Pros And Cons Of Paedobaptism

888 Words2 Pages

3. Arguments Supporting Reformed Paedobaptism John Calvin, vehemently supported the doctrine of paedobaptism and the correlation between circumcision and baptism. He believed circumcision functioned as a sign of belief for Jews, just as baptism functions as a sign of belief for Christians. Therefore, infant baptism symbolized the covenant made between God and Abraham, just as circumcision did for Jews. Thus, “they [infants] cannot be deprived of it [baptism] without manifest fraud to the will of its divine Author.” Calvin’s employed Jesus’ actions toward children in Matthew 19 in support of paedobaptism. In Matthew 19, Jesus taught publicly before a group of children approached him. The disciples rebuked the children, but Jesus said, "Let …show more content…

According to Green, “Infant baptism stresses the objectivity of the gospel. It points to the solid achievement of Christ crucified and risen, whether we respond to it or not…it is the standing demonstration that our salvation does not depend on our own very fallible faith; it depends on what God has done for us.” Such an understanding maintains that infants are guilty of Adam’s sin, thus they stand condemned apart from Christ’s redemption. However, Dr. Howell disagreed Green and Calvin by arguing for an infant’s salvation, apart from baptism, according to God’s character; thus infant baptism is unnecessary. Furthermore, Green blended the two arguments by stating that Reformed paedobaptism symbolizes God’s action toward believers in mercy (Eph 2:4), when he God takes people incapable of understanding the things of God and awakens them to spiritual truth. subsequently, Green’s understanding of paedobaptism symbolized God’s redemption of sinners, while believer’s baptism represented the believer’s response to God’s redemption. Therefore, Green’s understanding provides the best option for the acceptance of Reformed paedobaptism, as it maintained Reformed doctrine, while giving credence to the biblical doctrine of believer’s

Open Document