Believer's baptism

Believer's baptism (occasionally called credobaptism, from the Latin word credo meaning "I believe") is the practice of baptizing those who are able to make a conscious profession of faith, as contrasted to the practice of baptizing infants. Credobaptists believe that infants incapable of consciously believing should not be baptized, and often practice baptism by immersion.[1] Denominations and groups who practice believer's baptism are often referred to as Anabaptist (from Neo-Latin anabaptista, from the Greek ἀναβαπτισμός: ἀνά-, "re-", and βαπτισμός, "baptism".)[2]

Believer's baptism of adult by immersion, Northolt Park Baptist Church, in Greater London, Baptist Union of Great Britain, 2015.

History

The Anabaptists regard their ideas as being based on the teaching of Jesus Christ, who invited to make disciples in all nations and to baptize them in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 28.[3] According to some theologians, it is natural to follow the order thus suggested, either to baptize someone who has become a disciple before, which is not possible with a baby or a child.[4] They contend that in the New Testament, references to the baptized relate only to believers who have experienced a new birth.[5]

Patristics

Many early Christians such as Augustine and John Chrysostom believed in infant baptism instead of believer's baptism.[6] Tertullian c. 198–203 advises the postponement of baptism of little children and the unmarried, he mentions that it was customary to baptise infants, with sponsors speaking on their behalf.[7] [8][9] The Didache has also been claimed to have assumed believer's baptism.[10] Clement of Alexandria also made statements that can be understood as supporting a credobaptist view. [11]

Just like Tertullian, the Shepherd of Hermas possibly supports delaying baptism, however for practical reasons which is because of the fear of post-baptismal sins.[12]

Pre-Protestant Reformation

Both the Waldenses and Arnoldists rejected the practice of baptizing infants. The Waldensians also practiced baptism by full immersion.[13][14]

Peter of Bruys (1117–c. 1131) is another person who rejected the practice of baptizing infants.[15][16]

The Bogomils also rejected the baptism of infants. However, they did not believe anyone should be baptized in water at all, and instead believed baptism to be of a spiritual character.[17]

Protestant Reformation

In the early church instances of baptisms following conversion to Christianity are recorded.[18] Advocates of believers' baptism argue that this implies infants would not be baptized since they could not profess faith for themselves. Beginning with Augustine, the Catholic Church solidified the practice of infant baptism and there is little mention of competing practices until the 1500s.[19] Augustine held the view that baptism was a requirement for the washing away of sins. He was faced with the issue of whether an unconscious or unwilling individual on their deathbed should be baptized; he felt it was better to err on the side of caution and baptize such a person.[20]

Michael Servetus rejected the baptism of infants.[21] Servetus was seen as a heretic because of his views on the Trinity and baptism.[22]

In the early 16th century, the Anabaptist movement began demanding that baptismal candidates be able to make a freely chosen confession of faith, thus rejecting the baptism of infants. This, and other doctrinal differences, led both Catholics and Protestants to persecute the Anabaptists, executing them by fire, sword, or drowning.[23] Anabaptist groups spread across Europe and later to Russia and the Americas. In 1641, the Baptist movements began adopting baptism by immersion. Some of them may have insisted on credobaptism by affusion a few decades earlier.[24]

Advocates of believer's baptism contend that non-Biblical records are not authoritative, and that no evidence exists from the Bible or early Christian literature that infant baptism was practiced by the apostles.[5]

Arguments for credobaptism

Scripture

Advocates of believer's baptism argue that the New Testament does not describe instances of infant baptism, and that during the New Testament era, the early church required converts to have conscious, deliberate faith in Jesus Christ.[25]

Advocates for believer's baptism use Acts 2 to support their view, where Peter commanded to believe before baptism took place. Credobaptists also argue that Jesus' baptism as an adult, and not as an infant, is supportive of believer's baptism.[26]

Age of accountability
Believer's baptism by immersion at Eastside Christian Church, Anaheim, United States, 2018

