentecostal/charismatic denominations are offshoots of the Holiness movement, an offshoot from Methodism. Methodism was founded by John Wesley, who was converted by a Moravian Anabaptist. As to historical church tradition, simply look around. We all came from Rome at one point, and they have always baptised infants, and still do. The Reformed denominations baptise infants, as do the Lutherans. Ceasing to baptise infants into the covenant is not the norm, but an anomaly in church history. |