Why I’m Now a Paedobaptist

I have been a committed Reformed Baptist for almost a year now–I wrote a post about the reasoning that brought me to that position on January 3, 2006. (Another blogger cited that post here.) In my post, I had written the following:

First, you should know that I am approaching the issue from a Reformed, Covenant Theology perspective. From this, my main question is: Is there a covenant community in the new covenant containing both the regenerate and the unregenerate, as there was in the old covenant? I believe that the Bible does not reflect such a community under the new covenant.

Today, my question is still the same, but my conclusion is very different. The Lord has confirmed in my heart and mind from Scripture the validity of paedobaptism, or infant baptism.

On November 15 of this year, when my Bible reading plan had me reading in Hebrews 10, I landed on the following verses (26-31):

26For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Emphasis added)

As I meditated on these verses, I rehearsed my (baptist) explanation of these verses–namely, that these people thought that they were saved, but they actually were not. I did not (and still do not) believe that, once a person is genuinely born again, anything can separate that person from the love of God.

But then I asked myself, “Well, then in what way were these people ’sanctified’ by the ‘blood of the covenant’?” In an instant, I realized that these verses only made sense if I had an understanding of the New Covenant that included the regenerate and the unregenerate. In an instant, the baptist branch on which I had been standing broke, and, by God’s grace, I became a paedobaptist.

You see, my baptist covenant theology already believed that Christians are saved through Christ’s fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant (cf. Gal. 3:7-29, esp. 7, 9, 14, and 29); however, my baptist understanding of Covenant Theology strongly emphasized that “it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham” (Gal. 3:7). In other words, I believed that the Abrahamic Covenant in the Old Testament was manifested physically and spiritually, but that the only legitimate New Testament children of Abraham (i.e., the ones who would be blessed) were those who were his children spiritually, through faith. But, as the Holy Spirit began to work in my heart, teaching me to understand Hebrews 10:26-31, I saw that this was not a suitable understanding of the nature of the covenants for two reasons:

1. Keeping the covenant has always been accomplished by faith. Notice how Paul describes the significance of circumcision: “[Abraham] received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised…” (Rom. 4:11). Circumcision had to do with the righteousness that comes through faith, not a righteousness that comes by the law. Thus, I could not draw as big of a distinction between baptism and circumcision as I previously had, seeing one as dealing with the law, and the other as dealing with faith–both deal with faith.
2. From the apostasy passages in Hebrews 10:26-31, Hebrews 6:4-8, 2 Peter 2:1-2, 12-17, and others, it has become clear to me that there are people who are full members of the New Covenant, but who are unregenerate and therefore apostasize, exactly as was possible in the Old Covenant. Therefore, I saw no reason to believe any longer that the nature of covenant membership had radically changed between the Old and the New Covenants. (Observe how, in my original post, I beg the question on this matter: in my first bullet point in response to Dr. Pratt’s article, I essentially say, “I can prove that the New Covenant does not include unregenerate people [my main, underlying question] and cannot be broken [my minor point in that particular bullet point], because only the truly regenerate can be New Covenant members, and the truly regenerate will never break the covenant by falling away.” See the problem?)

So, I was now left with an understanding of the New Covenant with a high degree of continuity to the Old Covenant. Suddenly, I was able to see how Peter’s proclamation on the Day of Pentecost (“For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”–Acts 2:39) sounded uncannily like language from when God gave Abraham the sign and seal of circumcision: “And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you” (Gen. 17:7). Furthermore, I started to appreciate how close the idea of the household baptisms in Acts were to the way God commanded Abraham to circumcise every member of his household: “Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant” (Gen. 17:12-13).

Finally, I just ran out of arguments against infant baptism, which leaves me where I am today: a reformed Reformed Baptist, beginning the process of finding a Presbyterian (PCA) Church in Birmingham, AL, to call home.

To end this post, I would like to close with a statement that I wrote in my post a year ago, but I have changed all the “baptist” references to “paedobaptist,” and vice versa:

I certainly respect the beliefs of baptists (especially because I know how confusing the issue is and because I know how persuasive a case baptists have), but I am ultimately persuaded by the arguments on behalf of paedobaptism.

Only the grace of God could have changed my mind on this issue, but, when I least expected it, he did just that. I am excited and nervous to become a Presbyterian, but I gratefully acknowledge my spiritual debt to all the baptists I’ve ever known and to those whom I still know. While I now disagree with the baptist theology that I believed all my life, I absolutely respect and cherish the Christians who still hold to it. May Christ bless his church by bringing about a supernatural unity among his people, even as they continue to disagree on the proper subjects, timing, and methods of baptism!

Violence

I really enjoyed this:

Bill Busch has a clear image of the type of player he wants to coach.

Asked which specific traits he desires most in his athletes, the Nebraska safeties coach quickly pointed to one.

“Right away, the main thing I look for is violence — I look for people on the field who are very violent people,” Busch said Thursday. “You see it in their tackling, you see it in their running. You see quick, sudden, violent movements, and you see it at the point of attack. That’s the part that catches your eye the most right away.”

