Baptism

[ReformedChapin]

I'm not sure if this belongs here. I wasn't sure to post this in the credo or paedo section of the forum because I want the best sources for both. Like many people here I'm struggling with this issue and I want rigorous scholarship from both sides so that I can decide.

I really wish that this doesn't turn into a debate but instead both sides present great sources for me to acquire.

 

[Blueridge Believer]

These 23 messages were very helpful to me and are well worth your time in my opinion.
SermonAudio.com - Orthodox Presbyterian Church Franklin Sq

 

[Wannabee]

Adoniram Judson - on - Christian Baptism
Schreiner and Wright - Believer's Baptism
Strawbridge - The case for Covenantal Infant Baptism
Stnader and Louw - Baptism in the Early Church

 

[ReformedChapin]

Anymore sources would be greatly appreciate it.

 

[TsonMariytho]

Stnader and Louw - Baptism in the Early Church

I second that one. It is an anthology of patristic (early Church Father) readings on baptism, translated for poor souls like me who can't read the original like these South African Greek professors can. They supply many readings that are unambiguously about baptism, as well as readings that some moderns claim carry implications for early church baptism practices. They try to let the writers' context speak for itself, but where meaning is obscure, they offer possible interpretations, sometimes more than one.

-----Added 12/29/2008 at 04:53:59 EST-----

Anymore sources would be greatly appreciate it.

I recommend the book discussed on the following thread, and there are worthier speakers than me who posted recommendations of other books on the same thread:

http://www.puritanboard.com/f57/jewett-book-41337/

 

[discipulo]

John Murray – Christian Baptism

Greg Strawbridge – The Case for Covenantal Infant Baptism

Joachim Jeremias – Infant Baptism in the First Four Centuries

Joachim Jeremias - The Origins of Infant Baptism: A Further Study in Reply to Kurt Aland

Oscar Cullmann - Baptism in the New Testament

 

[PuritanCovenanter]

I also would recommend Fred Malone's book. The Baptism of Disciples Alone.
The Baptism of Disciples Alone

And Covenant Children Today by Alan Conner.
http://www.shop.rbap.net/product.sc?categoryId=1&productId=1

You can listen to Alan Conner discuss the book here.
The Narrow Mind Aftermath

And for an understanding of Covenant Theology from a Credo Position I recommend Nehemiah Coxe's Covenant Theology from Adam to Christ. It has some good outstanding treatments on the Covenants.

SGCB | Covenant Theology From Adam to Christ

To be Fair, Pastor Danny Hyde who contributes on this board ever now and again has a book out from the Paedo perspective that is relatively new and overlooked in my estimation. It is Reformed and Confessional. I am just a Credo-Baptist in my understanding though. So I naturally disagree with Pastor Hyde.

Amazon.com: Jesus Loves the Little Children: Why We Baptize Children: Daniel R. Hyde: Books

 

[A.J.]

Helpful Online Resources on Christian Baptism

I'm not sure if this belongs here. I wasn't sure to post this in the credo or paedo section of the forum because I want the best sources for both. Like many people here I'm struggling with this issue and I want rigorous scholarship from both sides so that I can decide.

I really wish that this doesn't turn into a debate but instead both sides present great sources for me to acquire.

I am currently reading books on the subject and find myself closer now to the historic Reformed position on infant baptism. But most of what I know I learned from perusing excellent materials available online. The links I have provided below are among the best you can find online in my opinion. Many articles defending the Baptist view are also available, but I did not include them because they are coming from a dispensationalist perspective. May you find them helpful in your study. God bless you.

* Defending Reformed Paedo-Baptism

A.A. Hodge. The Confession of Faith (See his commentary on chapters 25 and 28 of the WCF)

B.B. Warfield. The Polemics of Infant Baptism.

Brian Schwertley. The Sacraments and Paedocommunion: A Biblical Examination.

Charles Hodge. The Subjects of Baptism (from his Systematic Theology)

Dennis Johnson. Infant Baptism: How My Mind Has Changed.

Fowler White. The Last Adam and His Seed.

