Christian Baptism

by John Murraymore product info

Where this book really shines is not in regards to infant baptism, but in regards to the mode of baptism (which he covers before delving into infant baptism). He shows very thoroughly how the Baptist contention that baptism must be performed by immersion has no real support in Scripture, while admitting that immersion is an acceptable form of baptism as outlined in Scripture. One theory he very thoroughly debunks that I personally held for so long is that the word baptizo means immerse, which is clearly not the case according to the context of the way it is used in Scripture.

While I don’t agree with quite everything John Murray says in this book, I think that it is an excellent work overall.

While I think that Murray gives a good overview of the reasoning behind infant baptism, I think that there are some things missing from his treatment. That portion of the book is definitely not done in such a way as to convince a Dispensationalist that infant baptism is correct, but a Dispensationalist may still glean from it the reality that paedobaptists really are basing their view of baptism on Scripture. This section assumes that one is already coming from a Covenant Theology standpoint, and would be much more helpful for someone who already accepts those truths.

Where this book really shines is not in regards to infant baptism, but in regards to the mode of baptism (which he covers before delving into infant baptism). He shows very thoroughly how the Baptist contention that baptism must be performed by immersion has no real support in Scripture, while admitting that immersion is an acceptable form of baptism as outlined in Scripture. One theory he very thoroughly debunks that I personally held for so long is that the word baptizo means immerse, which is clearly not the case according to the context of the way it is used in Scripture.