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| Understanding Four Views on Baptism (Counterpoints: Church Life) | 
 enlarge | Creators: John Castelein, Robert Kolb, Thomas J. Nettles, Richard Pratt Jr., John H. Armstrong, Paul E. Engle
Publisher: Zondervan
Category: Book
List Price: $14.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 152338
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.7
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.4
ISBN: 0310262674
Dewey Decimal Number: 234.161
EAN: 9780310262671
ASIN: 0310262674
Publication Date: February 1, 2007
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Product Description
Christians have long differed with one another on both the meaning and the practice of water baptism. Using the classic Counterpoints forum of presentation-critique-response, this insightful book explores four prominent views of baptism held by different branches of Protestantism: Baptist, Christian Church/Church of Christ, Lutheran, and Reformed.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Dr. John D. Castelein and the CoC are dangerous heretics August 31, 2007
1 out of 15 found this review helpful
This book is a very good introduction to the main evangelical views on baptism. The book contains four views: 1) the traditional Baptist view (Nettles); 2) the traditional Reformed view (Pratt); 3) the traditional Lutheran view (Kolb); and 4) the "Christian" Church view (Castelein). The essays by Nettles and Pratt are the best ones. Both make a good case for their respective traditions (though, of course, I agree with Nettles more since I'm a Baptist too). Though Pratt and Kolb do a valiant job in defending their view that infant baptism is Scriptural, I don't believe history and exegesis supports the concept of infant baptism. The nature of redemptive history and exegesis of particular texts demands that only believers should be baptized.
The major concern I have with this book is that one of the contributors (Castelein) unashamedly denies the biblical doctrine of justification by faith alone. On page 132, he writes: "Working with James's definition of faith, in contrast to Paul's definition, salvation by 'faith only' is simply impossible." However, Paul also states that those who reject the true gospel (like Castelein) will also find that salvation is impossible (Gal 1:8-9). Dr. Castelein and all those CoC members who explicitly deny justification by faith alone are heretics and will not find salvation unless they repent of their grievous error. Adding one's own works to the finished work of Christ on the cross is an insult to God.
 Great Discussion of Christian Views About Baptism May 23, 2007
15 out of 15 found this review helpful
This is a great addition to the Counterpoints series. The format of previous volumes is retained. Each theologian has an essay about his view of baptism, and the others give brief replies.
The first one up at the plate is Thomas Nettles, who represents the Baptist view. He points out that the pattern for baptism is that it is something which follows belief. Therefore, Nettles would not baptize an infant. Nettles struggles somewhat as he tries to explain how difficult texts such as 1 Peter 3:21 and Acts 22:16 fit into his system.
The Reformed view is presented by Richard Pratt, Jr. He contends that infant baptism has a similar function to circumcision in the Old Testament in that it incorporates the child into the visible community (even though it does not confer saving grace on the child).
Nettles and Castelein countered Pratt by noting that Pratt placed an equal amount of emphasis on the Westminster Confession as he did the Bible, and that non_Reformed Christians would object to this. They note that our doctrine should come straight from Scripture.
Robert Kolb presents the Lutheran view, and it is very similar to the Reformed perspective. The main difference is that Lutherans believe that babies ARE born again when they are baptized. Nettles counters this by noting that that there are no known instances of salvation in the New Testament apart from hearing and responding to the gospel, an argument which struck me as quite cogent.
John Castelein presents the Church of Christ view. His presentation is very similar to the Baptist view. The one difference is that Castelein contends that baptism is the occasion for justification, a teaching that Pratt and Nettles effectively challenge.
Armstrong has a short essay encouraging continued dialogue, then there are appendixes which list all the scriptures about baptism and some of the confessional statements issued by the Church in the past.
I don't think that any one of the writers delievered a knockout punch, but my own understanding of Scripture fits best with the view of Thomas Nettles. I am surprised that non one discussed Acts 2:41, which says that "all who accepted the message were baptized." I wonder how infant baptizers would respond to this.
But I thought the essays were crisp and clear, and I like how each one ended with practical questions that people might ask, along with some good answers. Buy this book if you are sifting through your understanding of baptism.
 Understanding Baptism- A Review April 2, 2007
3 out of 9 found this review helpful
This book is helpful and accomplishes it's task of presenting 4 views on Baptism and in essence salvation. I am taken back at Richard Pratt stating on page 115 that the Lutheran view, which holds to Baptismal regeneration, is closer to the Reformed view than the Reformed Baptist Tom Nettles presentation. Pratt must deem ecclesiological ritual more important than soteriology.
balanced, accessible & well organized March 8, 2007
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
This book is a balanced, accessible and well organized summary of four major views on baptism. I had some questions about my church's stance on baptism in relation to other Protestant traditions, but found that most of the material out there is either heavily biased or overly academic and lengthy. This material is set up in a point/counter-point formula with each of the four authors succinctly articulating their view on baptism followed by a response from the other three authors. The views represented are: Reformed, Baptist, Lutheran, and the Church of Christ. Although it is clear that each of the authors is firmly committed to their view, they disagree respectfully with each other and are even able to find some common ground. This allows the reader to quickly and easily understand the arguments for all four positions. If you've got some questions about baptism, this book is a great place to start.
Excellent overview of baptism February 26, 2007
27 out of 27 found this review helpful
This is a fantastic summary of four Protestant understandings of baptism: from the Baptist, Reformed, Lutheran, and Church of Christ perspectives. Each of the authors does a marvelous job of stating his case briefly and succinctly (all chapters are under 20 pages) and yet thoroughly -- I felt as though I grasped the core teachings of each perspective after I finished. The editor (John Armstrong) also offers a helpful introduction and conclusion, which point out some of the universally-held points of agreement among all the contributors, as well as the key issues on which they differ.
I fall within the Reformed perspective, and I was impressed by how the Reformed writer not only included several classic terms from Reformed theology (e.g., "covenant", "sign and seal", "means of grace") but also defined these terms and showed how they emerge from the Bible and not just from the Reformed Confessions. Other reviewers will have to assess whether they think the other 3 perspectives were as well-represented, but I thought all the chapters were very well-written. (Perhaps a few additional comments could have helped in a few areas. For example, neither of the two proponents of Infant Baptism addressed very strongly how the biblical data is somewhat inconclusive: just as there is no explicit command to baptize infants, neither is there an explicit command forbidding it; and just as there is no clear-cut example of an infant being baptized in Scripture, neither is there any example of an infant being presented for baptism by his or her parents, and being denied. But this is a small point.)
The respect that each of the authors has for each other is also evident: Several times they list points of agreement with the other positions which sound like they spring from genuine appreciation, and not from a patronizing attempt to avoid sounding too critical. Also, the editor readily admits in the opening introduction that there is no single position on baptism which is the definitive "Christian" or "biblical" view.
Other than the brevity of the chapters and the possibility of a few additional comments that would have solidified the authors' positions, the only other thing (that I can think of) that would have strenghtened this book would have been to include a Roman Catholic viewpoint: I'd be especially interested to hear how a Roman Catholic might respond to and critique the four views that are contained.
But this is a minor quibble. Overall, this book gives a wonderful presentation of four major views on baptism. The reader will come away with a well-balanced understanding of the main strengths and weaknesses of each position. And as an added bonus, the back of the book contains a series of appendices which include a concordance of all the occurences of the word "baptize" (and its derivatives) in the Bible, and a series of quotations from creeds, catechisms, and well-respected theologians that offer additional examples of the differing views on baptism. This book will be a welcome addition to the library of anyone wanting a broader understanding of baptism, as it is viewed by differing Christian traditions.
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