credobaptism Archives - Wyatt Graham

Heaven & Earth features conversations between myself and another person who knows something fascinating. In these conversations, I play the role of the listener and ask questions to learn more about a topic.

In this episode, Emeritus Professor Stan Fowler of Heritage Seminary talks with me about baptism in the Baptist tradition and especially its sacramental character. I think you will find this talk utterly fascinating and perhaps eye-opening. Baptism, argues Professor Fowler, is sacramental. Before you jump to conclusions about what that might mean, first listen to the conversation.

Make sure to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and/or Apple Podcasts. Also, see the host page at Anchor. And bookmark this page to see every episode. [Read more…] about Episode 8: Stan Fowler on the Sacramental Character of Baptism

The history of Christianity has favoured paedobaptism—that act of baptizing an infant who belongs to a Christian family. This doesn’t mean the earliest church always baptized their infants. During the fourth and fifth centuries, Christians would often wait to be baptized until later in life as fire insurance. Even Gregory of Nazianzus, known to the eastern church as “The Theologian” and framer of the language of the dual nature of Christ, was baptized late into his life. I would also suggest that the Didache a assumes credobaptist position—the act of baptizing someone on the confession of faith. In any case, the history of Christianity does not define dogma, though it definitely helps shapes it. The Bible alone is the final authority on such matters.

And I would argue that a prophecy of Jeremiah drives home the conclusion that the church should only baptize those who confess faith, which would not include infants. [Read more…] about Why I Wouldn’t Baptize Babies