If you're at all interested in John Bunyan or William Kiffin or would like to understand what the open-membership debate is really about, I direct you to my article . . . Revisiting an Old Debate between John Bunyan and William KiffinBaptists in America have very strong feelings about the conditions for church membership. In this article, I want to focus on one: believer’s baptism by immersion. My current church constitution lists as a requirement for church membership baptism by immersion on repentance of sin and profession of faith. The same qualification appears in both the Philadelphia and New Hampshire confessions of faith, in Pendleton’s Baptist Church Manual, and in the Baptist Faith and Message. Indeed, many Baptists in America consider believer’s baptism by immersion to be a non-negotiable prerequisite for local church membership—but perhaps not as many as did a generation ago. Some significant Baptist churches have begun accepting members without that requirement, and that trend will certainly continue. Indeed, I broached this subject with some colleagues in Britain, and they were confused by my intention because they have nearly unanimously removed that condition from their constitutions. It is no longer a debate for them. This development raises the question: Should this matter simply go by the wayside, another casualty of the inexorable march toward uniformity (or perhaps pastor fatigue)? I know that my pastor has been through several weeks of this discussion with an individual from a Church of Christ background who is presenting herself for membership. Both my wife and I were confronted (blindsided?) with this matter when, as new Christians, we desired to join a Baptist church for the first time. In America, at least, many churches deal with the matter of “rebaptism” on a regular basis.[2] It is a critical matter worthy of continued attention. To remind us of its importance and perhaps refresh our perspective, I would like to call our attention to one of the first times it was debated publicly in its modern sense—the open-communion debate between seventeenth-century English pastors William Kiffin and John Bunyan—and recast it in the context they considered, as a matter of worship. To Kiffin and Bunyan, the crux of the open-communion debate was whether baptism should be considered an act of individual worship or the church’s worship. They revealed baptism to be a critical intersection of ministry, theology, and worship. Their answers to the question could well inform our understanding of this matter and its significance today. Read the rest of this article on the Artistic Theologian website.
0 Comments
We've been looking at a fascinating letter published by John Tombes in answer to a question about baptism. Once Tombes had begun questioning the validity of infant baptism, Westminster and its polemicists blacklisted him and pumped him with the "swarme of sectaries" and in particular the Baptists. Tombes, for his part, took the time to learn the Baptist position, published where he agreed and disagreed, and asked Baptist leaders to clarify some of their wording. The most basic question, and the one that caused the greatest contention with the established church, was the "who" and "why" of baptism. This was the answer Tombes received: That which we require and without which we will not baptize any is a persons manifestation of himself to be a believer in Jesus Christ, and to desire baptisme according to the revealed will of Christ, and in obedience thereunto, we do not baptize any into this or that particular congregation: but only into that one body in general spoken of 1 Cor. 12. 13. As touching joining in communion, we in this case require no more, then a manifest readinesse to hold communion with all the Churches of Christ in the things of Christ, and accordingly to shew a real willingnesse to have communion with any particular Church of Christ according as the hand of God shall give opportunity, and true seasonablenesse of and for the same. Thus we judge and practise accordingly. Benjamen Cox. There are two issues in particular that need to be understood. Early Baptists did not baptize into church membership. But they weren't in complete agreement about this. This matter caused confusion among the early Baptists and still causes confusion today. A lot of Baptist church members today believe that baptism is the act of becoming a church member, in other words that people are baptized "into" church membership. Some Baptist church constitutions actually have it worded this way. (By the way, if you are not a Baptist, you might not have experience with Baptist church autonomy. We believe that Baptist churches have the right to determine this for themselves. I'm just saying the historic position leans a different direction.) I think the confusion is as much cultural as anything (pre- and post-Baptist communities), and that makes it doubly difficult to sort through the disagreements. James Pendleton, in his once very influential Baptist Church Manual, said of candidates for church membership, they are by vote of the church recognized, as candidates for baptism, with the understanding that when baptized they will be entitled to all the rights and privileges of membership. This has been interpreted to mean that baptism is the act of joining the church. But that's not what he said. What he said actually lines up quite well with the beliefs of the early English Baptists. In the next section, we'll look at some specific statements made by the leaders in question, then we'll come full circle and tie everything together at the end. But first, one more point of clarification. "All the Churches of Christ" might not mean what you think it means. Note the definition of a church in the First London Confession: a company of visible Saints, called & separated from the world, by the word and Spirit of God, to the visible profession of the faith of the Gospel, being baptized into that faith, and joyned to the Lord, and each other, by mutuall agreement, in the practical injoyment of the Ordinances, commanded by Christ their head and King. (Article XXXIII) |
AuthorIf I ever say something in here that doesn't make sense, please ask me to clarify. It always makes sense in my head, but that doesn't necessary mean anything to you . . . Categories
All
|