Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Unloading 17 More Loaded Questions for "Bible Christians" 3/17

Steve Ray has a list of more than 35 loaded Questions for "Bible Christians" (quotation marks his)(link to the whole list). I originally planned to respond to just 35 of them, but the series seems to have been of interest, so in this extension, I'm responding to three more numbered questions in his list, plus fourteen "bonus questions" that take the form "Where does the Bible say ... ." I'm trying to provide the answers in the same common format as the original series, for easy reference. This is number 3/17.

38) What is one to believe when one Protestant says infants should be baptized (e.g., Luther and Calvin) and another says it is wrong and unbiblical (e.g., Baptists and Evangelicals)?

Simple Answer(s):

1) Search the Scriptures to see who is right.

2) Pray to God for wisdom.

Important Qualification(s):

1) The term "evangelicals" encompasses both Baptists and Presbyterians.

2) "Luther and Calvin" would be two "Protestants" not one.

3) This idea of pitting paedobaptists (those who baptize both those who profess faith and their infants) against credobaptists (those who baptize only those who profess faith, but not their infants) is a popular tool in Rome's apologetic toolkit. The underlying theory of the objection is that Scripture is unable to answer the question. Yet when Roman apologists are trying to defend infant baptism against credobaptists, they will argue that Scripture teaches infant baptism. Go figure.

- TurretinFan

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Go figure"

Ok....., .....back! Does desparation have any meaning in the configuration? :)

Through stuff at them, and whatever sticks sticks then....! !....until the Wind blows and knocks the house down!

Whirlwinds anyone?

Nick said...

This doesn't really answer the question. Both sides in the Protestant camp have (1) searched the Scriptures and (2) prayed for wisdom. 500 years later, they still don't agree on what the Bible says (or does not say).

Turretinfan said...

"This doesn't really answer the question."

Uh, yes it does.

"Both sides in the Protestant camp have (1) searched the Scriptures and (2) prayed for wisdom. 500 years later, they still don't agree on what the Bible says (or does not say)."

What makes you imagine that people are inevitably going to come to agreement in this life?

-TurretinFan

Sos said...

"500 years later, they still don't agree on what the Bible says (or does not say)."

And (supposedly) 2000 years later, Roman Catholics still do not agree on what the Bible says nor what the Church teaches in all areas of the faith (e.g. whether the fire of purgatory is material or metaphorical).

However, I don't remember there ever being a promise that all Christians would hold to identical doctrinal teachings in every area of the faith in this life. I remember there being warnings that some would stray from sound doctrine but not that there would be doctrinal unity in all areas among believers in this life.