Ask the Author: Jonathan D. Watson
Answered Questions (2)
Jonathan D. Watson
I've read a number of books this Summer. Here are a few: Mere Christianity (Lewis); The Triune God (Sanders); Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance (Duckworth); Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike (Knight); Hillbilly Elegy (Vance); The Meaning of Marriage (Keller). . .to name a few.
I'm currently working on Surprised by Hope (Wright); Remembrance Communion, and Hope (Billings); Biblical Theology (Kimble/Spellman); and The Monster in the Hollows (The Wingfeather Saga #3; Peterson)
I'm currently working on Surprised by Hope (Wright); Remembrance Communion, and Hope (Billings); Biblical Theology (Kimble/Spellman); and The Monster in the Hollows (The Wingfeather Saga #3; Peterson)
Jonathan D. Watson
"The book grew largely out of my study of Luther’s sacramental theology (the fruit of this study is most evident in chapter 3). As I read Luther’s writings, though I differed from him at many points, I regularly found myself encouraged and challenged by his thinking. For example, his view of penance as a return to or recollection of baptism was theologically rich to me (e.g., when I repent, I’m returning to what was signified of me in baptism). More to the central topic of the book, Luther’s claim that if someone wants to understand how adult baptism works they should look at infant baptism was striking. As a credobaptist, when I read this, I realized that the liturgical logic of Luther’s view of adult baptism was more different from my own than I had previously realized. Further, as I continued my research I found authors like Aidan Kavanagh, a Roman Catholic theologian, who argued that adult baptism was normative for infant baptism (see chapter five). This also shocked my theological intuitions, highlighting a discontinuity in how infant baptism was being understood across denominations. These discoveries were counter-intuitive to me, and yet, as I continued thinking about the implications of these contrasting conceptions I began to wonder if there might not be something here worth exploring in greater detail. (This only intensified as I began looking at how catechesis/instruction was functioning in these different frameworks.)" (This is from an interview conducted Lexham Academic)
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