Believer's Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ

New American Commentary Studies in Bible & Theology #2

by Thomas R. Schreiner (Editor), Shawn D. Wright (Editor), Andreas J. Köstenberger (Contributor)

Is believer’s baptism the clear teaching of the New Testament Scriptures? What are the historical and theological challenges to believer’s baptism? What are the practical applications for believer’s baptism today? Volume two in the New American Commentary Studies in Bible & Theology (NACSBT) series for pastors, advanced Bible students, and other deeply committed laypersons addresses these compelling questions.

Indeed, Believer’s Baptism begins with the belief that believer’s baptism (as opposed to infant baptism or other faith proclaiming methods) is the clear teaching of the New Testament. Along the way, the argument is supported by written contributions from Andreas Kostenberger, Robert Stein, Thomas Schreiner, Stephen Wellum, Steve McKinion, Jonathan Rainbow, Shawn Wright, and Mark Dever.

Users will find this an excellent extension of the long-respected New American Commentary.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Ecclesiology, Church, Christianity, Nonfiction, Biblical Studies

400 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Thomas R. Schreiner (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He is the author or editor of numerous books, including New Testament Theology; Magnifying God in Christ; Apostle of God's Glory in Christ; and Romans in the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament.

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baptism is perhaps the most divisive issue of faith and practice in the Christian church, so a book, such as Believer’s Baptism is sure to be received as decisive blow against paedobaptism by the Baptists, but as a non sequitur by the paedobaptists. While a convinced Baptist myself, I attend a paedobaptist church, so I’m in the unenviable position of being caught in the middle. It is true, and undeniable that the paedobaptist tradition—specifically the Presbyterians, have a near monopoly on the rich heritage of Protestant church and theology.
Nearly all my theological influences are drawn from the Reformed and paedobaptistic theologians. The Baptists, specifically the American Baptist legacy is largely a shallow, revivalistic, pietistic embarrassment. That being said, I have great respect their judgment on baptism and their faithfulness in the face of persecution.

Tom Schreiner and Shawn Wright have assembled a very competent cast of theologians, teachers, and pastors to give a defense of credobaptism and rebuttal of the paedo position. Kostenberger, Stein, and Schreiner show that “baptism is designed for believers who have repented of their sin and have put their faith in God and in his Christ.” (p. 23) This is the central teaching of the New Testament in relation to baptism, and any attempt to separate the two is unbiblical. It is interesting that paedobaptists are forced to embrace this teaching, yet somehow squirm out of the implications of it. Calvin himself writes, in the Institutes, “Baptism is a symbol of the forgiveness of sins; and who could be admitted to receive the symbol but sinners acknowledging themselves as such?”

They each answer the paedobaptist arguments on matters such as household baptisms and Jesus’ receiving children. The objections are solid and put holes in the paedo position, but they aren’t sufficient enough in length to fully answer all the objections.

The crux of the book is Steve Wellum’s chapter on the “Relationships between the Covenants.” It is here that we find a full critique of the foundation of the Covenant Theology defense of paedobaptism. Wellum argues that Covenant theology fails “to do justice…to the progressive nature of God’s revelation, especially in regard to the biblical covenants, the covenant community, and the covenantal signs.” He argues that the term “covenant of grace” is “misleading, because Scripture does not speak of only one covenant with different administrations.” He says, instead, that “Scripture speaks in terms of a plurality of covenants.” The “covenant of grace” is a “comprehensive theological category, not a biblical one.” He believes we should place a moratorium in using the term, as it tends to lead to a “flattening of Scripture.”

Wellum then places the Abrahamic covenant in context, showing it is not primarily a spiritual covenant, but “national/physical, typological, and spiritual”. Covenant theology places its emphasis on the spiritual aspects “and overlooks important differences between the Abrahamic and new covenant.” This spiritual reading “takes the genealogical principle operative in the Abrahamic covenant—‘you and your seed’ (Gen 17:7)—as applicable in exactly the same way across the canon without suspension, abrogation, and especially reinterpretation in the new covenant era.”

Wellum examines the Abrahamic covenant and then shows four ways the Bible talks about Abraham’s “seed.” First, “the ‘seed of Abraham’ refers to a natural (physical) seed, second, to “a natural, yet special seed tied to God’s elective and saving purposes, namely Isaac, and by extension Jacob and the entire nation of Israel”, third, “the Messiah”, and fourth, “the spiritual nature” including “believing Jews and Gentiles in the church.” Paedobaptists lump them all together, or ignore them, and emphasize the “spiritual” aspects to the detriment of the others. This is the “flattening” to which he refers.

Wellum states, “Under the previous covenants, the genealogical principle, that is the relationship between the covenant mediator and his seed was physical (eg., Adam, Noah, Abraham, David). But now, in Christ, under his mediation, the relationship between Christ and his seed is no longer physical but spiritual, which entails that the covenant sign must only be applied to those who in fact are the spiritual seed of Abraham.” He undergirds this claim by drawing Jeremiah 31 into the discussion.

This of course, leads to the bigger question of whether the new covenant community is to be a mixed one, as in the Old Covenant. Wellum answers no. He argues, “the church, by its very nature, is a regenerate community, the covenant sign of baptism must only be applied to those who have come to faith in Christ.” This is “the crucial discontinuity between the old and new covenant communities”. And this is “why paedobaptists consistently interpret the new covenant in ‘renewal,’ rather than ‘replacement,’ or better, ‘fulfillment’ categories.

Wellum writes, “The ‘better’ nature of the new covenant is seen in light of the perfection of Christ’s work which is qualitatively better than all that has preceded. It has better promises and better sacrifices and therefore is a better covenant. What is the better nature of the covenant? It is this: because of who the Redeemer is and what he offers as a sacrifice we now have a more effective sacrifice and thus a more effective covenant; indeed, we have a covenant that ‘Is not susceptible to the breach perpetrated in the past.’”

Wellum then moves on to examine the relationship between circumcision and baptism. He concludes his survey, stating that circumcision and baptism “carry two different meanings. Circumcision, in a typological way, may anticipate and point to these new covenant realities, but it does not testify that all these realities are true of us.” Baptism is “a covenantal sign, it communicates the grace of God to those who have faith, something which could not be said of circumcision of old.”
Wellum’s essay, as I said, is the covenantal backbone to the book. If you follow his argument, you’ll be a persuaded credobaptist. The newer book, Kingdom Through Covenant, is a larger, more thorough examination of the covenants, and should not be missed.