Francis Nigel Lee. Sprinkling Is Scriptural.

Gregg Strawbridge. Infant Baptism: Does the Bible Teach It?

Grover Gunn. The Mode of Baptism.

James W. Scott. The Biblical Basis for Infant Baptism.

Jason A. Van Bemmel. Children of the Covenant.

Jason Wallace. An Open Letter on Infant Baptism.

NOTE: Rev. Jason Wallace's article/letter is one of the first I have read defending the historic Reformed view. He deals with the meaning, mode and subjects of baptism. His is a good place to start your study.​

J. Ligon Duncan. The Abrahamic Covenant - Signs and Implications and The Reformed Doctrine of Baptism & New Testament Practice.

John Battle. Mode of Baptism.

John Calvin. Institutes of the Christian Religion, 4:16 on Infant Baptism.

John Murray. The Mode of Baptism.

John Owen. Of Infant Baptism.

Kim Riddlebarger. Lectures on the Sacraments (based on Meredith Kline’s By Oath Consigned).

Larry Wilson. Why Does the Orthodox Presbyterian Church Baptize Infants.

Lee Irons. The Oikos Formula (based on Joachim Jeremias’ The Origins of Infant Baptism: A Further Study in Reply to Kurt Aland).

Louis Berkhof. Baptism (from his Systematic Theology).

Peter Edwards. Candid Reasons For Renouncing the Principles of Anti-Paedobaptism (book).

Peter P. Sandford. Christian Baptism: A Discourse of Acts 2:38, 39.

R. Scott Clark. A Contemporary Reformed Defense of Infant Baptism, Abraham, Moses and Baptism and Ishmael and Infant Baptism.

Samuel Miller. Infant Baptism: Scriptural and Reasonable (book).

William MacIntyre. The Token of the Covenant (book).

William Shishko. A Better Case for Infant Baptism and Is Immersion Necessary for Baptism?

William Shishko. Studies on Baptism (audio).​

* Defending the Covenantal Baptist View [a]

Abraham Booth. Paedobaptism Examined.

Charles Spurgeon. Baptism.

David Kingdon. John the Baptist – The Silence that Breaks the Silence.

Doug Van Dorn. Baptism: My Views Explained.

Erroll Hulse. Scriptural Baptism.

Fred Malone. A String of Pearls Unstrung, Infant Baptism and the Regulative Principle of Worship and The Covenantal Baptist Position Briefly Stated.

Fred Malone. Series on God's Covenants (audio sermon series).

Fred Zaspel. A Brief Analysis of the Presbyterian/Reformed View of Baptism.

Greg Welty. A Critical Evaluation of Paedobaptism and From Circumcision to Baptism: A Covenantal Rejoinder to Calvin.

Harold Chase. Sermons on Baptism (Audio).

James White. Paul Owen, Once Again and The Newness of the New Covenant: Better Covenant, Better Mediator, Better Sacrifice, Better Ministry, Better Hope

Jason Robertson. Are Paedobaptists Just Mixed Up?

John Dagg. Manual of Church Order, Volume II (Chapter 1: Baptism and Chapter 4: Infant Membership).

John Gill. A Profession of Faith in the Gospel (sermon series).

John Piper. How Do Circumcision and Baptism Correspond?, Infant Baptism and the New Covenant Community and Series on Christian Baptism (four sermons)

John G. Reisinger. An Exposition of Acts 2:39 and Infant Baptism.

John T. Christian. Did They Dip? (book).

John Tombes. A Short Catechism on Baptism.

Mike Renihan. John Tombes on Genesis 17:7.

Milo P. Jewett. The Mode and Subjects of Baptism (book).

Poh Boon Sing. Biblical Baptism Series (based on Fred Malone’s The Baptism of Disciples Alone).

Richard C. Barcellos. An Exegetical Appraisal of Colossians 2:11-12 and Paedoism or Credoism?

Richard Furman. The Children of Church Members.

Robert Gonzales. A Credo-Baptist Exposition and Application of John 1:12-13.

Robert Martin. The Second London Confession on Baptism (Part II): The Proper Subjects of Christian Baptism.

