INTRODUCTION Schreiner and Wright set out to dispel the practice of paedobaptisim in the Reformed tradition. In order to accomplish this, they enlist the help of ten scholars to investigate baptism from a scriptural, historical and theological perspective. What results is a book that fairly documents the biblical background, fairly quotes the Reformation fathers Calvin, Marcel, and Murray and ends with a chapter on practical application of baptism in the modern church. SUMMARY Schreiner and Wright open their book by stating, “Baptism … is the initiation rite into the Christian church. Those who label it minor are imposing their own categories onto the Scriptures instead of listening to the Scriptures…. Baptism is important precisely because it is tied to the gospel, to the saving work that Christ accomplished in his death and resurrection.”[1] What the authors do is to survey both the scriptures and church history in their inquiry into the paedobaptistism (infant baptism) and credobaptism (“baptism should be reserved for believers in the Lord Jesus Christ”[2]) debate. The particular form of paedobaptism that the authors are seeking to correct is “…primarily in the Reformed tradition, who baptize infants not because they believe that baptism regenerates … but because they believe that baptism brings the child into the covenant community.”[3] All the authors are both razor sharp in their focus, and fair in their treatment of paedobaptist positions. Each chapter is thoroughly documented, referencing not only source texts, but also offering background explanation of positions of both camps in an attempt to better frame the arguments presented. The authors have taken pains to not address any issues that are not directly related to baptism. Especially with chapters six thru nine, the authors make sure that each individual does not have a straw man argument set up against them.
Their book is broken into four distinct sections. The first section is a scriptural review of the topic. Chapters one, two and three deal with the reviews, but from different angles. In chapter one, Andreas Kostenberger surveys baptism and the key verses that describe baptism in the gospels. In chapter two, Robert Stein surveys baptism from the perspective of Luke’s writings in Luke and Acts. In chapter three, Thomas Schreiner surveys baptism in the epistles, dealing mainly with the writings of Paul and Peter.
Section two is a theological survey. This section contains two distinct chapters. Chapter four deals with the relationship of baptism and the covenant of grace. Written by Stephen Wellum, this chapter is by far the longest and perhaps the most important in this book. Wellum seeks to accomplish two goals. First is to “unpack briefly the covenantal argument for infant baptism,”[4] and second, “attempt to evaluate their argument … both in terms of critique and positive construction.”[5] Chapter five, written by Steven McKinion, deals with the thinking of the church fathers on the subject of infant baptism. He surveys the writings of Jeremias, Origen, Justin Martyr, Aristides, Tertullian, Cyprian, Hippolytus, the Cappadocian Fathers, Cyril of Jerusalem and Augustine. His surveys are brief and only pertain to the issue of infant baptism.
Section three covers chapters six thru nine which is both a survey and critique of baptismal practices, particularly dealing with the Reform movement, from the Anabaptists through Alexander Cambell. Chapter six, written by Jonathan Rainbow, deals with the views of Martin Luther and the impact they had on Ulrich Zwingli and Balthasar Hubmaier. Chapter seven deals with how the Reformed Paedobaptists formed their theology. Shawn Wright surveys the writings of Calvin, Marcel, and Murray as he examines their positions on sacraments, the definition of baptism, the character of the church, the foundation and the New Testament justification for infant baptism. Chapter eight, written by Duane Garrett, is devoted to understanding the position of Meredith Kline in relation to his view of the Suzerainty Treaty Form. Chapter nine, written by A.B. Caneday is an examination of the position of Alexander Campbell and his impact on churches that follow the Stone-Cambell theology.
Section four is a stand alone chapter written by Mark Dever that deals with modern baptism issues in light of the finding of Believer’s Baptism.
CRITICAL INTERACTION “As should be apparent from this sketch of the contents of this volume, it provides a substantial contribution to the literature on believer’s baptism.”[6] In order to properly understand the issue Schreiner and Wright are addressing, one must have a basic understanding of several terms. First is baptism. R.E.O. White states that baptism “means to plunge, immerse, sink.”[7] Second is credobaptism (believers’ baptism), which means “baptism is always administered on confession of penitence and faith.”[8] The last term is paedobaptism (more commonly referred to as infant baptism), which means that infants are baptized, in the Reformed tradition, “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.”[9] The thesis of the authors, as stated above, deals with the issue of baptizing. In order to construct a valid argument, the authors seek to make the case scripturally that infant baptism in not valid since the infant cannot make the necessary decision in order to respond to the gospel. The authors, all of them, firmly believe in credobaptism and baptism regeneration.