McKinion’s essay on the patristics and Rainbow’s essay on the early Anabaptists are also critical essays in the book as they demonstrate that the early church only baptized believers upon repentance and confession. Infants were only baptized, as exceptions, when they were dying. As this practice developed, more and more churches began baptizing infants and by the time of Augustine the practice took preeminence in the church. He writes, “Prior to the third century, there are no patristic advocates for paedobaptism. Even if the inscriptions reflect an early practice of emergency baptism (which they do), they do not constitute an explicit rejection of a normative practice of believer's baptism.” (p. 183)

McKinion writes, “Baptism in the patristic writings had less to do with the age of the baptized person than with the role of repentance, profession of faith, and entrance into the full life of the church.”
Balthasar Hubmaier, at the time of the Reformation, began to question the practice of infant baptism and sought to restore confessor baptism. At the time, the Catholic church, argued that infants received faith upon baptism, ex opere operato (by the work performed, view.
Luther, while rejecting ex opera operato view of the Catholic church, argued that “, the infant's credo, even though not spoken by his own lips, is truly his own.” (p. 183) It is clear, that the church, both Catholic and Lutheran, were faced with the dilemma of infant baptism and the New Testament requirement of faith.

Finally, it was Zwingli who brought innovation to baptism. As Rainbow writes, “he severed baptism from faith.” He adds, “Zwingli identified baptism as an “external” material thing and faith as an “internal” spiritual thing, and concluded that the traditional theology had been guilty of mingling and confusing them.”

He summarizes, “Zwingli concluded that just as “the Hebrews' children, because they with their parents were under the covenant, merited the sign of the covenant, so also Christians' infants, because they are counted within the church and people of Christ, ought in no way to be deprived of baptism, the sign of the covenant.” But this innovation brought its own problems, as Rainbow writes, “this solution had as its price the integrity of Zwingli's exegesis of the baptismal passages of the NT and the very significance of baptism itself. For if baptism is a mere external thing, disconnected from salvation, why practice it at all?” (p. 188)

Having thus introduced the Reformed Paedobaptistic logic, Shawn Wright, evaluates the Reformers on baptism. He succinctly writes, “Reformed paedobaptists are inconsistent in relating their practice of baptism to their definition of the sacraments.3 They define the sacraments carefully and biblically. Then they contradict their own definition by their insistence that believers' infants should be baptized.”
Wright notes that, “Calvin stresses the individual's active participation in the sacraments as we “attest our piety” to the Lord.” He even adds Calvin’s own words, “The sacraments properly fulfill their office only when the Spirit, that inward teacher, comes to them, by whose power alone hearts are penetrated and affections moved and our souls opened for the sacraments to enter in. If the Spirit be lacking, the sacraments can accomplish nothing more in our minds than the splendor of the sun shining upon blind eyes, or a voice sounding in deaf ears….the individual must exercise faith to make the sacraments effective.”

Wright concludes that Reformed Paedobaptists are, “They are caught in the bind of biblically defining a doctrine and then attempting to justify an unbiblical application of it. The NT neither assumes nor justifies infant baptism.” (p. 236)

Duane Garrett examines and then criticizes Meredith Kline for his novel understanding of the covenants and his consequent novel perspective on baptism.

Ardel Caneday reevaluates the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement and its emphasis on the connection between baptism and the remission of sins. He argues that the church is too eager to dismiss the Catholic doctrine of baptismal regeneration, and we consequently reject Scripture’s teaching on the connection between baptism and the remission of sins. He writes:

“Some Christians, zealous to guard God's grace against any intrusion of works, regularly confuse faith and grace. Despite Paul's distinction of grace as the ground and faith as the means in Eph 2:8–9, they carelessly speak of faith as the basis of salvation and isolate faith from other biblically sanctioned means. Other Christians fail to account for Peter's startling words—”baptism now saves you”—as they confidently assert that baptism has nothing to do with salvation and that the gospel of Jesus Christ does not require it, except perhaps as a mere symbol, and that for church membership. Regrettably, confusion of instrumental cause and efficient cause leads some to regard baptism as itself accomplishing regeneration, and others to make baptism optional, with little, if any, meaning. The apostles make it clear that God saves whom and when he chooses, and that baptism is a sign of, but not the effectual cause of, regeneration. Yet, to embrace this truth and simultaneously isolate baptism from Christian conversion, whether in time or in theological expression, is an over-reaction to those embracing “baptismal regeneration.” Worse, it divorces a symbol and reality that the NT holds together without embarrassment. The church and individual Christians suffer the consequences. This overly-zealous isolation of the symbol of baptism has degraded the distinguishing value and function of the symbol for individual believers and for the church.”

This really cuts to the heart of the matter. Baptists, in an over-reaction to baptismal regeneration, disconnect baptism and the remission of sins, and leave the middle ground to the Reformed Paedobaptists who capitalize on this confusion and gain the upper hand against the Baptists.

And finally, Mark Dever takes up the practical questions of baptism in the church—who to baptize, when, how, etc. Dever argues for wisdom and patience in baptizing our children. He helpfully writes, “True conversion manifests itself over time. Children are childlike and trusting for a reason. To ask a pastor to try to separate out the tightly knit strands of affection for parents and for God, and to discern which is primary in a child is to ask more than may be best for the child. Time allows the child's faith to mature and evidence itself consistently.”

This is an excellent volume that makes some bold arguments, particularly in laying out the groundwork for a response to covenant theology, and looks at the baptism question from a variety of angles. The structure of the book, namely that of ten different essays, all on different topics keeps the pace of the book brisk, and doesn’t allow any one writer to go into great depth on any one topic. Thus the book is best viewed as an introduction to baptism. Both sides of the debate are deepy entrenched, and a volume like this is not likely to win anyone from the other side; but it does an able job of defending believers’ baptism and laying the ground work for further study.

[Jon Pentecost · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume is well done, however as it is an overview of the doctrine of baptism, there are several 'meat and potatoes' chapters that can feel repetitive one after another. I'm talking about the "Baptism in...X" chapters--the gospels, Luke-Acts, Epistles, Patristic Writings, Anabaptist writings, etc. While I would have some criticisms or quibbles with some of the exegesis in these, on the whole they are helpful summaries of NT texts relating to baptism, with some glosses.

