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The Baptism Debate: Understanding and Evaluating Reformed Infant Baptism
Should the church baptize infants?
This question has been an issue of debate for over 1500 years. The Baptism Debate provides a fresh look at the Reformed perspective on infant baptism. After thoroughly explaining and examining the Reformed position on infant baptism, this book provides a genuine and thoughtful analysis of Reformed covenant theology and its implications for infant baptism. Grounding the conclusions in a robust analysis of the biblical texts, The Baptism Debate helps the reader understand baptism and answer the question of whether the church should baptize infants.
This question has been an issue of debate for over 1500 years. The Baptism Debate provides a fresh look at the Reformed perspective on infant baptism. After thoroughly explaining and examining the Reformed position on infant baptism, this book provides a genuine and thoughtful analysis of Reformed covenant theology and its implications for infant baptism. Grounding the conclusions in a robust analysis of the biblical texts, The Baptism Debate helps the reader understand baptism and answer the question of whether the church should baptize infants.
244 pages, Paperback
Published March 30, 2023
7 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 8, 2025
This is a well-written and thoughtful book. The author communicates clearly and approaches the subject with fairness. I especially appreciated his consistent attention to Scripture and the way he grounded his arguments in the biblical text.
It’s the first book I’ve read that refutes infant baptism from a perspective outside the Reformed Baptist tradition. If you’re a Reformed Baptist, you’ll find much to affirm and some points to thoughtfully disagree with—but overall, it is a work worth reading.
It’s the first book I’ve read that refutes infant baptism from a perspective outside the Reformed Baptist tradition. If you’re a Reformed Baptist, you’ll find much to affirm and some points to thoughtfully disagree with—but overall, it is a work worth reading.
April 1, 2023
This book by Dr. Peter Goeman was a pleasure to read.
Dr. Goeman speaks with clarity, brevity, and accessibility.
While there are some authors who seem to derive an ego boost from writing sentences so filled with jargon that a layperson can't make heads or tails, Dr. Goeman's work is available to non-academics while still being a powerfully academic work. An academic will surely be impressed and challenged, but someone with no background on this material need not be afraid to make this his first book on the topic. If you have no experience with theological debate or academic resources, you will find this book entirely accessible to you -- I can't think of higher praise given the complexity of the topic addressed.
There are other authors that write without a spine. Far from making claims powerfully and precisely, they dance around the edges and leave the reader to wonder if the authors themselves are sure of their own position. Dr. Goeman leaves no such question in the readers mind. At every point in this book, a reader knows exactly the point that Dr. Goeman is making, exactly what his stance is, and exactly why he holds that stance. This allows him to move quickly through each topic while still giving a thorough treatment -- he skips all the scholarly pandering that some authors waterlog their work in.
Briefly mentioned in the previous paragraph, Dr. Goeman is wildly concise. Each sentence is packed with valuable information, and there is not a word of fluff in this entire book. Complementary to the brevity of the book is the rich selection of sources that Dr. Goeman references and provides in the course of his discussion. He is able to be brief in many cases because he will provide resources -- some supporting his position, some arguing against his position -- that the reader can go to for more information on a particular section of the debate. While this book is a valuable resource in its own right, this book is also a means to expose oneself to a variety of works in this space.
Finally, and most enjoyable for me, Dr. Goeman be spittin' fire.
Related to Dr. Goeman's willingness to say exactly what he means, there are some statements that are so savage that I couldn't help but laugh. He certainly writes with no arrogance or venom, but there are a few instances where he calls a spade a spade. I've pulled a couple of my favorites for this review, but they are intentionally pulled out of context so that I don't spoil parts of the discussion.
"By inventing a distinction between a new covenant member and a believer, Reformed paedobaptists create a category for the sake of their theological position" (90-91).
"It is a major inconsistency in the argument, and it seems that adherents to paedobaptism rely on the argument of continuity only when convenient" (104).
"Reformed paedobaptists have no satisfactory answer to this dilemma" (199).
Did you hear that mic drop? Because you should know it's even spicier in context.
In conclusion, you should read this book. It is an informative and riveting look into the debate concerning infant baptism in the Reformed tradition, and while this book certainly presents a compelling case for "believer's baptism" -- or as Dr. Goeman more aptly names it, "biblical baptism" (202) -- it is also a fantastic entry point to the debate as a whole. You will understand the relevant biblical issues, the relevant arguments and sources, and the frameworks that underlie those arguments.
Dr. Goeman speaks with clarity, brevity, and accessibility.
While there are some authors who seem to derive an ego boost from writing sentences so filled with jargon that a layperson can't make heads or tails, Dr. Goeman's work is available to non-academics while still being a powerfully academic work. An academic will surely be impressed and challenged, but someone with no background on this material need not be afraid to make this his first book on the topic. If you have no experience with theological debate or academic resources, you will find this book entirely accessible to you -- I can't think of higher praise given the complexity of the topic addressed.