Believer's baptism is administered only to persons who have passed the age of accountability or reason, which is based upon a reading of the New Testament that only believers should be baptized. Some claim that it is also based upon the Jewish tradition of Bar Mitzvah at the age of 12 or 13, at which point Jewish children become responsible for their actions and "one to whom the commandments apply." This analogy is not very helpful since a Jew who is not bar mitzvah is nonetheless considered to be fully a Jew—whereas the notion of an "unbaptized Christian" is more problematic. However, many (pedobaptist) Christian theologians, including Calvin and Zwingli, regard baptism as analogous to the Jewish practice of circumcision, rather than analogous to the bar mitzvah ceremony, although there are no explicit sections of the New Testament that support this idea.[lower-alpha 1]

It is common for churches which practice believer's baptism to administer the ordinance to children aged eight or nine, following some training in the rudiments of the faith. Seventh-day Adventists generally consider that around age 12, young people are equipped to make reasoned decisions and may choose to be baptized. There is no stated lower age limit, however, and when a young child voices a desire for baptism, it is strongly encouraged that they enter an instructional program that may lead to baptism.[28]

Practice
Believer's baptism of an adult by immersion at The Foursquare Church in Aracaju, Brazil, 2015.

In areas where those who practice believer's baptism are the physical or cultural majority, the ritual may function as a rite of passage by which the child is granted the status of an adult.[25]

Denominational connections

Evangelical denominations adhering to the doctrine of the believers' Church practice believer's baptism, by immersion in water, after the new birth and a profession of faith.[29][30]

Believer's baptism is one of several distinctive doctrines associated closely with the Baptist and Anabaptist (literally, rebaptizer) traditions, and their theological relatives.[24] Among these are the members of the Restoration Movement. Churches associated with Pentecostalism also practice believer's baptism.[31][29] In many nondenominational Evangelical, Baptist, and Pentecostal churches, a ritual known as child dedication is performed.[32]

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints completely rejects infant baptism.[33] Little children are considered both born without sin[34] and incapable of committing sin.[35] They have no need of baptism until age eight,[36] when they can begin to learn to discern right from wrong, and are thus accountable to God for their own actions.[37] People completely incapable of understanding right from wrong, regardless of age, are also considered as not accountable for their actions, and are not baptized.[37]

In the Seventh-day Adventist Church, rebaptism by immersion is not required for church membership. However, it is available to those who feel that they have received new information that makes a difference or have experienced a reconversion.[38]

Prevalence

Statistics based on membership totals reported by various denominations state that churches that practice infant baptism represent about 80% of Christians.[39]

Theological objections

Many churches that baptize infants, such as the Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Reformed, Anglican, Methodist, Lutheran, Moravian, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox denominations, previously functioned as national, state-established churches in various European and Latin American countries. Defenders of infant baptism have attempted to trace the practice to the New Testament era, but generally acknowledge that no unambiguous evidence exists that the practice existed prior to the 2nd century. During the Reformation, the relationship of the church to the state was a contentious issue, and infant baptism was seen as a way to ensure that society remained religiously homogeneous. As a result, groups that rejected infant baptism were seen as subversive and were often persecuted.[40]

Among the Churches of Christ, for example, baptism is seen as a passive act of faith rather than a meritorious work; it "is a confession that a person has nothing to offer God".[41] While the Churches of Christ do not describe baptism as a "sacrament", their view of it can legitimately be described as "sacramental".[42][43] They see the power of baptism coming from God, who chose to use baptism as a vehicle, rather than from the water or the act itself,[42] and understand baptism to be an integral part of the conversion process, rather than just a symbol of conversion.[44] A recent trend is to emphasize the transformational aspect of baptism: instead of describing it as just a legal requirement or sign of something that happened in the past, it is seen as "the event that places the believer 'into Christ' where God does the ongoing work of transformation."[43] Because of the belief that baptism is a necessary part of salvation, some Baptists hold that the Churches of Christ endorse the doctrine of baptismal regeneration.[45] However, members of the Churches of Christ reject this, arguing that since faith and repentance are necessary, and that the cleansing of sins is by the blood of Christ through the grace of God, baptism is not an inherently redeeming ritual.[45][46][47] One author from the Churches of Christ describes the relationship between faith and baptism: "Faith is the reason why a person is a child of God; baptism is the time at which one is incorporated into Christ and so becomes a child of God" (italics in the source).[48] Baptism is understood as a confessional expression of faith and repentance,[49] rather than a "work" that earns salvation.[48]