One major exception to that is the chapter by Shawn Wright on the logic of Reformed Paedobaptists. Wright summarizes the arguments for infant baptism by one Reformer (Calvin) and two 20th century writers (Marcel and Murray). The result is a charitable, respectful, and specific examination of the internal logic of a historic, Protestant practice of paedobaptism. Garret's chapter on Meredith Kline's own eccentric view of baptism is also helpful (though perhaps obscure). Caneday's chapter on the Campbellite/Christian Church movement is somewhat helpful, but is hindered by Caneday really trying to do too much in one chapter (critique the teaching of baptismal regeneration advanced by some in the Campbellite tradition, critique Campbell's hermeneutic denying the value of any kind of tradition in intepreting the bible, and asserting that Campbell himself didn't quite argue for baptismal regeneration). Especially for people who don't live around a lot of churches from this movement, it was a difficult chapter to profit from, though there are good exegetical arguments in it.

The absolute highlight of the book is Steve Wellum's chapter on Baptism and the Relationship between the Covenants. It should be required reading for anyone wrestling with questions of baptism. It and Wright's chapters are the most persuasive of the book, and worth the price of entry.

[Brent · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first few essays don't present anything earth shattering in their NT exegesis and the last few essays are equally as dry and unconvincing (I am not at all interested in Campbellism..). Ultimately the issue is not going to be settled by exegesis but by the hardworking systematic theologians.

The best essays were Dr. McKinion's work on baptism in the Patristic Writings, which was much more convincing, gracious in tone, historically cogent and challenging to my own position, and Wellum's essay on the relationships between the covenants. Without these two essays, this book would not be worth opening let alone purchasing. Indeed, if this is the Credobaptist book par excellence I was not impressed at all.

If you're interested in reading something cogent in this edition, and want to avoid theologian after theologian fumble over Col 2:12 and cherry pick Scripture, then read McKinion's essay and Wellum's essay in the volume, but spare the rest. Ultimately, the core of the issue isn't about exegesis, but about how one views the continuity of the covenants.

[David J. Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent, thorough resource that defends credobaptism biblically, theologically, and historically. Like all multi-author volumes some entries shine brighter than others. In this case, Schriener, Dever, Rainbow, Garrett and Wellum have given the best highlights, but the remaining entries are still worthy of attention.

[Timothy Dragan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 4.5 Stars.

This compelling book presents a strong case for credobaptism and serves as a valuable contribution to the ongoing debate. Having previously delved into Gregg Strawbridge's The Case for Infant Baptism, I appreciated how this work engaged with Strawbridge's material and extended its discourse to include other paedobaptist perspectives.

A standout feature of the book is its focused exploration of the crux of the credo- versus paedobaptist dispute: covenant theology. Stephen Wellum's chapter is particularly noteworthy for its excellent articulation of this point. Wellum adeptly maintains the essence of covenant theology while advocating for the Baptist position. He critiques the over-spiritualisation and oversimplification by paedobaptists, especially concerning the old covenant, circumcision, baptism and the seed. His argument underscores the multi-faceted nature of these concepts—historical, ethnical, and spiritual. Moreover, Wellum challenges the paedobaptist perspective to demonstrate the newness of the new covenant. Despite accusations of dispensationalism thrown at Baptists, Wellum clarifies that emphasising differences and discontinuities made by Scripture doesn't necessitate a dispensationalist stance, allowing a Baptist position within a covenantal framework.

Another strong chapter, The Logic of Reformed Paedobaptists, written by Shawn Wright, dissects and presents the biblical theology of Baptism by Calvin, Murray, and Marcel. Wright skillfully highlights the inconsistency between their broader theology and their endorsement of paedobaptism.

The book delves into various critical aspects, including the biblical theology of baptism, providing clarity on Baptist beliefs, and scrutinizing the oikos (household) argument. The historical exploration of paedobaptism is particularly intriguing, revealing Augustine's endeavor to uphold fide alieana, a pursuit later embraced by Luther and others. This historical journey unveils infant baptism as a theological anachronism. Additionally, it underscores the consistent adherence to the nexus of faith-baptism by early Reformers, a principle later compromised by Zwingli. Zwingli's separation of faith from baptism, viewed chronologically, was a strategic move to maintain the practice of infant baptism.

Despite these strengths, the book falls short of a perfect score for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the presence of grammatical and editorial errors, though not undermining the core arguments, proves somewhat distracting. Additionally, while the book touches on the paedobaptist interpretation of "and for your children," a more in-depth exegetical analysis could have strengthened the overall argument.

Overall, it was an excellent book!

[Zachary Horn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. There are three essays in this volume that are legitimately 5 stars--those by Schreiner, Wellum and Dever--these essays alone make this volume worth reading. In my view, if this book were comprised only of those three essays, it would admirably have covered the scholarly and pastoral questions involved with sufficient breadth. As it is, I felt this book suffered from varied quality of the other essays, and at times felt as though there was redundant or belabored coverage of some issues--it is a bit of a slog at times.

[Lindsay John Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the full review here: http://mydigitalseminary.com/believer...

I know that my own study of this issue isn't over, but Believer's Baptism has played an important role in confirming my belief in credobaptism. The scholarship is solid and thoughtful, particularly so in Stein and Wellum's contributions. I'm very grateful that the conclusion of the book was not merely something like, "baptism is good but not necessary and the paedobaptists are wrong". Instead, the importance of baptism was shown and now I have a deeper appreciation for the significance of baptism.

Believer's Baptism is particularly aimed towards pastors and students so the average Christian may struggle with the scholarship in some chapters, but I don't want to discourage any from reading this book; all could receive some good. We need to reclaim the whole theology of baptism according to the Bible, so I would heartily recommend Believer's Baptism to any who want to pursue this issue more.

[[Special thanks to Jim Baird and B&H Publishers for providing a free copy of this book in return for a fair review. I was not required to give a positive review]]

[Avery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful; at times a little dry and repetitive. I began the book expecting to nod along to things I already knew, yet found there was a lot I had not yet learned or considered. It presents strong biblical evidence for craedobaptism. It helpfully presents this issue as neither "who really cares it's not a first order issue" nor "paedobaptism is a silly position held by unserious bible readers". Stephen Wellum's essay "Baptism and the Relationship Between the Covenants" really strong-manned the paedobaptist logic, making the craedobaptist arguments more clear overall, cheap shots at the other position never are that helpful so I appreciated getting all the context. Most of the essays were helpful, but these were my favorite three:

Baptism and the Relationship Between the Covenants by Stephen Wellum
Baptism in the Epistles: An Initiation Rite for Believers by Tom Schreiner
"Confessor Baptism": The Baptismal Doctrine of the Early Anabaptists by Jonathan Rainbow

[Matt Pitts · Rating 3 out of 5]

At points superb, but overlapping chapters in the middle argued against paedobaptism ad nauseum. More positive articulation of confessor/believer’s baptism would have been better.

