Weston Stoler
Puritan Board Sophomore
I was told this today
The earliest evidence in church history points to believer’s baptism. Unambiguous testimony for the baptism of infants appears only about the middle of the first half of the 3rd century.· The Didache (100 AD): The most ancient document outside the NT contains over 70 rules for baptism but nothing about infants. The requirement of instruction infers that the candidates were believers. The Shepherd of Hermas and the Letter of Barnabas, both from the 1st half of the 2nd century presuppose believer’s baptism.· Clement of Alexandria (200 AD): discusses both baptism and Scriptures concerning children, but says nothing about infant baptism.· Tertullian (160-220 AD): wrote an entire volume against the practice of baptizing infants. Evidently paedobaptism was beginning to be practiced or he wouldn’t have written against it. Origin is the first to really argue for the baptism of infants.
The earliest evidence in church history points to believer’s baptism. Unambiguous testimony for the baptism of infants appears only about the middle of the first half of the 3rd century.· The Didache (100 AD): The most ancient document outside the NT contains over 70 rules for baptism but nothing about infants. The requirement of instruction infers that the candidates were believers. The Shepherd of Hermas and the Letter of Barnabas, both from the 1st half of the 2nd century presuppose believer’s baptism.· Clement of Alexandria (200 AD): discusses both baptism and Scriptures concerning children, but says nothing about infant baptism.· Tertullian (160-220 AD): wrote an entire volume against the practice of baptizing infants. Evidently paedobaptism was beginning to be practiced or he wouldn’t have written against it. Origin is the first to really argue for the baptism of infants.