See also

Notes
  1. Calvin dedicated a whole chapter of his Institutes of the Christian Religion to the matter of infant baptism (Institutes, IV, 16), in which he states that "baptism succeeds circumcision" as a sign of belonging to the People of God and as a promise of salvation, resulting from the Covenant between God and humankind.[27]

References
  1. Slick, Matt (2009-06-12). "What is credobaptism?". Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  2. "Anabaptist". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  3. Mark Dever, Jonathan Leeman, Baptist Foundations: Church Government for an Anti-Institutional Age, B&H Publishing Group, USA, 2015, p. 108
  4. Mark Dever, Jonathan Leeman, Baptist Foundations: Church Government for an Anti-Institutional Age, B&H Publishing Group, USA, 2015, p. 93
  5. Stanley J. Grenz, Theology for the Community of God, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, USA, 2000, p. 528
  6. "What the Early Church Believed: Infant Baptism". Catholic Answers. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  7. "The delay of baptism is preferable; principally, however, in the case of little children. For why is it necessary . . . that the sponsors likewise should be thrust into danger? . . . For no less cause must the unwedded also be deferred—in whom the ground of temptation is prepared, alike in such as never were wedded by means of their maturity, and in the widowed by means of their freedom—until they either marry, or else be more fully strengthened for continence" ( 18).
  8. Florens, Tertullian. On Baptism. the delay of baptism is preferable; principally, however, in the case of little children. For why is it necessary — if (baptism itself) is not so necessary — that the sponsors likewise should be thrust into danger? Who both themselves, by reason of mortality, may fail to fulfil their promises, and may be disappointed by the development of an evil disposition, in those for whom they stood? The Lord does indeed say, Forbid them not to come unto me. Let them come, then, while they are growing up; let them come while they are learning, while they are learning whither to come; let them become Christians when they have become able to know Christ.
  9. "Did the Early Church Practice Infant Baptism or Full Immersion?". Zondervan Academic. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  10. Taylor, Justin. "17 Statements that a Paedobaptist and a Credobaptist Can Both Affirm". Archived from the original on 2020-09-20.
  11. Msw, Daniel Keeran. "The Dawn of Infant Baptism". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  12. Wright, David F. (2009-11-16). Baptism: Three Views. InterVarsity Press. ISBN 978-0-8308-7819-2.
  13. "Waldenses | Description, History, & Beliefs". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  14. A Brief Sketch of the History of the Foreign Baptists By G. H. ORCHARD 1842
  15. F. L. Cross; E. A. Livingstone, eds. (1997). The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd edition. USA: Oxford University Press. p. 1264. ISBN 0-19-211655-X.
  16. "Petrobrusians". Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company. 1911. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
  17. Gaster, Moses (1911). "Bogomils" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 119–120. The Bogomils repudiated infant baptism, and considered the baptismal rite to be of a spiritual character neither by water nor by oil but by self-abnegation, prayers and chanting of hymns.
  18. "What are the historical origins of infant baptism? | Bible.org". bible.org. Retrieved 2019-03-25.
  19. Wright, David (2007). Infant baptism in historical perspective : collected studies. Milton Keynes, UK ; Waynesboro, Ga: Paternoster Press.
  20. Fitzgerald, Allan; Cavadini, John C. (1999). Augustine Through the Ages: An Encyclopedia. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 87. ISBN 9780802838438.
  21. Friedman, Jerome (1978). Michael Servetus: A Case Study in Total Heresy. Librairie Droz. ISBN 978-2-600-03075-5.
  22. "Michael Servetus | Spanish theologian | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  23. "1525 The Anabaptist Movement Begins". Christian History | Learn the History of Christianity & the Church. Retrieved 2019-03-25.
  24. Robert E. Johnson, A Global Introduction to Baptist Churches, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2010, page 56
  25. Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Baker Academic, USA, 2001, page 131
  26. "The Baptist Union: Believer's Baptism". www.baptist.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  27. Jean Calvin, Institution de la religion chrétienne, livre IV, chapitre XVI "Que le baptême des petits enfants convient très bien à l'institution de Jésus-Christ et à la nature du signe.", p. 488 . (in French)
  28. , page 43.
  29. Randall Herbert Balmer, Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism: Revised and expanded edition, Baylor University Press, USA, 2004, p. 54
  30. Donald W. Dayton, The Variety of American Evangelicalism, Univ. of Tennessee Press, USA, 2001, p. 155, 159
  31. Keith Warrington, Pentecostal Theology: A Theology of Encounter, A&C Black, UK, 2008, p. 164.
  32. David Blankenhorn, The Faith Factor in Fatherhood: Renewing the Sacred Vocation of Fathering, Lexington Books, USA, 1999, p. 103
  33. Norman, Keith E. (1992). "Infant Baptism". In Ludlow, Daniel H (ed.). Encyclopedia of Mormonism. New York: Macmillan Publishing. pp. 682–83. ISBN 0-02-879602-0. OCLC 24502140.
  34. Merrill, Byron R. (1992). "Original sin". In Ludlow, Daniel H (ed.). Encyclopedia of Mormonism. New York: Macmillan Publishing. pp. 1052–53. ISBN 0-02-879602-0. OCLC 24502140.
  35. Rudd, Calvin P. (1992). "Children: Salvation of Children". In Ludlow, Daniel H (ed.). Encyclopedia of Mormonism. New York: Macmillan Publishing. pp. 268–69. ISBN 0-02-879602-0. OCLC 24502140.
  36. Hawkins, Carl S. (1992). "Baptism". In Ludlow, Daniel H (ed.). Encyclopedia of Mormonism. New York: Macmillan. pp. 92–94. ISBN 0-02-879602-0. OCLC 24502140.
  37. Warner, C. Terry (1992). "Accountability". In Ludlow, Daniel H (ed.). Encyclopedia of Mormonism. New York: Macmillan. p. 13. ISBN 0-02-879602-0. OCLC 24502140..
  38. General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, , adventist.org, USA, page 49
  39. Major Branches of Religions Ranked by Number of Adherents, Adherents.com
  40. Eerdman (1982), Handbook to Christian Belief, Lion, p. 443.
  41. Hazelip et al. 1998, p. 112.
  42. Bryant 1999, p. 186.
  43. Foster et al. 2004, p. 66, 'Baptism'
  44. Bryant 1999, p. 184.
  45. Foster 2001.
  46. Nettles et al. 2007, p. 133.
  47. Foster et al. 2004, pp. 630–31, 'Regeneration'
  48. Ferguson 1996, p. 170.
  49. Ferguson 1996, pp. 179–82.