[Ben Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is worth reading simply for the chapters by Wellum, Wright, and Schreiner. If you’re a Baptist, add it to your list!

[Josiah Hasbrouck]

I could say several things which are funny but ultimately uncharitable. The book is fine

[Carter Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The contributors try to be biblical, they explain their position fairly well, and they don't caricature the paedobaptists—but it only gets three stars because I believe they are still wrong.

[Vincent Lemieux · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well done. Its not easy for me to give a comment on this book because the great majority of men who had the greatest impact in my life was paedobaptists. (Calvin, the Dutch Reformers, the Puritans and Beeke), and truth be told, even with them as mentors, I’m reformed and a convinced credobaptist. I embrace so much of the richeness of the reformed faith, and it’s not that I didn’t try to understand and accept infant baptism - I did try - but in the end, I am bound in my conscience about what i understand from the biblical data. And I really think that the Reformed Baptist faith reflect even more the substance of the Reformation.

Having said that, this book is well done, even if each chapter could easily be a whole book. So each chapter is more like a introduction to a certain aspect.

In the first few chapters, different theologians did a analysis of every mentions of baptism in the gospels, in Luc-Acts, then in the epistles, in order for us to have a grasp of the NT data. Nothing new here, because as most of the paedobaptists theologians agree, the great testimony of the NT is baptism of believers. But as Baptists concede, this doesn’t rule out infant baptism per se.

The crux of the book, for me, came from Stephen Wellum in his chapter named « Baptism and the relationship between covenants. » As it is well known and even clearly stated by the great paedobaptist theologians, the aorta of infant baptism is their understanding and application of the convenant of Grace. Viewing it as they do, infant baptism is in fact totally defensible. But if their particular view of the covenant of grace isn’t biblical, infant baptism isn’t. And I think that Wellum did a marvelous job demonstrating the latter.

But so far, nothing new for me. Two chapters from which I did learned a lot was the one from Steven A. McKinion (Baptism in the Patristic period) and the other from Jonathan H. Rainbow (The baptismal doctrine of the early Anabaptists). I first thought that infant baptist was generally practice earlier than it actually did : end of second century. Also, I didn’t know that the Reformed articulation of infants baptism in the context of the covenant of grace and incorporation into God’s visible people wasn’t before Zwingli. Augustin and the Catholics didn’t separated baptism from actual faith : both taught that faith was necessary. Augustin said that the infants cannot fulfill the faith prerequisite for themselves, so he proposed as solution the concept of fides aliena, the faith of other. Simply put, the Church, or a tutor, etc, could believe for the infant. Luther also insisted on faith for infant baptism, saying that in baptism, faith is giving to the baby. He said : « In baptism the infants themselves believe and have their own faith. » So what I learned is that even in paedobaptist doctrine from 200 to 1500, baptism wasn’t dissociated from actual faith : the infant’s, the church’s, the parents, etc. It was Zwingli that did it in a reaction to the rise of Anabaptists.

The other chapter that I did really like was the one from Shawn D. Wright, Baptism and the logic of reformed paedobaptists. The author convincingly show that Calvin, Murray and Marcel are really inconsistent when you compare their own reformed (and right) understanding of sacraments , baptism and the church with their defense of infant baptism.

Overall, the tone of the book is loving and the paedobaptist doctrines is rightly portrayed. It really worth the time invest, and even though I don’t think that my paedobaptist friends will change their view reading this book, I think it will give them things to meditate upon more deeply.

I Highly recommends

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by this book, particularly because many of the authors (Stein, Caneday) argue strongly against seeing baptism as a mere symbol. The authors do not overreact against texts in order to avoid baptismal regeneration, but instead assign an instrumental, but not efficient cause, to baptism. Though Wellum's chapter is the crux of the book's argument for credobaptism—and it is well written—the standout chapters for me were Stein's, Rainbow's, and Wright's.

Readers should note that the book is intended to respond to a particular kind of paedobaptism. The authors note that they are responding to "evangelical paedobaptists, primarily in the Reformed tradition, who baptize infants not because they believe that baptism regenerates the child but because they believe that baptism brings the child into the covenant community where he or she will have the blessing of hearing the gospel preached as they grow up as members of the church." (7)

Overall, I think this is a very good resource on the issue of credobaptism.

[Kevin V. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent read that covers a lot of ground on the topic. Much is assumed in the pages and the starkly different understandings of those holding to paedobaptist positions is often lumped together or generalized. While a few of the chapters lack almost entirely for a catholic spirit, others do achieve a winsome engagement with those with whom they disagree.

[Joshua Clark · Rating 2 out of 5]

This isn't getting a low rating because this is a book that is promoting a position that I disagree with. I went in to this genuinely hoping to hear some interesting critiques of the infant baptist position that I believe to be biblical, and some good positive points for credobaptism. Some of the essays were quite good, I particularly enjoyed 'Baptism and the relationship between the covenants', i didnt agree with the conclusions but it was well argued. Some of the essays were ok but not great, like the first essay on 'Baptism in the gospels'. It never interacts with the narrative significance of the symbol and treats the gospels as didactic portions of teaching. I finished it thinking 'eh, that was boring'.

Some essays were absolutely dire. The huffs and puffs of frustration that Shawn D. Wright's essay 'The logic of reformed paedobaptists' elicited were enough to equally stir my wife to a frustration of her own. How something so poorly argued, with so many places where clearly he has misread his sources (sometimes even quoting something and then commenting that the quote teaches the exact opposite of what it actually says!) made into a scholarly piece of work is beyond me. I wasn't necessarily expecting to be convinced to change positions, i certainly wasn't expecting to be exposed to such terrible scholarship on the way there. I'm also absolutely convinced now that credobaptists do not understand why paedobaptists find Romans 4 so important.

Anyway, this could turn into a rant. Thank you to the contributers who wrote something decent (Stephen Wellum, Steven McKinion, Mark Dever).

[Samuel Bierig · Rating 3 out of 5]

at times theologically riveting...at other times theologically dull. May we right our writings of theology with care, vigor, and excitement. Let's all agree there is no greater subject (Our Lord), therefore it calls for the highest thoughts and artisanry we've got.

[Bret James Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a review of Believer’s Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ by Thomas R. Schreiner and Shawn D. Wright, eds.

