Posted on 03/05/2015 7:28:13 PM PST by RaceBannon
I don’t know why you are so obsessed with Catholic doctrine, but would it not be a better use of your time for you to enter into a closer relationship with God by focusing on your own beliefs?
I Should Be Baptized to Show That I Am Willing to Follow Jesus.
The Pharisees were very fond of outward signs to show other people their religious devotion. Jesus had no use for it; read the Scriptures.
There is no verse in the Bible which directly supports paedobaptism. However, there is no verse which directly refutes it, either.
IMO, anytime that Scripture is silent on a topic, dogmatic positions should not be taken. Having migrated from one position to the other in my own spiritual growth, I can understand how sincere Christians could fall on either side of the argument.
Most of the examples from Scripture are of adult conversions. On that issue, there is no disagreement between paedobaptists and credobaptists.
Exactly.
What's interesting is how the anabaptists & their spiritual descendents have "FELT" the need to fill the vacuum:
Can you say "b-a-b-y d-e-d-i-c-a-t-i-o-n-s"?
There's no Scriptural precedents there, yet that doesn't stop today's churches from venturing into this relatively "new" ground in church history.
And even before that, an arbitrary "age of accountability" had to be drummed up even tho original sin is Biblically there from conception/birth (see Psalm 51:5; 58:3).
Many of the arguments used by credobaptists apply not only to infants, but toddlers, pre-schoolers, kindergarteners, primary school, and some of the arguments apply also to pre-teens, teens and even mentally disabled adults! (And yet certain arguments will suddenly disappear when the same exact question is applied to these other groups)
Finally, there's almost a level of derisive "mocking" of those who teach infant baptism...as if these people don't realize their spiritual forefathers taught it. (And I'm not just talking about certain mainline denominational ties their families may have once held in the past 100-200 years)
John Calvin, Martin Luther, H. Zwingli, Martin Bucer, John Wesley & other reformers all taught infant baptism. The only early church father I can find who had any heartburn about it was Tertullian. And no controversy existed in the early church about its widespread practice.
You would think that out of some respect to their almost universal spiritual elders, they would -- if not defer to their positions -- at least respect it...but no...
Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war...against almost every single Protestant heritage and the heritage of the early Church fathers!
* The Sacraments: Lecture 4 - Baptist Objections to Infant Baptism and the Reformed Response (Dr. Kim Riddleberger, who's been one of the hosts of the radio program, The White Horse Inn)
* Why We Baptize Babies (The Case for Infant Baptism) [Conservative Lutheran position] [Lutheran Church Missouri-Synod Pastor Richard Bucher, Th.D]
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