Read the whole article here.

Bowl Game Gifts

I blogged about this last year, but the football bowl games are again giving very nice gift packages to all the players in their games. You can see the list here. The Cotton Bowl (where Nebraska will face Auburn on January 1, 2007) is giving a pretty good gift package, even for not being a BCS bowl game:

• Fossil wrist watch
• MP3 player
• Camcorder
• R+L Carriers (by the way, does anyone know what this is?)

You would think that the National Championship would give a great gift package, but the BCS Championship Game (Ohio State vs. Florida on January is only giving a portable XM Satellite radio and a commemorative Tourneau wrist watch. Granted, Tourneau’s web site advertises some watches that cost in excess of $10,000, so hopefully the watch is on the high end–otherwise, what were they playing for?

Worst gift package? The International Bowl (Cincinnati vs. Western Michigan on January 6):

• Souvenir watch
• Souvenir football for autographs
• Leather club bag

Unfortunate year to be a Bearcat or a Bronco!

If anyone was curious, it does not appear that the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl will be giving copies of John Eldridge’s Wild at Heart, as they did last year. Pity.

Change in Cash

There is an interesting comparison here on the ways in which the new posthumous Johnny Cash music video for “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” differs dramatically from the music video that Cash himself made for “Hurt.” The author argues that, while the video for “Hurt” emphasized youth’s fleetingness and foolishness, the video for “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” is the exact opposite, being more of a

“Where’s Waldo” of youth and celebrity. Cash’s voice sings of human inability to escape the wrath to come while the images run past of current celebrities: Timberlake, Sheryl Crow, Chris Rock, Bono, Johnny Depp, Lisa Marie Presley, the Dixie Chicks.

Personally, I didn’t quite know what to make of it–were the guest stars in the video cynically suggesting that they themselves were going to be cut down, or were they holding themselves out as repentant people who were planning on avoiding God’s judgment? Maybe they just didn’t get the point of the song at all.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

I watched The Exorcism of Emily Rose yesterday, and I was very impressed with how the movie handled the issues of demons, scientific naturalism, and Catholicism. Certainly, I had some exceptions to the specific theology behind the exorcism (namely, the belief that demonic possession can happen to a believer as well as some specifically Catholic elements throughout the film), but, on the whole, I was pleased. I would highly recommend the movie to anyone who would not be adversely affected by the dark depictions of demonic possession in the movie (certain scenes seem very much like a horror movie).

Based on the real-life attempted exorcism of Anneliese Michel, the movie is a courtroom drama where an agnostic is left defending a priest who had attempted to exorcise demons from Emily in the belief that medical science could have done her no good. For the prosecution, a “Christian” argues that Emily’s condition was wholly medical in nature, and characterizes the defense’s arguments as “ridiculous.” It is fascinating how the filmmakers pit the agnostic’s growing belief in the spiritual realm against the shallowness of the prosecutor’s “faith.”

Without going into spoilers, I had two big thoughts concerning the movie. The first was a realization that I don’t, practically speaking, believe in demonic or angelic powers. Certainly, my theology includes a belief in the existence of such beings; however, I don’t know that I often think much of the fact that they are always around, always trying to turn me away from God. The prosecuting attorney in the movie professed to be a Christian, but he rejected from the beginning the possibility that Emily might have actually been possessed.

Certainly, an acknowledgment of the demonic can go too far. C. S. Lewis wrote of two ways demons can “win” in their struggles against humans. The first would be to get us to deny their existence, either theoretically or practically; the second would be to develop an obsession with seeing their work behind absolutely everything. In actuality, Christians must always be wary of the tactics of the evil one, but we must temper that wariness with an understanding of my second thought.

Partially to reflect a more Catholic theology (and, to be fair to Catholics, it was a decidedly Hollywood version of Catholicism) and partially to sell a movie, the film seemed to play up a dualism where evil was almost, if not virtually, as strong as God. The priest prayed more often to the archangel Michael and to the Virgin Mary than he did to God. My second thought, then, dealt with the way to temper a morbid fear of the occult: having an even greater appreciation for the work of Christ on the cross. As Jesus said on his way to his death, “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out” (John 12:31). Christ certainly did die, but he then rose victorious over all sin, death, and demonic power.

This, of course, could not have happened if the eternal Son of God had not entered this world as a human, gaining the ability to mediate between God and man, to the infinite benefit of humanity and the infinite glory of God. Christmas–what a wonderful time to watch a film about an exorcism! (Okay, that last statement might be a bit of a stretch, but the Incarnation is fundamental to virtually everything we gain in Christ. We do not meditate enough on it–especially at Christmastime.)

Deutschland is Leaving

[I wrote this post yesterday in the Denver airport on my way home. Had I been there just a day later, I'd currently be snowed in for who knows how long.]