Introduction

Thomas R. Schreiner and Shawn D. Wright are both authors and professors at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Wright specializes in Church History; Shreiner specializes in New Testament Interpretation and Biblical Theology. The pair edited this multi-author volume, though each has also contributed a chapter. The goal of the book is to clarify the New Testament subject of believer’s baptism, the “credobaptism” argument that only believers should be baptized, and arguing that this act of obedience pleases the Lord and should be a part of modern Christianity.

Book Review

The Foreword is written by Timothy George, who uses historical examples such as famed missionaries to India, Adoniram and Ann Judson, to emphasize the importance of believer’s baptism as normative to the Christian faith and praxis. He argues that baptism is the “central liturgical act” of the religion. Further, baptism relates to the congregational commitments that serve or should serve as the identity of the local church. The idea of paedobaptism (infant baptism) is also an important issue regarding baptism as the concept of a “believer’s,” baptism, here, in the sense of one who is able to profess and articulate faith in Jesus Christ as the impetus for the act. The book argues against paedobaptism.

Chapter 1, “Baptism in the Gospels” is penned by Andreas J. Köstenberger, a Professor of New Testament and Director of Ph.D. Studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. This chapter provides the New Testament canonical gospel history and presentation of baptism. A distinction is made between believer’s baptism and the work of John the Baptist, most notably in regard to his baptism of Christ, and the practice of Jewish proselyte baptism. Believer’s baptism did not exist before Christ because one is unable to profess faith in Christ prior to Christ’s earthly ministry. Believer’s baptism is the assumed New Testament model, was almost surely by water immersion, and is an important element of Christian discipleship and the Great Commission. Thus, it should be performed by contemporary New Testament believing churches.

Chapter 2, “Baptism in Luke-Acts,” is written by Robert H. Stein, Senior Professor of New Testament Interpretation at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Stein explores the Greek underlying the New Testament as it relates to baptism and supports Köstenberger’s assertion that immersion is the biblical method. In addition, baptism is related to faith in that baptism is the act in which the Christian is initiated into the church.

Chapter 3, “Baptism in the Epistles: An Initiation Rite for Believers,” by Thomas R. Schreiner continues to defend the concept of baptism as an initiation into the church begun by Stein in Chapter 2. The focus is upon the Pauline Epistles as the other epistles in the canon do not feature an in-depth approach to the matter. He exegetes the major passages in the New Testament that pertain to baptism, noting that baptism was a central concern of the faith. Schreiner argues that these texts also limit baptism to believers only and that they refer to immersion as the method. The first three chapters provide the biblical analysis of the concepts pertaining to baptism that need to be addressed for the reader to understand the issues about baptism both in general and in regard to contemporary usage.

Chapter 4, “Baptism and the Relationship Between the Covenants,” by Stephen J. Wellum, Professor of Christian Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, grapples with the issue of paedobaptism. The Reformed traditions of Covenant theology rely upon the inference that the covenants of Abraham and the New are mostly parallel with little change with the result that circumcision in the Old Testament and baptism in the New Testament have essentially the same function. As infants were circumcised, so should infants by baptized. Wellum argues against this concept, demonstrating that the New Covenant is distinctly different from and supersedes the Abrahamic Covenant. Thus, baptism is not a continuation of circumcision. This chapter contributes to the author’s goal in that it grapples with the primary proponents of paedobaptism, the Reformed traditions, and refutes this position in favor of the immersion of those professing faith in Jesus Christ.

Chapter 5, “Baptism in the Patristic Writings,” by Steven A. McKinion, Associate Professor of Historical Theology and Patristic Studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, explores the post-New Testament era of the early church in regard to baptismal practices. He acknowledges that baptism was a universal practice of the church during this time, serving as an initiatory rite marking a new believer’s faith in Christ as his saviour. This rite or ordinance was also important to the formation of the community of Christians.
Paedobaptism does not appear in the patristic writings until the third century, indicating that it was novel at the time and, therefore, that believer’s baptism was the normative practice of the early church until then. Thus, this chapter furthers the author’s position as to the historicity of believer’s baptism in church life and practice.

Chapter 6, “’Confessor Baptism:’ The Baptismal Doctrine of the Early Anabaptists,” by Jonathan H. Rainbow, a pastor of two (presumably Baptist) churches, extends the topic to the Reformation by considering the early Protestant response to the foregoing Roman Catholic practice of baptism. He focuses especially upon paedobaptism during this period, reaching the conclusion that believer’s baptism is the proper biblical model. This chapter defends the biblical principles relating to baptism, but it does not provide anything that differs from Chapters 1-3 except for the historical elements of the Reformation period.

Chapter 7, “Baptism and the Logic of Reformed Paedobaptists,” written by Shawn D. Wright, provides the rationale behind infant baptism among the Reformed Christians. He argues effectively that the Reformed views are inconsistent and rely upon the idea of a mixed congregation of the saved and unsaved that Baptists reject as the church, by definition, is composed of believers. Though some members of a church may falsely or mistakenly claim to be saved, thereby allowing a non-saved person into the congregation, such people are mistakenly allowed into the church in the Baptist purview, which is very different from the approach of many Reformed who willing allow the unsaved to be members of the local congregation. Though this chapter does support the historical Baptist position regarding baptism, it seems to be an extension of Chapter 4, thereby making this chapter seem unnecessary.

Chapter 8, “Meredith Kline on Suzerainty, Circumcision, and Baptism,” by Duane A. Garrett, the John R. Sampey Professor of Old Testament Interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, interacts with the methodology of Meredith Kline, a twentieth century theologian who was the greatest promoter of tying together the ancient Near Eastern suzerain-vassal treaties and the biblical covenants. Covenant theology, then, is readily apparent and consistent in both Testaments with a result similar to the circumcision-baptism parallels as boundary markers of God’s covenant community as described in Chapter 4. Garret argues that Kline is mistaken and that baptism is not a continuation of the circumcision as boundary marker concept but, rather, a new act of obedience corresponding to the new work done by Jesus Christ in the New Covenant/Testament. Nothing in this chapter is new to the pro-Baptist argument, and the focus on Kline’s specific theological views seems superfluous to the goals of the book.

Chapter 9, “Baptism in the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement,” by A.B. Caneday, Professor of New Testament Studies and Biblical Theology at Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minnesota, deals with restoring the prominence of baptism to the church by using the example of an American Restoration Movement of the Second Great Awakening: The Stone-Campbell movement. Using this example, Caneday grapples with the baptismal controversies over whether or not contemporary churches should baptize, how to baptize, whom to baptize, and whether or not baptism confers grace of some sort or is merely a symbol of salvation. He defends the traditional Baptist views of these issues, that is that churches should baptize believers only via immersion with the baptism serving as a symbol of salvation. As with the Kline section (Chapter 8), the specifics of the Stone-Campbell approach does support believer’s baptism but in a manner that seems unnecessary as the arguments of the chapter appear previously in the book.