Bibliography
  • Bryant, Rees (1999), Baptism, Why Wait?: Faith's Response in Conversion, College Press, ISBN 978-0-89900-858-5, 224 pp.
  • Ferguson, Everett (1996), The Church of Christ: A Biblical Ecclesiology for Today, William B Eerdmans, ISBN 978-0-8028-4189-6, 443 pp.
  • Foster, Douglas A (2001), "Churches of Christ and Baptism: An Historical and Theological Overview", Restoration Quarterly, Abilene Christian University, 43 (2), archived from the original on 2010-05-20.
  • Foster, Douglas Allen; Dunnavant, Anthony L; Blowers; Williams (2004), The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, William B Eerdmans, ISBN 978-0-8028-3898-8, 854 pp.
  • Hazelip, Harold; Holloway, Gary; Harris, Randall J; Black, Mark C (1998), Theology Matters: In Honor of Harold Hazelip: Answers for the Church Today, College Press, ISBN 978-0-89900-813-4, 368 pp.
  • Ludlow, Daniel H, ed. (1992). Encyclopedia of Mormonism. New York: Macmillan Publishing. ISBN 0-02-879602-0. OCLC 24502140.
  • Malone, Fred (2003) The baptism of disciples alone: A covenantal argument for credobaptism versus paedobaptism. Founders Press, ISBN 0-9713361-3-X.
  • Nettles, Tom J; Pratt, Richard L Jr; Armstrong, John H; Kolb, Robert (2007), Understanding Four Views on Baptism, Zondervan, ISBN 978-0-310-26267-1, 222 pp.
  • Stander, Hendick F; Louw, Johannes P (2004), Baptism in the Early Church, Carey, ISBN 0-9527913-1-5.
  • Schreiner, Thomas R and Wright, Shawn (ed.), Believer's Baptism: The Covenant Sign of the New Age in Christ, B&H (2007), ISBN 0-8054-3249-3
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