Eighteenth-Century Evangelical Calvinists

Eighteenth-century evangelical Calvinists were a diverse group of people, but the majority of them adhered to Reformed theology. They debated how best to practise their faith, including the proper mode of baptism. Whereas the English Particular Baptists and others insisted that believers be immersed upon a profession of faith as an adult, others, including the Congregationalists and Presbyterians, practised infant baptism. Evangelical Calvinists furthermore sometimes clashed on ecclesiastical policies. The Baptists and Congregationalists, for instance, established independent churches, contrasting the hierarchical structures of the Church of England and Presbyterianism. Despite their diversity on doctrinal and ecclesiastical matters, eighteenth-century evangelical Calvinists were unified in proclaiming that salvation came exclusively by divine grace mediated through Christ’s death on the cross, and that conversion was the means by which God redeemed the elect.

Understanding Paedobaptism In Light Of African Theological Context.

The study had a purpose of understanding paedobaptism in light of African theological context. The study is theoretically informed by inculturation theory that is well propounded by Mbiti (1969) and Bediako (1995). The researcher used qualitative methods of data presentation, descriptive and analytical research. Random and cluster selection design was used to sample hundred women of different age groups. He also targeted 50 men of the age between 30-60 years. The study also targeted 50 clergy of the two genders. Extensive reading of relevant literature was done to investigate efficacy of infant baptism. Interview and questionnaire was the method of data collection used in the study, prominent Church leaders and theologians were interviewed. The researcher then examined all data obtained from questionnaires and interview guides. It was coded appropriately and organised for analysis. Various correction tests were run using the SPSS (statistical packages for social sciences). The data was converted into mean, frequencies and percentages. This was used to generate tables and data. The study found out that all the clergy understood the real meaning of baptism as an act of strengthening faith, giving assurance and giving a title. A big percentage of the laity referred baptism as a means of attaining full membership into the church and just acquiring a name. The study recommended that the church needs to educate her members on the meaning of baptism, which is not only having a name and being a member of the church but for a holistic growth of the body of Christ.

Revived for paradise

Infant baptism originated when St Augustine proclaimed the doctrine of original sin in 412 c.e. Neonates stillborn or deceased before baptism were declared to go down to hell and were buried outside of sacred ground. From the 15th century, parents carried those infants to respite sanctuaries in remote mountain chapels, where miraculous images were believed to revive the infant in order to allow baptism and Christian burial. Monasteries made fortunes with the parents’ anguish, and in 1528 the abuse of the Oberbüren image ignited reformation and iconoclasm. From 1740, Pope Benedict XIV opposed the sanctuaries, declaring invalid their apparent signs of life: skin colour change, change from rigidity to flexibility, blood flowing from the nose, sweat on the skin, cessation of a cadaveric smell, and the movement of a feather held at the infant’s mouth. Only crying and sounds of respiration remained valid signs of revivification. Centuries of debate shed light on the difficulty of distinguishing stillborn from liveborn before the stethoscope became available. Respite sanctuaries illustrate the failure of the doctrine of original sin, which was never accepted by the faithful.

Social birth

Rites of passage mark important changes during human life, and for the neonate, its transition from intrauterine life into society. Their original intent was to purify the body from blood and meconium, but the cleansing rites had a spiritual dimension from the very start. When the rites of Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Jewish, Greek, Roman, Hindu, Nordic, Muslim, Mayan, and Christian cultures are briefly compared, they reveal a remarkable similarity. What most rites had in common was the cleansing of the body, or sprinkling it with water; special clothing; the exorcism of evil spirits; blessings and prayers for good spirits; and a name-giving ceremony and a feast for family, relatives, and friends. Before this rite, the infant’s social existence was incomplete and it could easily be abandoned or killed, as was usual in case of severe malformations. Infant baptism originated in the 4th century c.e. with the concept of original sin. Rites of passage defined, but also set an end to, the liminal status between life and death, and granted the right to live for the infant.