Chapter 10, “Baptism in the Context of the Local Church,” is written by Mark E. Dever, Senior Pastor of the Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. and Director of www.9marks.org. Dever laments the decline of baptism in contemporary churches, even among Baptist Churches whose distinction of and in being named in support/relation to the ordinance makes their title ironic. He argues that a New Testament church is charged with practicing believer’s baptism as a rite of passage and initiation into the church and is a symbol of salvation both to the congregation and the world. Contemporary churches should practice the ordinance in obedience to the Lord. This chapter is the concluding chapter, and it is fitting as it charges contemporary churches to fulfill the biblical mandates pertaining to baptism in order to be obedient to the Lord.

Summary Statement

This book is beneficial in that it is a collection of essays by various writers. Such an approach provides a broader view of the issues at hand than would a book by a single author. On the negative side, this approach often leads to repetition as each author is both writing for a collection (or is included in a collection) and writing an article that needs to stand alone. Thus, many of the articles will include similar or identical fundamental emphases. Furthermore, this book seems to include a couple of chapters that seem superfluous (Chapters 8 and 9) as the premises of the individual chapter arguments appear earlier in the text, with the result that the individual emphases only seem pertinent if one is interested in the particular model or example provided. For instance, Chapter 4 and Chapter 8 both deal predominantly with Covenant theology, an unwarranted repetition of material. The authors also err in portraying the Roman Catholic religion as being Christian rather than the pagan-inspired pseudo-Christian religion it is—the Roman Catholics should be held in much the same manner as most Christians (correctly) view the Mormons, that is, as a religion that is a self-proclaimed “Christian” movement that, due to its use of non-Christian tenets such as such as requiring something beyond faith in Jesus alone for salvation, in reality, possesses only the trappings of Christianity.

Conclusion

This book meets its goal of providing support that baptism refers to immersion and was the biblically-instituted ordinance demonstrating faith in salvation through Jesus Christ alone. Baptism is for believer’s only and is the normative practice for the contemporary as well as the historical church. Local churches who wish to be obedient to the Lord and enhance the church’s impact in discipline and community should practice believer’s baptism as this results in a group of saved individuals who all possess the Holy Spirit.

[William · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not sure why I expected more from a book defending an indefensible sectarian position on Baptism...but for some reason I was. By the time I finished Wellum's essay on the covenants it took all my will power to finish the book, because I'd lost all hope at that point. I've picked up a number of books defending "Believer's Baptism" over the years, but they've all espoused such pathetic arguments, poor exegesis, textual selectivity, and historical ignorance that I've continued to wonder how Baptists (and others) continue to hold to their view of Baptism short of mass ignorance. I'm particularly perplexed seeing how this view, which was radical and on the fringe for hundreds of years after the Reformation, has now become the dominant view in North American Evangelical circles.

A year ago I happened to be staying in the home of one of the contributors to this book. I mentioned that I had to that point never found a good defence of his position on Baptism and asked for his recommendation. He sold me on this book saying that it was hands-down the best. I appreciate that it purports to approach the problem from within the bounds of Reformed theology. I wasn't expecting the book to convince me my own views as an Anglican are wrong, but I did hope find in it a decent defence of the Baptist position. I was disappointed. The book begins with three essays examining Baptism in the Gospels, in Luke-Acts, and in the Epistles. The writers are routinely selective in the passages they examine, they dismiss alternate viewpoints and interpretations completely out of hand and with little, if any, argumentation, and make astounding leaps of logic. Wellum's essay on Baptism's relation to the covenants follows. Wellum continues the trend begun in the earlier essays, but most astounding is his abandonment of covenant theology. He acknowledges that the most powerful argument in the arsenal of paedobaptists is that rooted in the continuity of the Old and New Covenants. Despite Covenant Theology being at the root of the entire Reformed system, Wellum proceeds to shamelessly argue away--and does so quite unconvincingly--the continuity of the covenants. I found this utterly amazing coming from someone who purports to be "Reformed". The book doesn't improve any post-Wellum.

In the end what's illustrated here is the incompatibility between "Believer's Baptism" and the system of Reformed Theology or Calvinism. It's really quite disturbing to see multiple claimants to Calvin's theology happily throwing out their birthright in an effort to preserve their one great sectarian theological distinctive. Is it really worth it?

The book is also disappointing in that it does not interact at all with Anglican, Lutheran, Roman, or Eastern teaching on Baptism other than to make out-of-hand dismissals of Baptism as a Sacrament, of baptismal regeneration, or the ex opere operato position. Instead it interacts only with a post-Puritan Reformed position that, while relatively sound, has a number of its own problems.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the book that convinced me to become a paedobaptist. The arguments are well thought out and exceptionally researched, which allowed me to really confront the issues I was struggling with at the time - especially the chapters by Wellum, Rainbow, and Garrett. This is probably the best book on credo-baptism out there. They really show the inconsistencies with the typical, presbyterian view of paedobaptism, and had I not already been studying other paedobaptist traditions, it well may have convinced me to stay credo-baptist. Alas, their failure to deal with these other traditions is what knocks the rating down a few notches.

[David Rollins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very important book for anyone who wants to understand the arguments for infant baptism and the arguments against infant baptism and for Credobaptism. I think the authors have been thorough and fair in describing the foundations of the Reformed approach to infant baptism (explaining the difference with the Roman Catholic view). Actually, the authors spend more of their effort in explaining the conceptions of infant baptism than they do for their own view. Everyone who is concerned about how to understand NT baptism ( which is not necessarily all believers, but especially teachers and pastors) should read this book.

[Todd Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the single-most valuable resource on baptism that I have ever read. It provides a criticism of paedo-baptism at the exegetical and biblical theological levels. Wellum's article is outstanding. There is even a helpful contribution by Ardell Candeday on the Stone-Campbell movement with some clarification on the baptismal regeneration position commonly attributed to Campbell.

[Rebecca Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of essays from contributors on the subject of credo baptism, so I'll post a quick snippet about each essay to give you an idea of what the book contains.

Baptism in the Gospels (Kostenberger)--Examines references to the bapt- word group in the various gospels, comparing the pericopes in which the words are used to determine the foci of individual authors. Comes to a four point conclusion that will not surprise baptists.