There are other authors that write without a spine. Far from making claims powerfully and precisely, they dance around the edges and leave the reader to wonder if the authors themselves are sure of their own position. Dr. Goeman leaves no such question in the readers mind. At every point in this book, a reader knows exactly the point that Dr. Goeman is making, exactly what his stance is, and exactly why he holds that stance. This allows him to move quickly through each topic while still giving a thorough treatment -- he skips all the scholarly pandering that some authors waterlog their work in.
Briefly mentioned in the previous paragraph, Dr. Goeman is wildly concise. Each sentence is packed with valuable information, and there is not a word of fluff in this entire book. Complementary to the brevity of the book is the rich selection of sources that Dr. Goeman references and provides in the course of his discussion. He is able to be brief in many cases because he will provide resources -- some supporting his position, some arguing against his position -- that the reader can go to for more information on a particular section of the debate. While this book is a valuable resource in its own right, this book is also a means to expose oneself to a variety of works in this space.
Finally, and most enjoyable for me, Dr. Goeman be spittin' fire.
Related to Dr. Goeman's willingness to say exactly what he means, there are some statements that are so savage that I couldn't help but laugh. He certainly writes with no arrogance or venom, but there are a few instances where he calls a spade a spade. I've pulled a couple of my favorites for this review, but they are intentionally pulled out of context so that I don't spoil parts of the discussion.
"By inventing a distinction between a new covenant member and a believer, Reformed paedobaptists create a category for the sake of their theological position" (90-91).
"It is a major inconsistency in the argument, and it seems that adherents to paedobaptism rely on the argument of continuity only when convenient" (104).
"Reformed paedobaptists have no satisfactory answer to this dilemma" (199).
Did you hear that mic drop? Because you should know it's even spicier in context.
In conclusion, you should read this book. It is an informative and riveting look into the debate concerning infant baptism in the Reformed tradition, and while this book certainly presents a compelling case for "believer's baptism" -- or as Dr. Goeman more aptly names it, "biblical baptism" (202) -- it is also a fantastic entry point to the debate as a whole. You will understand the relevant biblical issues, the relevant arguments and sources, and the frameworks that underlie those arguments.
April 3, 2023
Anyone who wants to better understand baptism should read this book! It is clear, theologically rich, thorough, and full of Scripture. The book is written in a way so that it will benefit all levels of study, from those who are studying the topic for the first time to theological scholars. After reading this book, you’ll have a firm grasp on what baptism is, why it is important, what the related Bible passages teach, and how Reformed and baptist Christians have such different perspectives that both claim to be based on Scripture.
The book covers a lot of material and impressed me by how it did justice to the big subject, leaving the reader with a good understanding of the Reformed and baptist views on baptism. As a Reformed paedobaptist myself, I can testify that Goeman did a good job of explaining the Reformed understanding of baptism and getting to the heart of the debate which makes this book stand out from the rest.
I highly recommend this book for believers on both sides of the issue (paedobaptists and credobaptists). Goeman clearly spent a lot of time learning about the Reformed perspective on baptism and put effort in really understanding it before writing against it which made his arguments all the more worthwhile reading. I really appreciated how respectful Goeman is towards those he disagrees with, making it clear that his desire is not to “win” but that all would glorify God by coming to believe what Scripture teaches.
This book challenged and taught me many valuable things and it’ll continue to make me examine what and why I believe what I do. For every believer that wants to follow the example of the noble Bereans and examine the Scriptures to see what the truth is (Acts 17:11), read this book because it will help you to do just that!
The book covers a lot of material and impressed me by how it did justice to the big subject, leaving the reader with a good understanding of the Reformed and baptist views on baptism. As a Reformed paedobaptist myself, I can testify that Goeman did a good job of explaining the Reformed understanding of baptism and getting to the heart of the debate which makes this book stand out from the rest.
I highly recommend this book for believers on both sides of the issue (paedobaptists and credobaptists). Goeman clearly spent a lot of time learning about the Reformed perspective on baptism and put effort in really understanding it before writing against it which made his arguments all the more worthwhile reading. I really appreciated how respectful Goeman is towards those he disagrees with, making it clear that his desire is not to “win” but that all would glorify God by coming to believe what Scripture teaches.
This book challenged and taught me many valuable things and it’ll continue to make me examine what and why I believe what I do. For every believer that wants to follow the example of the noble Bereans and examine the Scriptures to see what the truth is (Acts 17:11), read this book because it will help you to do just that!
December 26, 2025
I came to this book to better understand the debate. Wow, that was deeper than I anticipated. This will be a good future tool to better refer back.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews