Amy Green
Puritan Board Freshman
Hey everyone!
I come from a Reformed (Paedobapist) background and have been defending that front against a growing number of friends from the same background who have become Baptist. Recently, however, the implications of my theology have hit home rather hard and I am considerably less convinced of my stance on this point. My questions relate to the understanding of infant baptism being carried over from circumcision in the OT. My current biggest concern is: To what extent is the head of a household responsible for the faith of the people within that household?
Is he responsible for all the people in his house (including adult children, adopted children and domestic workers) to the point where they will be baptised too? Or are only biological children who are still infants baptised? Why?
Is he primarily responsible for the teaching of those under him (Can the church/other believers teach them contrary to the head of that household)?
What are the implications of this on evangelism? Should one only evangelise heads of households? Can one evangelise children apart from their parents? What about young adults still in the same household?
I am really battling with these questions at the moment and would really appreciate some strong, scripturally based answers. I am not currently finding my previous reading (à Brakel, Three Forms of Unity, Zwingly, etc) strong enough to answer these questions without contradicting what I find in scripture, or not seeming to say anything at all on the subject.
Your views on the subject would be much apreciated.
I come from a Reformed (Paedobapist) background and have been defending that front against a growing number of friends from the same background who have become Baptist. Recently, however, the implications of my theology have hit home rather hard and I am considerably less convinced of my stance on this point. My questions relate to the understanding of infant baptism being carried over from circumcision in the OT. My current biggest concern is: To what extent is the head of a household responsible for the faith of the people within that household?
Is he responsible for all the people in his house (including adult children, adopted children and domestic workers) to the point where they will be baptised too? Or are only biological children who are still infants baptised? Why?
Is he primarily responsible for the teaching of those under him (Can the church/other believers teach them contrary to the head of that household)?
What are the implications of this on evangelism? Should one only evangelise heads of households? Can one evangelise children apart from their parents? What about young adults still in the same household?
I am really battling with these questions at the moment and would really appreciate some strong, scripturally based answers. I am not currently finding my previous reading (à Brakel, Three Forms of Unity, Zwingly, etc) strong enough to answer these questions without contradicting what I find in scripture, or not seeming to say anything at all on the subject.
Your views on the subject would be much apreciated.