Just as I reached my tolerance limit yesterday evening of trying to understand why the verb “knowing” can’t be formed in passive (apparently something can’t “be known by” someone, someone must always actively know it), the instructor dismissed our class for Christmas break. I had a strong feeling of relief and a weight lifted off me, which surprised me, since academically this semester has been probably the lightest workload of my college career, but I guess I didn’t realize how much living in a foreign place and foreign language wears you out. The thought of being home the next day, speaking in English, seeing Bethany, my family, and friends gave me a big smile on my face as I biked home through Göttingen’s lamp-lit streets, dodging acceleration-obsessed German drivers in their manual BMWs.

Thirty hours later (10 of those hours spent in an economy-class airline seat) I’m sitting in an American airport, eating a burrito for which I first tried to pay in euros, and still saying “danke” and “entschuldigung” instead of “thank you” and “excuse me.” It’s weird to think that just this morning I was running with three bags to the train station trying desperately to catch the overly-prompt Deutsche Bahn. And missing it. (Apparently when Germans say they’ll “pick you up” and “take you to the station,” they just mean they’ll walk there with you.)

It’s good to be home.

Template Fixed (Hopefully)

I spent a couple of hours today updating the template on this blog so that IE6, IE7, and Firefox would all be able to display the site correctly. If the blog doesn’t look right to you, please leave me a comment telling me what seems to be wrong and what browser (along with its version) you are using. On most browsers, you can click Help–>About…, and it will give you a browser and version number. Thanks!

Also, I would really appreciate it if someone using Opera or Safari would let me know that the site is working properly (or that it isn’t). Again, please give me the version number of the software that you are using.

–The Management

Fallen Mountain Climber

If you have paid any attention to the news over the last week or so, you will know that three mountain climbers were lost in a storm. Furthermore, you probably have heard that officials already found one of the climbers dead, and that they identified him as Kelly James. What you might not know is that Kelly James’s brother, Frank James, is the president of Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando. He had been at Beeson on Reformation Day of this year for our Reformation Heritage Lectures, speaking to us about Peter Martyr Vermigli, a little-known Italian reformer.

You can watch the statement Frank made about his brother here, and read the article here. Keep the James family, the other climbers, and their families in your prayers.

Making the Rounds

Some things I’ve found on other blogs that you might find interesting:

Matthew Smith (one of the lead singers on the Indelible Grace albums) is offering his new solo album of remade hymns, “All I Owe,” freely available for streaming download during this month–in other words, you can listen to it, but you can’t keep it. Read more here.

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David Mills of Mere Comments had an interesting post on why dogmatic atheism ended up pushing him toward Christianity when he was an agnostic:

When the secularist declared that God did not exist or that a particular belief was incredible, I always wondered how they could be so sure. Friends and teachers would sweep away the supernatural with all the confidence of the Fundamentalists they laughed at, and with fewer arguments than the Fundamentalists offered. Beyond that old staple, the problem of evil, that is.

Read the rest here.

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The Presbyteer linked to information regarding a dispute within the PCA over “Federal Vision” theology. I found the written examination fascinating (and long–be warned!), and I’m going to try to listen to the oral examination over the next few days. I had heard about “Federal Vision” theology before, but this is a really good context in which to get the essentials explained from both sides.

It’s a Foggy Day in Houston

(Note: I wrote this post Thursday evening while I was still at the Houston Airport, waiting for my return flight to Omaha.)

I have spent the day trying to get back to Nebraska from Alabama. Because Houston went through a particularly foggy spell, all flights into the international airport were shut down for most of the morning. As you can imagine, this caused significant backups and delays. Beyond this, the day has been generally crazy. So, for your enjoyment, I am providing a list of highlights from my day.

• When I went through security, I mentioned to the security lady that I was headed back to Nebraska. She then asked if I was a member of the UNL Wrestling team. Not sure where she would have gotten that from…
• I learned what a horrifying experience it can be when, upon entering a public restroom as a man, you cannot see any urinals. Combine this with the fact that a woman was at the sink, and you have a recipe for a quick heart attack. Moral of the story: pay attention to the little signs outside of public restrooms.
• At the Houston Airport, I was amused to see a 50+ year old white man with his hair in cornrows as well as a cowboy wearing a denim trenchcoat. Interesting people, these Texans. (I suppose both of them could read the signs outside of restrooms, though, so they have something on me.)
• I finished Surprised by Joy. Good book, but not quite what I was expecting. It helped tremendously to flesh out many of Lewis’s motivations for what he writes in his fiction and his nonfiction. It made me want to revise the thesis that I had written on Perelandra.
• Reading a book on Covenant Theology, watching the Huskers play the National Semifinal Volleyball tournament on TV, and enjoying a Shiner Bock on tap–all at the same time at a restaurant in the Houston Airport! I was one happy delayed traveler at that point.
• Having to leave the Omaha airport without my luggage–as of Saturday morning, I still don’t have my stuff, but they are supposed to be delivering my bags to my home in Hastings some time today.