Note: Dr. Robert Martin's article provides a concise yet comprehensive defense of the Reformed Baptist view. Here is another good place to start for study.​

Stan Reeves. A Reformed Baptist View of 1 Cor. 7:14 and FAQ on the Reformed Baptist View of Baptism.

Stephen Wellum. Baptism and the Relationship between the Covenants.

Thomas Patient. The Doctrine of Baptism And the Distinction of the Covenants (book).

Timothy George. Believer’s Baptism: More than American Individualism.

Timothy J. Etherington. To Thee and Thy Seed: A Critical Review of Paedobaptism.

Tom Nettles. Baptists and the Ordinances.

Trinity Baptist Church. The Doctrine of Christian Baptism: Trinity Baptist Church Discipleship Training.

Walter Chantry. Baptism and Covenant Theology.

William O. Einwechter. Lecture Notes on Baptism.

William Payne. The Abrahamic Covenant and Baptism.

W.J. Seaton. An Introduction to Christian Baptism.

W.T. Brantly. The Covenant of Circumcision: No Just Plea for Infant Baptism .​

Footnote:

[a] Fred Zaspel, John Reisinger and John Piper's theological distinctives are not Reformed Baptist. In other words, they do not hold to all of the teachings of the 1689 LBCF. But they approach the subject of baptism from a covenantal rather than a dispensational perspective. On this, their articles are extremely helpful.

Be sure to check the debates on this subject also.

* Debates

Gene Cook vs. Paul Manata

James White vs. William Shishko

Robert Strimple vs. Fred Malone

Thomas Schreiner vs. David VanDrunen​

 

[Philip A]

Missing from the "pro" list is Danny Hyde's Jesus Loves the Little Children. It's short, well researched, orthodox, and accessible.

 

[A.J.]

Missing from the \"pro\" list is Danny Hyde's Jesus Loves the Little Children. It's short, well researched, orthodox, and accessible.

I am reading it now. Rev. Hyde's exegesis of Eph. 6:1 and Col. 3:20 is excellent. I personally recommend the book. Errol Hulse's booklet, The Testimony of Baptism, is also a good one.

Amazon.com: Testimony of Baptism: Ed Hulse: Books

 

[Dearly Bought]

Definitely can't leave out The Biblical Doctrine of Infant Baptism by Pierre Marcel.

Also try By Oath Consigned and Kingdom Prologue by Meredith Kline. By Oath Consigned is out of print, in part because some of Kline's views changed later and he apparently wanted people to read the relevant sections of Kingdom Prologue instead.

Online text of By Oath Consigned

PDF of Kingdom Prologue​

 

[A.J.]

I think the Bible's a good start for the Reformed Paedobaptist position.

Te he he he ...

Josh, I agree. But the Baptist would say the same thing. As I study this doctrine, I have come to see that the disagreement between the Presbyterian and the Reformed Baptist is essentially on how exactly they read their Bibles from a covenantal perspective. To many people, this is obvious. But to those who are not very familiar with the language used in this debate (like me in the past) do not see this immediately until after they have spent considerable time studying the pros and cons of infant baptism. How one reads his Bible will utimately determine whether you will baptize your children. The following statements bear this out.

In his The Rejection of the Baptism of Disciples Alone, Dr. Matt McMahon comments,

Baptists tend to take their concordance and run around the New Testament attempting to find “infant Baptism” somewhere. When they do not, they look back at the Old Testament, while standing on the New Testament, railing against Paedo-Baptists for Judaizing the New Testament. This is a backwards hermeneutic.

In Baptism and Covenant Theology, Reformed Baptist Walter Chantry, says something quite different.

No Baptist begins to seek an answer to the question "Who should be baptized?" by studying the Bible's doctrine of the covenants. Rather, he begins with New Testament texts which deal directly with the term "baptize." In a later study of Covenant Theology, he finds confirmation and undergirding of his conclusions.

Reading these statements shows that the difference is utterly irreconcilable. And I tend to agree with Dr. McMahon on this than with Pastor Chantry. That is why I find myself more comfortable with infant baptism now.