{"id":7888,"date":"2021-11-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/believe-and-be-baptized-a-global-conversation-on-baptism\/"},"modified":"2025-01-24T04:15:03","modified_gmt":"2025-01-24T04:15:03","slug":"believe-and-be-baptized-global-conversation-baptism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/believe-and-be-baptized-global-conversation-baptism\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cBelieve and Be Baptized: A Global Conversation on Baptism\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Following a 5-year conversation with theologians from the Roman Catholic and Lutheran traditions, the Faith and Life Committee invited the members of Mennonite World Conference to consider our practices of Anabaptist together at Renewal 2027 in two webinars entitled \u201cBelieve and Be Baptized: A Global Conversation on Baptism.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Biblical, theological, and historical context of believers baptism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>On January 21, 1525 a small group of young people gathered secretly in the Swiss city of Zurich for an unusual worship service. They had been raised as Catholics; but for several years they had been meeting for Bible study and discussion with their mentor, Ulrich Zwingli, the priest of the city\u2019s main church, the Grossm\u00fcnster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As they read Scripture together, the group began to question several practices of the Catholic church \u2013 including infant baptism, but they were divided about the next steps. Zwingli, supported by the Zurich City Council, insisted on a course of moderate reforms, introduced slowly. Members of the Bible study group resisted. If Scripture was clear, they argued, changes in church practice should be made immediately, regardless of the political or social consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, on that January day in 1525, the small group formally renounced their baptisms as infants and, in the pattern of Jesus and John the Baptist, received baptism as adults as a symbol of their voluntary commitment to follow Christ and to support each other in this new step of faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For modern Christians, the action seems almost trivial. After all, what could be so troubling about a group of people gathering for prayer and then pouring water over their heads? Yet this action \u2013 which marked the beginning of the Anabaptist (or \u201cre-baptizer\u201d) movement \u2013 had profound consequences. Within days, the Zurich City Council ordered the arrest and imprisonment of anyone who participated in such baptisms. By 1526, authorities declared the baptism of adults a capital offense. And in January 1527, Felix Manz, in whose home the group had met, suffered the ultimate consequence of his convictions. With his hands and feet bound to a wooden pole, Manz was \u201cbaptized\u201d once more \u2013 pushed into the icy waters of the Limmat River in a public execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the Anabaptist movement spread, church and political leaders condemned them as heretics. Over the next few decades, some 3 000&nbsp;believers were executed for the crime of being \u201cAnabaptists\u201d or \u201cre-baptizers\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet the movement they started lives on. Today some 2.2 million Christians around the world identify themselves as part of the Anabaptists tradition including all 107 national member churches that are part of Mennonite World Conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The ingredients seem simple enough: water; a gathering of witnesses; and a few carefully chosen words. To a secular person looking in from the outside it might seem hard to understand why the Christian practice of baptism is so significant. But despite its simplicity, virtually every Christian group regards baptism as a foundational event \u2013 a ritual that expresses convictions basic to their faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Few practices are more central to the Christian church, yet few have been the source of more disagreement and debate among Christians<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Is baptism essential to salvation?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What is the appropriate age for baptism?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How should the ritual be done?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Does baptism confer salvation in itself or is it a symbol of salvation already received?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Baptism in the Christian tradition<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter image\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/2020-01-21-dr-baptism-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" class=\"smush-dimensions lazyload\" style=\"--smush-image-width: 1280px; --smush-image-aspect-ratio: 1280\/720;\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An outdoor baptism in the Dominican<br>Republic. Photo: Mariano Ram\u00edrez<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The roots of Christian baptism draw deeply on the biblical images of water \u2013 an enduring symbol of cleansing, refreshment, and life itself. In the Old Testament, water is often associated with God\u2019s healing presence \u2013 a spring in the desert; a life-giving well; or justice that flows \u201clike a mighty river.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The symbol of Christian baptism comes directly from the Old Testament story of the Exodus when God parted the waters of the Red Sea to allow the children of Israel to flee slavery in Egypt and escape from Pharaoh\u2019s pursuing armies. That dramatic act of \u201ccrossing through the waters\u201d marked the rebirth of the children of Israel. Having passed through the waters, they were no longer slaves \u2013 they had become a new community of God\u2019s people, bound to each other by the gift of the Law and by their dependence on God for guidance and sustenance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Echoes of the Exodus story can be clearly heard in the New Testament account of John, who was nicknamed \u201cThe Baptist.\u201d John\u2019s fiery preaching called for repentance \u2013 a transformation of the heart symbolized by a ritual cleansing in the waters of the Jordan River. According to the Gospels, Jesus began his formal ministry only after he had been baptized by John. That act \u2013accompanied by God\u2019s blessing and the clear presence of the Holy Spirit \u2013 marked a \u201ccrossing over\u201d for Jesus into a new ministry of healing and teaching that culminated three years later in his crucifixion, death and resurrection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The early Christians understood baptism as a symbol rich with meanings drawn both from the Old Testament and from the life of Jesus. Like the Exodus, baptism in the early church symbolized the renunciation of a life enslaved to the bondage of sin and a \u201ccrossing over\u201d into a new identity with a community of believers who, like the children of Israel, were committed to living in dependence on God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many early Christians also regarded baptism as a re-enactment of the death and resurrection of Christ. Baptismal candidates walked into the water naked \u2013 stripped and vulnerable, like Christ on the cross, dying to the old self. After emerging from the water, they were dressed in robes of white as a symbol of the resurrection and their new identity as followers of Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Strong evidence from the second and third centuries suggests that the early Christians baptized only adults; and then only after a long period of rigorous instruction and training. In other words, the early church reserved baptism for those who had experienced a transformation of the heart; were committed to a life of daily discipleship; and were ready to become part of a new community of believers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">From voluntary baptism to infant baptism&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometime during the fourth century, however, this practice began to change. At the heart of this shift in baptismal practice was the conversion of the Roman Emperor Constantine in AD 312, an event that slowly transformed the very nature of the Christian church. During the century after Constantine\u2019s conversion, the church went from a small, persecuted minority to a powerful institution whose bishops came to rely on the armies of the Roman empire for their protection and as a means of eliminating heresy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gradually, Christianity became the \u201cofficial\u201d religion of the Roman emperors \u2013 a kind of religious-cultural \u201cglue\u201d that could help to unite a fragmenting empire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since everyone within the territory was now compelled to be a Christian, it no longer made sense to associate baptism with repentance, a transformation of life, or with a new identity within a community of believers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>About the same time, new arguments emerged to defend the practice of infant baptism. For example, St. Augustine (354\u2013430), insisted at the end of the fourth century that from the very moment of birth, human beings were trapped in bondage to sin. The baptism of infants, he argued, was necessary for the salvation of the child\u2019s soul. In his teaching, the act of baptism itself conferred a spiritual gift of grace to the child. The sacrament of baptism incorporated the infant into the church, saving its soul from the stain of original sin and the clutches of hell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In later medieval society, baptism also marked a child\u2019s membership in the civic community, registering the infant as an eventual tax-paying subject who owed allegiance to the local feudal lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Reformation leaders Luther, Zwingli, Calvin and others agreed that infants should be baptized at birth. Luther argued that infant baptism confirms&nbsp;that we are totally dependent on God\u2019s free gift of grace for our salvation \u2013 not our own actions. Zwingli noted that Jesus taught that we must become \u201clike children\u201d to enter the kingdom of God. Infant baptism, like circumcision for the Jews of the Old Testament, was a sign of inclusion into the body of believers and a commitment on the part of believers to raise that child in the ways of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Anabaptist-Mennonite understandings of baptism<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>So when Anabaptist leaders began to challenge the practice of infant baptism, people reacted with confusion, anger, and eventually, violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Anabaptists, the primary argument for believer\u2019s baptism, as opposed to infant baptism, rests on a bedrock principle of the Reformation itself: \u201cScripture alone.\u201d In their reading of the New Testament, the Anabaptists of the 16th century could find no scriptural justification for the practice of baptizing babies. Instead, Jesus\u2019 teachings explicitly linked baptism with repentance and belief \u2013 something that an infant clearly could not do. While instructing the disciples to preach the good news of the gospel, for example, Jesus promised, \u201cWhoever believes and is baptized will be saved\u201d (Mark 16:16). The sequence here is clear: belief comes first, then baptism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the end of his ministry, in a final admonition to the disciples, Jesus&nbsp;again spoke of baptism. \u201cTherefore go,\u201d he told the disciples in Matthew 28:19-20, \u201cand make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here again, the order is important. Jesus commanded his followers to first \u201cmake disciples,\u201d and then to baptize with the expectation that the new converts would also be taught to obey Christ\u2019s commandments. In other words, people become followers of Jesus by hearing, understanding and responding to a call \u2013 just as the first disciples had done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This same sequence reoccurs in the story of the first baptisms of the apostolic church as recorded in Acts 2. The story begins with Peter preaching a sermon to a crowd of Jews who have gathered in Jerusalem for the annual celebration of the Passover. He ended his sermon with a call to repentance. \u201cThose who accepted his message,\u201d the account concludes, \u201cwere baptized.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Anabaptists \u2013 and the groups that came after them \u2013 the commitment to follow Jesus implied a conversion or \u201cturning around\u201d \u2013 a radical reorientation of priorities \u2013 symbolized by baptism, that could lead to persecution and even death. Not a decision that could be made by an infant!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The meaning of baptism: A three-stranded cord&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter is-resized image\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20210314_pastornguyenminhsang_w_nguyenthilien_mennonitehoianchurch-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" style=\"--smush-image-width: 2339px; --smush-image-aspect-ratio: 2339\/2560;width:450px\" width=\"2339\" class=\"smush-dimensions lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>So when Anabaptist leaders began to challenge the practice of infant baptism, people reacted with confusion, anger, and eventually, violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Symbols, of course, can have more than just one meaning. Drawing on a verse from 1 John 5, the Anabaptists frequently described baptism as a kind of threestranded cord: spirit, water and blood all pointed to essential qualities of baptism:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Children of God are those who believe that Jesus is the Christ and follow his commandments. Three things, 1 John says, testify that Jesus is the Son of God: \u201cthe Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement\u201d (1 John 5:8).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>1. At its most basic level, baptism is a visible sign of the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. It is a public recognition that the believer has repented of sin, has accepted God\u2019s forgiveness, and has \u201cturned their life over to Christ.\u201d Baptism celebrates the gift of salvation \u2013 the gift of God\u2019s loving, forgiving and enabling grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2. At the same time, baptism is also a sign of membership in a new community. In the baptism of water, we place ourselves into the \u201ccare, discipline and fellowship of the community.\u201d At baptism, we promise to \u201cgive and receive counsel,\u201d to share our possessions, and to serve in the broader mission of the church. Salvation in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition is never purely private or inward; our faith is always expressed in relationships with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>3. Finally, in baptism, new believers promise to follow in the way of Jesus; to live as he lived and taught, even if that includes \u2013 as it did for Jesus \u2013 misunderstanding, persecution, suffering or even death. It is not enough to claim the forgiveness of sins or to have your name included in a church membership list. Baptism also implies a way of life that looks like Jesus \u2013 a way of life that loves God with your whole heart, and loves your neighbour as yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Anabaptists in the 16th century sought to recover these teachings that had gone out of focus in the history of the church \u2013 based on these biblical insights, they understood baptism as a sign of the Spirit\u2019s transforming presence; as a mark of membership in a community; and a readiness to follow Christ, even at great cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/john_roth_2019_goshencollege_0.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1809\" class=\"smush-dimensions lazyload\" style=\"--smush-image-width: 1809px; --smush-image-aspect-ratio: 1809\/1977;\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<p><em>John Roth is secretary of the Faith and Life Commission. Professor of history at Goshen College, he is a member of Berkey Avenue Mennonite Church, Goshen, Indiana, USA.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-magenta-background-color has-background has-text-align-left wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/resources\/courier-2021-2-october\/\">This article first appeared in\u00a0<em>Courier\/Correo\/Courrier <\/em>October 2021. Read the full issue here.<br><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Following a 5-year conversation with theologians from the Roman Catholic and Lutheran traditions, the Faith and Life Committee invited the members of Mennonite World Conference to consider our practices of Anabaptist together at Renewal 2027 in two webinars entitled \u201cBelieve and Be Baptized: A Global Conversation on Baptism.\u201d Biblical, theological, and historical context of believers [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11110,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"network":[302],"eventcategory":[],"class_list":["post-7888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","network-courier"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with 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