Baptism in Luke-Acts (Stein)--Examines all occurrences of baptizo in Luke's writings as a key to showing what role baptism plays in the early church. An interesting and valuable essay. It drives home the idea that baptism is closely associated with all the other facets of salvation.

Baptism in the Epistles (Schreiner)--Examines several passages in the epistles, discussing the importance of theology and baptism. My favorite part of this essay though is perhaps his portion on how often we can overestimate baptism and the times when Paul downplayed the importance of baptism in the epistles.

Baptism and the Relationship Between the Covenants (Wellum)--This is a big idea essay, and it's almost 100 pages long. Wellum explains the paedobaptist conception of covenant and how that leads to these covenantal Christians believing that they have been commanded to baptize infants. Then he explains how the credo baptist conception of covenant differs and why he thinks the credo baptist position is the correct one.

Baptism in the Patristic Writings (McKinion)--This is an overview of the patristic writings of the first five centuries, explaining their conception of baptism. He also traces the rise of infant baptism as the concept of original sin is refined.

"Confessor Baptism": The Baptismal Doctrine of the Early Anabaptists (Rainbow)--Comparison of the theology of three reformers (Luther, Zwingli and Hubmaier) differentiating the development of the doctrine of infant baptism, as well as why Hubmaier and the anabaptists rejected it. He also develops the idea of associating "confessor baptism" with Hubmaier and the anabaptists as Luther and related paedobaptists consider infant baptism to be a form of believer's baptism.

Baptism and the Logic of Reformed Paedobaptists (Wright)--Wright uses this essay to consider the specific examples of three reformed theologians--John Calvin, John Murray, and Pierre Marcel. All three define baptism in a way that is consistent with the credo baptist position. Then, to make the case for infant baptism, they do a bit of special pleading. This pleading involves orienting their exegesis towards the Old Testament and disregarding the baptismal practice of the New Testament as well as the New Testament teachings on baptism and the old covenant. Very interesting and informative essay!

Meredith Kline on Suzerainty, Circumcision, and Baptism (Garrett)--This is an analysis of Kline's work in relating circumcision to baptism as part of a continuation of the OT suzerainty treaty between God and Israel. Unfortunately, Kline misunderstands God's covenant with Abraham, leading him to view circumcision in a quite unorthodox way. He also sees NT baptism as a continuation of this covenant, which is probably not the correct way to view the covenant. In addition, he is inconsistent with his application of suzerainty treaties to the New Testament world.

Baptism in the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement (Caneday)--Because the Stone-Campbell restoration movement is associated with baptismal regeneration, Caneday examines the actual theological writings of Alexander Campbell and the theology that he proposes. He finds that Campbell, while at times in his writing could be construed as heading in a baptismal regeneration direction, that overall Campbell's message is one that is not baptismal regeneration. In fact, his position, while more highly esteeming the role of baptism than modern credo baptists, is not altogether different from their theology. . . .I also really appreciated this essay for its reminders that sometimes, when we seek to distance ourselves from theological error, we might find ourselves committing theological error because of our overreaction to someone else's theology.

Baptism in the Context of the Local Church (Dever)—This essay is largely composed of pastoral concerns such as the relationship between baptism and church membership, whether or not unbaptized believers should take the Lord’s supper, and appropriate ages for baptizing young believers.

[BJ Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a collection of essays defending the Baptist stance that baptism is an ordinance (or sacrament) that should be done with adult believers, not infants. Most of the essays are, in themselves, excellent but because they are done by different authors, there tends to be a bit of overlap.

The first three chapters examine the biblical, New Testament examples and teachings of baptism in the gospels (ch 1), Luke/Acts (ch2), and the epistles (ch 3). Chapter 4 examines the comparison of baptism with he covenants. Chapters 5-6 deal with church history of the practise among the early church (ch 5), and the reformation (ch 6). 7 and 8 deal with specific paedobaptist arguments and then 9 swings in the opposite direction and addresses he baptism=salvation heresy of the Stone-Campbell churches. Finally, chapter 10 reads almost like a FAQ on the proper function of baptism in the modern church. In my opinion this chapter was terribly weak in comparison to the rest of the book.

Some quotes:
From the intro as a caution against being too dogmatic on adult vs child baptism... We should not avoid making judgments on controversial matters, for if we limited our doctrinal convictions to issues on which all Christians everywhere agreed, we would leave out many areas of teaching to which the scriptures speak. Further, we are all responsible before God to understand the Scriptures to the best of our ability and to live in harmony with them.

In demonstrating that for most paedobaptists, the practise is little different that other church's baby dedications... Just because an infant [is baptised] does not entail that he infant is regenerated, nor does it guarantee a future regeneration. Rather, as Booth contends, "the covenant sign was God's indication that its recipients were set apart for His special blessing and use."

I agree with Zwingli... In Zwingli's estimation, the papists on one hand and the Anabaptists on the other had ascribed too much importance to a mere external rite.

An atrocious use of the slippery slope fallacy combined with an argument from silence... Some churches have begun the practice of having infant dedications... the Bible nowhere commands such a public act of dedication. Furthermore, such ceremonies, if regularly practiced could be taken to mean more than they do... Adding a regular component to the life of a congregation, and a component which would be so widely misunderstood, is at least imprudent and may even prove to be dangerous.

Another argument for silence on why only adult baptized Christian's should be allowed to become members of a local church... We know of no one who was claiming to be converted and yet who refused baptism. Therefore, the NT believer's relation to the local church was one who both called himself a Christian and who had been baptized.

Let's also remember with that last one that for a significant portion of the NT, believers were not yet calling themselves "Christian", and also that the modern concept of church membership is nowhere found in the NT. I am not saying that church membership is unbiblical, just that nowhere in scripture did a person who was baptized and called themself a Christian seek out membership in any local church. So the argument from silence runs in both directions.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

The multifaceted debate concerning baptism (specifically paedobaptism vs. credobaptism) is well-known and fervently defended. There has been much ink spilled on this topic and many friends have been lost in the process. Believer’s Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ edited by Tom Schreiner and Shawn Wright aims to bring clarity to this debate with a thoroughly grounded demonstration of the credobaptist position.

Believer’s Baptism is a multi-authored work with essays from some of today’s most well-known scholars and churchmen, including Andreas Köstenberger, Robert Stein, Duane Garrett, Stephen J. Wellum, Mark Dever, and more. Organizationally, the volume guides the reader through the New Testament, into the early Church and Reformation Church history, and concludes within the context of the local Church. The essays are well presented and informative, especially the essays on the New Testament baptismal texts and the patristic writings. Moreover, the tone of the volume is well-postponed to instruct both sides of the debate, as the authors are collectively concerned with what the Bible says rather than what tradition requires.

