Intro to Baptismal Theology: The Recipients of Baptism

 

Hello and welcome. In this article, we'll briefly summarize the issues surrounding the topic of who the proper recipients of baptism are. This introductory article will help set the stage for future articles on this topic. 

DEFINING TERMS 

Credobaptism - The belief that only believers are the proper recipients of baptism.

Paedobaptism - The belief that infants are also the proper recipients of baptism. 

THE POINTS OF AGREEMENT & DISAGREEMENT 

When it comes to Credobaptism and Paedobaptism, both sides agree that believers should be baptized. Where disagreements begin is the question of what should be done with the infant children of believers. For various reasons, the Paedobaptist position believes infant children of believers should be baptized as well. 

Another point of disagreement on this topic is what interpretive methods and textual priorities should be used to arrive at a particular view for the proper recipients of baptism. The Credobaptist perspective largely derives its view from passages in the New Testament that directly speak about baptism and what is said about those who receive baptism. From there, conclusions are formed about who should be baptized. 

On the other hand, the Paedobaptist perspective largely derives its views from themes and practices in the Old Testament that they see as continuing in the New Testament because they don't see an explicit command that these themes or practices have ceased. Other Paedobaptists arrive at their view by beginning at what they believe to be the benefits of baptism and working backward from there to the recipient rather than working from the recipient to the benefit. It's a general truism with this issue that the Credobaptists place more priority on the New Testament while the Paedobaptists place more priority on the Old Testament when it comes to figuring out who the proper recipients of baptism are. 

Many Paedobaptist scholars concede that there's no direct command in the New Testament to baptize infants, but they often view this fact as confirming their view based on prior themes and practices in the Old Testament. On the contrary, Credobaptists see this lack of a direct command to baptize infants in the New Testament as a disconfirmation of the practice. 

With this issue, it's very interesting how two parties can acknowledge the same data set yet come to opposing conclusions. 

THE FIVE PILLARS OF PAEDOBAPTISM

When arguing for Paedobaptism, the doctrine's advocates normally appeal to a specific set of primary arguments, themes, and points. Additionally, the specific points which are appealed to often vary depending on the advocate's theological tradition. We've broken these points into five pillars to help distinguish them.

1. The Circumcision to Baptism Argument 

2. The Argument from Covenantal Unity 

3. The Household Baptism Argument 

4. The Infant Faith Argument 

5. The Original Sin Argument 

While all five pillars could be held by a single Paedobaptist, they often are not. Each tradition usually places more emphasis on one or two of these pillars as their justification for the doctrine. For example, a Presbyterian will likely focus on pillars one, two, and three. But a Roman Catholic will add pillar five. In addition to pillar five, a Lutheran would add on pillar four. The arguments and focus a particular Paedobaptist might have can vary depending on which pillars they most strongly hold to. 

THE VARIATIONS OF PAEDOBAPTISM 

Faith of Others: The church supplies the faith necessary for infant baptism.

Infused Faith: Baptism infuses faith into the infant.  

Infant Faith: An infants’ own faith is present in baptism. 

 

Sacramental Symbolism: The legitimacy of infant baptism is independent of faith.  

Pre-credobaptism: Baptism precedes faith in the infant, but does not guarantee it.  

Presumptive Regeneration: The church assumes its baptized infants have faith until proven otherwise. 

Baptismal Regeneration: Baptism imparts faith to all infants (including the non-elect).  

Another aspect of this issue that can complicate dialogue is just how many varying Paedobaptist perspectives there are on exactly what is going on in baptism for the infant. This fact demonstrates that the Paedobaptist position is not monolithic and arguments can vary depending on which theological tradition the affirmer comes from. 

Regarding the variations of Credobaptism, there are two primary perspectives. Either baptism is a religious rite and ordinance for believers who are already regenerated or it's for believers who have yet to be regenerated and this regeneration happens by baptism. Most Credobaptist arguments run along the same line of thinking. There's certainly less varying thought in the view. 

When approaching this topic, it's important to realize these points of agreement, disagreement, and variation. This introductory article will help set the stage for future articles about the recipients of baptism. 

Thanks for reading. That concludes this article.