Tag Archives: Baptism

CENI/Blue Parakeet: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper

Well, I was not expecting to find baptism and communion to be important hermeneutical principles, but as I read Paul’s arguments in particular, I am struck at how many times he refers to baptism or the Lord’s Supper as instructive … Continue reading

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The Baptists’ Evolving View of Baptism, Part 2

This follows up an earlier post on the same subject in which I posted an article by Stanley Fowler, a Baptist, noting the convergence of Baptist and Church of Christ views on baptism. That article has now appeared in a … Continue reading

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Dialogue with Robert Prater: Baptism, Circumcision, Galatians, 1 John, and GraceConversation

The question has been raised in private emails and comments here whether baptism might be a work. After all, circumcision, which is certainly a work in Paul’s vocabulary, is also passive. To answer this one, we need to get away … Continue reading

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Dialogue with Robert Prater: What Is “Faith”? Part 4 (Baptism vs. Faith)

Note to readers: I’m recaptioning the posts reflecting my interchange with Robert Prater, as we’ve gotten pretty far afield from the original theme. When members of the Churches of Christ speak of the faith-only heresy, they generally aren’t referring to … Continue reading

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Dialogue with Robert Prater: What Is “Faith”? Part 3 (Baptism)

Baptism Okay. Baptism is, oddly enough, where many in the Churches of Christ got things wrong in the last century. That and the Holy Spirit. We wanted to prove that baptism is essential for salvation. We argued, therefore, that it … Continue reading

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Dialogue with Robert Prater: What Is “Faith”? Part 1 (Toward a Definition)

Robert Prater posed an important question — If you take such position that a person is saved/justifed/forgiven of sins on the basis of faith alone/only without its inclusion of further acts of obedience which demonstrate/define, etc. true “faith/belief” (i.e., confess, … Continue reading

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The Future of the Progressive Churches of Christ: Shrinking Congregations, Part 2 (Boundaries)

My Tuesday conversation with Greg Tidwell and Phil Sanders was illuminating in lots of ways. It certainly confirmed the rightness of the decision to meet. I had asked that we find a time to meet face to face before beginning … Continue reading

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The Baptists’ Evolving View of Baptism (and the Churches of Christ, too)

One of the most pronounced identity markers of the Churches of Christ and Christian Churches is our view of baptism. In contrast to most evangelical churches, we reject infant baptism, insist on baptism by immersion, and consider baptism the moment … Continue reading

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Searching for The Third Way: How Football Explains Everything

I love college football. Doesn’t everybody? And it occurs to me that a football example would help make some sense of what I’m talking about. I mean, it’s been pretty philosophical — even metaphysical — to this point. It’s time … Continue reading

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Searching for The Third Way: Baptism, Part 7

Fourth theological conclusion — prevenient grace makes better sense It’s just a thought. And I know I can’t prove this. Remember: the classic Calvinist argument is that humans cannot have faith without the Spirit changing their hearts. The classic Arminian … Continue reading

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