Misi dalam Gereja Anabaptis Abad XVI: Tinjauan dari Perspektif Paradigma Misi menurut David J. Bosch

The birth of Anabaptist movement appeared in the context of church reformation by Martin Luther in the sixteenth century in Europe.Anabaptist movement was aimed to renewing the Church according to the Scriptures, because many Protestant reformers, such as Luther and Zwingli, were not radical. They still practice some of the rules and teachings of the Roman Catholic church, such as infant baptism and maintaining the Church's relationship with the State. The Anabaptists movement rejects these practices. The Anabaptists attempted to carry out a more radical reform than their predecessors. The Anabaptist group itself has a membership of about 1.7 million worldwide. The data raises the question of how they made their mission. The facts show that the Anabaptists were persistent missionaries in preaching their Faith. The Anabaptist mission is based on three Anabaptist beliefs: Jesus became the center of faith, Mennonite who put peace and community as the center of life. These three beliefs will be analyzed using David J. Bosch's three paradigms to see the correlation between "Mission as Mediating Salvation” and the belief that Jesus is the center of faith, "Mission as Evangelism" with Mennonite beliefs that promote peace, and "Mission as Ministry by the Whole People of God” with community is the center of live. The results of this analysis will show the radicalism of the Anabaptist movement.

Calvin and the Efficacy of Infant Baptism

Chapter Abstract: This chapter explores the question whether baptism for Calvin functions as a means of knowledge, assurance, and grace not just for adult converts but also for infants, especially since infants are presumably too young to believe. In its examination of the efficacy of infant baptism, the chapter surveys once again the whole of Calvin’s literary corpus, moving through the same stages of his writing career that were laid out in the foregoing chapters. The primary conclusion is that Calvin’s view of infant baptism as an instrument of both knowledge and grace is not as incompatible with his general doctrine of baptismal efficacy as some in the past have suggested. For Calvin, adult convert baptism and pedobaptism are not efficacious in exactly the same way, but the similarities between them are such that the latter can really be viewed as an age-adjusted version of the former.

Font of Pardon and New Life

This book is a study of the historical development and impact of John Calvin’s doctrine of baptismal efficacy. The primary questions it addresses are (1) whether Calvin taught an “instrumental” doctrine of baptism, according to which the external sign of the sacrament serves as a means or instrument to convey the spiritual realities it signifies, and (2) whether Calvin’s teaching on baptismal efficacy remained constant throughout his lifetime or underwent significant change. Secondarily, the work also examines whether such spiritual blessings, in Calvin’s view, are conferred only in adult (believer) baptism or also in the baptism of infants, and what impact Calvin’s doctrine of baptismal efficacy had on the Reformed confessional tradition that followed him. The book examines all of Calvin’s writings on baptism—his Institutes, commentaries on Scripture, catechisms, polemical writings, and consensus documents—chronologically through five stages of his life and then analyzes the doctrine of baptismal efficacy in eight of the major Reformed confessions and catechisms from the age of confessional codification. It concludes that Calvin did indeed hold to an instrumental view of baptism; that this doctrine underwent change and development over the course of his life but not to the extent that some in the past have suggested; that his view of the efficacy of infant baptism was consistent with his doctrine of baptism in general; and that versions of Calvin’s teaching can be found in many, though not all, of the major Reformed confessional documents of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Baptismal Efficacy in Calvin’s Theology

Chapter Abstract: This concluding chapter restates the central thesis of the book and summarizes the supporting material from the preceding chapters. The thesis is that when it comes to the three schools of interpretation introduced in chapter 1, Calvin’s doctrine of the efficacy of baptism does not fit exclusively into any one of them. In a lifelong attempt to chart a middle course between Roman Catholic and Zwinglian/Anabaptist views of the sacraments, Calvin constructed a doctrine of baptismal efficacy that displayed elements of all three categories and that carried over into his doctrine of infant baptism and many of the historic Reformed confessions. Aspects of his instrumental approach to baptism underwent change and development over his lifetime but not to the extent that some scholars have suggested. The overall trajectory was one of increasing clarity and refinement of basic themes already present in incipient form in the Institutes of 1536.

Infant Baptism: God’s Promise or Ours?

This article examines the baptism liturgies of the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRC). It argues that parental promises eclipse the promise of God in the practice of baptism in the CRC. A discernible shift from an emphasis on God’s promise in the CRC’s oldest liturgy to an increasing emphasis on parental promises in the new liturgies adopted by Synods 1976 and 1994 is observed. Ambiguity about the meaning of baptism is evident in the CRC’s newest baptism liturgies, adopted by Synods 2013 and 2016. This article concludes that the denomination should adopt a new baptism liturgy in which parental promises are made only after the administration of their child’s baptism.