Despite the noble attempt of the authors and editors, Believer’s Baptism is going to be approached with much criticism and disagreement. This is simply the nature of the conversation. That said I appreciated the tone of argument and the biblical-historical emphasis of the volume. Those coming from a tradition where paedobaptism is both adhered and administered will beg to differ on points of exegesis, but it would be hard not to applaud the effort presented here. I would have appreciated more discussion concerning the rise of the practice of “believer’s baptism” within Second Temple Judaism, as the New Testament texts are handled in depth presupposing such background. Nevertheless, Believer’s Baptism is a thorough and judicious effort on all fronts of the conversation.

Believer’s Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ edited by Tom Schreiner and Shawn Wright is the best defense of credobaptism on the market today. The scope of the essays included is comprehensive and the contributing roster is paired well with the topics covered. Readers will appreciate the tone and approach of the volume, and much will be learned in the process. If you are looking to discover the rich heritage of believer’s baptism, then look no further, as Believer’s Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ is still the best point of reference. It comes highly recommended!

[Christopher Humphrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

When one studies the New Testament, there are 2 ordinances of the Church that are apparent: The Lord's Supper and Baptism. Having attended Church since I was a newborn, these ordinances are very familiar to me. If you are like me, these ordinances can become so routine as to be taken for granted. After reading "Believer's Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ" I have a renewed appreciation for the ordinance of baptism.

This book is a compilation of scholarly papers from a variety of academics and pastors in the Baptist tradition. Several of the papers focus on baptism in the Gospels, in Luke-Acts, and in the Epistles. Next, there are several chapters devoted to a historical review of baptism, and also several chapters are devoted to the paedobaptist versus confessional baptist debate. Finally, there are 2 interesting chapters devoted to specific schools of thought (Suzerainty, Circumcision and Baptism) and (Stone Campbell Restoration Movement) as a means to further understand the breadth and depth of baptism as a biblical/theological topic. The last chapter is devoted to Pastoral issues in the local church vis-a-vis baptism.

This book was very helpful and the essays were all excellent. I would have hoped for a Chapter specifically addressing the Roman Catholic ex opera operato view of baptism as compared to believer's baptism, but in fairness, that topic was addressed in the context of other essays within the book.

As I indicated in my introduction, I have a renewed appreciation for the ordinance of baptism. It is not an empty tradition or ceremony. It is not something in the life of the church that should be taken for granted. All true believers should heed the scriptural admonition to "repent and be baptized" because, as was argued in this book, an unbaptized believer is a concept that would have been unfamiliar and outright disdained in the New Testament Church. What a privilege for one who repents and believes and is regenerated to be baptized in water and by the Holy Spirit; that is, to be baptized into Christ in his death, burial and resurrection.

Read this book and be challenged. Read this book and be encouraged. Read this book and be obedient. Happy reading!

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid study of baptism from a Baptist perspective. The essays in the book survey the New Testament teaching on baptism, engage with paedobaptist arguments, engage with the Campbellite movement, and provide answers to common practical issues regarding baptism.

The chapter that discussed Anabaptist "Confessor Baptism" was very interesting as it discussed the ways in which Zwingli, Luther, and Hubmeier solved the dilemma of Baptism differently. Two chapters, one by Stephen Wellum and one by Shawn Wright, provided a friendly yet strong critique of evangelical paedbaptists practice. Wright's was the stronger of the two chapters in my opinion, demonstrating the logical inconsistencies within the paedobaptist system. At times, I thought he took his critique too far, but he demonstrated several logical inconsistencies for paedobaptist.

While the book emphasized the biblical and theological reasoning behind practicing believer's baptism, it also provided ample evidence and argument for the simple importance of baptism as a rite of initiation to the Christian life and to the membership of a church. Often, Baptists can feel the pressure to minimize the importance of baptism to avoid confusion regarding baptismal regeneration. This false teaching should be avoided, but we must not let one error lead us into amother error of minimizing the importance of what Christ has commanded for his people.

[Jonathan Ammon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a difficult book to rate. It features a number of excellent chapters outlining credobaptist exegesis and theology, and several excellent chapters critiquing paedobaptist theology. Wellum's is particularly good and Wright's is relevant and important. McKinion's chapter on Baptism in the Patristic Writings made me uncomfortable as the strength of his argument for credobaptism and the labeling of paedobaptism as a novel innovation struck me as overstating his case. Too many credible scholars do violence to the patristic writings and I am not confident that McKinion avoids this. There are multiple chapters on the history of credobaptism which honestly seemed outside the scope of the book and somewhat superfluous. Mark Dever's chapter frustrated me greatly as he assumes so much of 21st century american christian practice as faithful application of the text. The apostles baptized everyone immediately upon confession whether public or private without any classes or membership. In spite of my gripes, the opening exegetical chapters and the chapters by Wellum and for the most part by Wright are exactly what I wanted and I rate all of that material very good, too good to give only three stars.

[Stephen Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book and probably one of the better ones you will find defending credo baptism. I'm not sure I was convinced by all the arguments, but I thought that Wellum's and Schreiner's chapters were pretty strong. The church history chapter was definitely the most surprising, and I'll be interested to see what other scholars have to say about some of the claims made there, which make it seem like paedobaptism was only introduced a few centuries after the beginning of the church and that there is evidence that credo baptism was the norm. I have some doubts about those claims, but there were some good evidence and arguments to work through.

Some of the chapters seemed pretty out of place, especially the Stone-Campbell chapter. Also, I thought that the book would have been better served if there was some more constructive theology about how baptism fits in a covenantal structure. Most of the theology was negative in the sense that it was polemical against paedobaptism. That being said, there is a lot of good material in the Wellum chapter, some of which is positive.

[Jonathan Trousdale · Rating 1 out of 5]

A disappointing attempt to discredit infant baptism

In a word, disappointing. It is surprising that such a distinguished and accomplished theologian as Schreiber would assemble such a volume as this, which insists on mischaracterizing and misstating opposing views. Instead of educating readers on the actual opinions and doctrines of their opponents,this volume insists on presenting the weakest and most extreme forms of the arguments for infant baptism and Covenant theology, and thereby, I believe, encourages division instead of dialogue. The only living paedobaptism proponent quoted is Doug Wilson, which indicates the one-sidedness of this publication's rhetoric. It is an attempt to simply score a cheap win instead of educate and equip its audience. I was required to read this for seminary. Do not read it unless you have to.