# Jewett Book



## Prufrock (Dec 16, 2008)

Have any of you theologians out there read Jewett's book, Infant Baptism and the Covenant of Grace?

Is it an able critique of infant baptism/defense of "believers" baptism, or is it the same arguments as in every other book/article/etc? In other words, does anything set it apart?

Are there any much better books advocating Credo-baptism out there?


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## TsonMariytho (Dec 16, 2008)

Speaking as at least an "armchair theologian", I recommend it. :^)

One thing I appreciated about the book is its educational value. He spends a lot of time describing the historical background that led to the various views of baptism that emerged at the Reformation. His description was poignant of the theological novelty of the view held by both Reformed and Anabaptists in the 1500's regarding the non-necessity of physical baptism for salvation.

In my opinion his critique of Reformed paedobaptism left no opponent's argument standing... but your mileage may vary. :^)

Dr. Jewett is (well, I guess was) also just a really nice guy. If you want to read a critique of Reformed paedobaptism from someone who is content to state the case, and not rail against his opponents, his work is top notch.

Final note (though I hate to end on a negative note), his orthodoxy is questionable, specifically on inerrancy. There were only one or two paragraphs where I thought this very slightly colored his writing. Generally speaking he was very proper in his use of, and deference to the Word.


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## CharlieJ (Dec 16, 2008)

It is the same as everything else out there, because Jewett is the original and the rest are copies.

I would say it's a mix. I was Baptist moving paedobaptist when I found Jewett. He was, in a sense, the last line of defense, the big guy. I appreciated several points, but was left with the profound sense that he didn't cut it. Particularly, at the beginning he says that he is going to tackle the issue from the perspective of covenant theology, but he doesn't demonstrate any understanding of covenant theology. In fact, from all of Jewett's writings (sabbath, gender roles), I get the impression that he badly misunderstands the movement of redemptive history.


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## PuritanCovenanter (Dec 16, 2008)

I would recommend recent publications. 

Covenant Theology From Adam to Christ by Nehemiah Coxe.
SGCB | Book Search

And Alan Conners book Covenant Children Today. 
SGCB | Book Search 

I have read Malones most recent revised book Baptism of Disciples Alone and I think it is done very well. 
SGCB | Book Search




I read Jewett years ago and thought it was just ok. The 3 other books are by far much better.


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## Philip A (Dec 17, 2008)

CharlieJ said:


> It is the same as everything else out there, because Jewett is the original and the rest are copies.
> 
> I would say it's a mix. I was Baptist moving paedobaptist when I found Jewett. He was, in a sense, the last line of defense, the big guy. I appreciated several points, but was left with the profound sense that he didn't cut it. Particularly, at the beginning he says that he is going to tackle the issue from the perspective of covenant theology, but he doesn't demonstrate any understanding of covenant theology. In fact, from all of Jewett's writings (sabbath, gender roles), I get the impression that he badly misunderstands the movement of redemptive history.



This pretty well summarizes my sentiments as well.


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## ManleyBeasley (Dec 17, 2008)

"Believer's Baptism" edited by Thomas Schreiner and Shawn Wright is a great book on the subject. It's top notch and hits all the issues in my opinion. Wayne Grudem and Bruce Ware both say its a definitive work.

Amazon.com: Believer's Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ (Nac Studies in Bible & Theology): Thomas R. Schreiner, Shawn Wright: Books


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## DMcFadden (Dec 17, 2008)

My "appreciation" for Jewett is tainted by feeling he was one of the most singularly boring profs I ever endured in seminary, by his famously bald "Paul was wrong about women" argument, and by his support for the homosexual line of exegesis (near the end of his life). Nevertheless, Shisko treats him as the gun on the topic of credo baptism. I would agree that Shreiner would be the best of the more recent works.


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## Pilgrim (Dec 18, 2008)

DMcFadden said:


> My "appreciation" for Jewett is tainted by feeling he was one of the most singularly boring profs I ever endured in seminary, by his famously bald "Paul was wrong about women" argument, and by his support for the homosexual line of exegesis (near the end of his life). Nevertheless, Shisko treats him as the gun on the topic of credo baptism. I would agree that Shreiner would be the best of the more recent works.


 
_Believer's Baptism _edited by Schreiner and Wright is better because it deals far more comprehensively with Reformed paedo thought, especially with more recent writers like John Murray, Meredith Kline and Pierre Marcel as well as the arguments in the recent _The Case for Covenantal Infant Baptism_ edited by Greg Strawbridge defending infant baptism that included contributions by the editor as well as Doug Wilson, Randy Booth, Richard Pratt, etc. (When I first saw it, I thought that _Believer's Baptism_ may be in part a response to the Strawbridge volume.) 

From what I recall, Jewett's interlocutors were primarily neo-orthodox theologians like Oscar Cullman and Joachim Jeremias, and much of his case appears to be a continuation of Barth's criticism of them. (If I recall correctly he does interact somewhat with Calvin and older Reformed theologians and maybe a little with a few more recent writers.) However the enduring influence of Jewett's book is attested to by the number of times it is cited in the Schreiner volume. He shows up 5 times in the index. A whole chapter in the Strawbridge volume defending paedobaptism is essentially dedicated to interacting with Jewett as well. Dennis found Jewett to have been a boring professor, but he brought considerable rhetorical prowess to the table in writing that book, and that may be one reason why it continues to be influential despite his objectionable views on other issues.

I think Jewett may be out of print or if it is not, it's not a book you come across everyday. As others have noted there are definitely other books to read first, but if you can obtain Jewett relatively cheaply and its within the budget, I'd jump at it if it . The two that I would recommend to read first are Alan Conner's _Covenant Children Today_ which is a relatively short book that simply looks at the issue from a Biblical standpoint and doesn't specifically interact with paedos by name (although the arguments are addressed) and _Believer's Baptism_ for the reasons I mentioned above.


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## Prufrock (Dec 18, 2008)

I actually have the copy already, and finished reading it a few days ago. A friend gave it to me to convince me. I was just trying to get a feel from everyone if they thought it was exceptionally good compared to others, or if there were other better ones out there.


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## Pilgrim (Dec 19, 2008)

Prufrock said:


> I actually have the copy already, and finished reading it a few days ago. A friend gave it to me to convince me. I was just trying to get a feel from everyone if they thought it was exceptionally good compared to others, or if there were other better ones out there.



It is a good book, but _Believer's Baptism _probably does the best job of interacting with the latest scholarship.


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## PuritanCovenanter (Dec 19, 2008)

I only have a few reservations about Believers Baptism. I noticed some of the contributors were not thoroughly Covenant Theologians in the Baptist tradition. I remember reading comments that seemed to downgrade the Covenant of Grace. Fred Malone's revised book is better in some areas. I did like that the Believers Baptism book did deal with Kline and Marcel. That was a plus. And one contributor acknowledged that baptism is a means of grace. 

I still don't think a good understanding of Baptist CT can be understood in its best light without the Nehemiah Coxe book on Covenant Theology. He does such a good job with the Abrahamic Covenant in my opinion.


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## Stephen L Smith (Dec 19, 2008)

> I still don't think a good understanding of Baptist CT can be understood in its best light without the Nehemiah Coxe book on Covenant Theology. He does such a good job with the Abrahamic Covenant in my opinion.



Randy, how does this book compare with Pink's Divine Covenants?


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