Bennema, in his review, states several deficiencies. First is that there a ancillary chapters “that are not germane to the overall argument as others.”[10] He offers as evidence the portion of the book “that addresses various historical and theological facets of the debate regarding the proper recipients of baptism,” the chapter on Meredith Kline (he felt that the information could have easily been incorporated into the chapter dealing with the stands of Calvin, Marcel and Murray) and the chapter on the Stone-Campbell restoration movement (Bennema feels that this “does not seem as critical to the case laid out).[11]
Lindsay Kennedy, a teacher at Calvary Chapel Bible College York in the United Kingdom offered several critiques that follow in the same vein. First, he feels that it would have been better have non-Baptist respond to help “the reader evaluate the arguments and feel confident that weren’t hearing strawman argumentation.”[12] Second, Kennedy rightly implies that there are a variety of Baptist viewpoints, and that those viewpoints, he assumes, are not represented.[13] His statement notes this assumption that “I suspect many Baptists will not see themselves being represented.”[14] Third, he states that he “would have liked to see it clearly established that baptism actually is the sign of the new covenant: it is merely assumed throughout.”[15] It must be noted that he is associated with the Calvary Chapel movement which believes that “the Baptism with the Holy Spirit is a distinct and separate experience to that of regeneration,” and that one of the ordinances for the church is full immersion baptism.[16]
Even with the drawbacks that each reviewer had, there were far more positives to be said. Both reviewers commended the authors for their thorough analysis in both the scriptural and historical areas. Both noted that the strong commitment to a foundation made the arguments more compelling. Sagers notes that “The authors cover the biblical and theological material, as well as many relevant historical issues with extensive thoroughness.”[17] It was this thoroughness that the author enjoyed since it did help Schreiner and Wright achieve their goal of refuting that infant baptism in the Reformed tradition is a credible form of baptism. For example, in the chapters that deal with the logic of the paedobaptism theology by pointing out the logical errors and leaps that men such as Calvin made. With extensive quotations, positions are demonstrated, by the Reformers own thoughts, that are exclusive to each other, yet there is a logical leap in order to embrace. For example, Marcel states that the covenant of grace contains the promise of salvation so that all who are born under that covenant become heirs, thus removing the need for the individual to make a choice about the redemptive work of Jesus in their lives. This comes about through a misapplication of Genesis 17[18]
This work is a very good primer on the ordinance of baptism. The authors have done an excellent job of laying both the biblical and historical foundation for baptism and why the ordinance is supposed to be practiced. While much of the book deals with weighty issues, it is perhaps the last chapter that the modern day pastor can glean much practical advice. Dever, in this chapter, seeks to give guidance on some of the issues that currently face modern pastors. He takes up issues such as who should do the baptizing, how should it be done, what qualifies a candidate for baptism, the candidates responsibility as well as the church’s responsibility, when should baptism be done (should there be a delay between coming forward and the ordinance itself). These are questions that every pastor will have to face, and Dever provides very good counsel on how to proceed. He also deals with other questions such as the relationship between the unbaptized and the Lord’s Supper, church membership and if baptisms from other churches be accepted. Even the footnotes provide much instruction. In footnote 28 he includes his church’s teaching on the baptism of children and how they approach the issue. The author found the scriptural section to be nicely applied in this practical section and a wonderful way to instruct those pastors who are unsure about both the theological and practical aspects of baptism. CONCLUSION On the whole, Schreiner and Wright have done an admirable job of providing a book that both addresses the theological foundations of baptism while at the same time challenge the paedobaptism doctrine.[19] While there are weakness present, such as an unbalanced approach, and perhaps extraneous information, there is an overall balance to this work. The authors seek to reinforce their position both scripturally and historically. They seek to give a fair treatment to those whom hold opposing views, and when possible, offer olive branches, as the case in the Stone-Campbell chapter, to those who have been wronged by misinterpretation. While the essays did not change this author’s perspective, it did strengthen the author’s position because of the depth and quality of the work.