Baptism in the Early Church Resources

[HisRobes4Mine]

Does anyone have recommended resources regarding the study of baptism in the early church? I recognize that there is much debate regarding this issue because both credo and paedobaptists claim some sources from the early church to support their positions. I am also aware that early in the life of the church baptismal regeneration was practiced. Any resources you can recommend for further study would be appreciated.

I'm aware of Stander and Louw's work Baptism in the Early Church but that is about it.

 

[RamistThomist]

Here is a classic primary source. He does not deal so much with credo vs. paedo debate, but the footnotes and introduction give a good background to early church liturgy.

On the Apostolic Tradition (St. Vladimir's Seminary Press "Popular Patristics" Series): Hippolytus, Antipope, Stewart-Sykes, Alistair: 9780881412338: Amazon.com: Books

On the Apostolic Tradition (St. Vladimir's Seminary Press Popular Patristics Series) [Hippolytus, Antipope, Stewart-Sykes, Alistair] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. On the Apostolic Tradition (St. Vladimir's Seminary Press Popular Patristics Series)

www.amazon.com

 

[dsanch1120]

I wrote a paper on this a while back. It is not exhaustive and certainly not perfect, but I tried to interact with various primary sources.

Did the Early Church Baptize Infants? - Daniel Sanchez

The subject of infant baptism has been controversial over the last 500 years of the church, what can we learn from the early church about the practice?

blog.dssanchez.net

Otherwise I’d check out Joachim Jeremias’s books and Kurt Aland’s response. Both are helpful and deal with primary sources. In general paedobaptists and credobaptists tend to interpret the early church baptismal practices accordingly to their views on baptism, just remember to read everything in context. Tertullian is far less credobaptist than at first glance when read in context.

 

[Ye_Olde_Heidelberger]

Infant Baptism in the First Four Centuries by Joachim Jeremias.

 

[Phil D.]

The standard academic work is Everett Ferguson’s Baptism in the Early Church. It is very comprehensive, which makes it quite lengthy (almost 1000 pages), and a bit pricey. Everything you ever wanted to know on the subject and probably then some, but is quite easy reading and not overly verbose. It covers historical backgrounds, theology, liturgy, credo/paedo and modal issues, and primary source references abound. It has copious footnotes and extensive indexing, so you can easily pick out specific topics to read on. Ferguson is Christian Church (so credo/immersionist), but a highly respected patristic scholar and he treats his subject-matter objectively. This is his magnum opus. Also available to borrow at Archive.

 

[HisRobes4Mine]

I wrote a paper on this a while back. It is not exhaustive and certainly not perfect, but I tried to interact with various primary sources.

Did the Early Church Baptize Infants? - Daniel Sanchez

The subject of infant baptism has been controversial over the last 500 years of the church, what can we learn from the early church about the practice?

blog.dssanchez.net

Otherwise I’d check out Joachim Jeremias’s books and Kurt Aland’s response. Both are helpful and deal with primary sources. In general paedobaptists and credobaptists tend to interpret the early church baptismal practices accordingly to their views on baptism, just remember to read everything in context. Tertullian is far less credobaptist than at first glance when read in context.

Thanks for the link to your blog. I'll definitely check this out. I'm in a church history class at SBTS and definitely am picking up on the credo-baptist leanings. However, there are some questions I have about the way some texts are being interpreted. Will definitely check out the books and responses you mentioned as well.

The standard academic work is Everett Ferguson’s Baptism in the Early Church. It is very comprehensive, which makes it quite lengthy (almost 1000 pages), and a bit pricey. Everything you ever wanted to know on the subject and probably then some, but is quite easy reading and not overly verbose. It covers historical backgrounds, theology, liturgy, credo/paedo and modal issues, and primary source references abound. It has copious footnotes and extensive indexing, so you can easily pick out specific topics to read on. Ferguson is Christian Church (so credo/immersionist), but a highly respected patristic scholar and he treats his subject-matter objectively. This is his magnum opus. Also available to borrow at Archive.

I just heard this book quoted from early today. Definitely want to check it out as it was presented as a higher standard than Stander and Louw.

 

[mpb]

Documents of the Baptismal Liturgy by E.C. Whitaker is a good collection of primary sources. It has excerpts from early church texts.