Baptism and the Age of Accountability

Christian ethics and theology with an Anabaptist perspective
MattY
Posts: 236
Joined: Tue May 02, 2017 5:36 pm
Location: Ohio
Affiliation: Beachy
Contact:

Baptism and the Age of Accountability

Post by MattY »

One of my first cousins was baptized today. She is...umm...15 years old, I think. Will be 16 in November or so. This was in a Beachy church about an hour away.

In my own Beachy church, we just started an instruction class a few weeks ago. There are four in the class; the oldest is 17. Just guessing, but I think he was waiting until he wouldn't be the only one. The youngest one is 13, but I think will be 14 by the time the baptism is held. I don't remember anyone being baptized before 14 as far I know, in the past 20 years or so.

So this got me wondering...is this about the same for most other Anabaptist groups represented here? Do you baptize anyone significantly younger, or wait significantly longer? Especially the conservative ones, but anyone can answer. I know Baptist churches sometimes baptize children when they're quite young, which I disagree with.

And what is the general idea of the age of accountability? It varies from person to person, no doubt about that. But maybe somewhere in the 11-14 range?

Do we wait too long for baptism? The New Testament often connects baptism with conversion closely, and new believers were baptized right away. Churches like ours have developed the idea of a period of instruction for the sake of church purity and to encourage growth in young believers, I assume. And I don't believe in baptismal regeneration, so I think the way we do it is probably fine, even if not exactly the way the earliest church did it, because it doesn't go against any principle clearly laid out by the NT. Other ways of doing it are probably okay too.
0 x
Almighty, most holy God
Faithful through the ages
Almighty, most holy Lord
Glorious, almighty God
Neto
Posts: 4579
Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2016 5:43 pm
Location: Holmes County, Ohio
Affiliation: Gospel Haven

Re: Baptism and the Age of Accountability

Post by Neto »

From things I read in Martyrs' Mirror, I gathered that the typical age was far older than that which is common practice today. (I think it was around the ages of 18 or so. There are letters from fathers in prison who had every expectation of being near the time of their deaths, admonishing their children to follow the way of Christ when they came of age.)

[I was baptized in an MB congregation, at around 14 or 15. But communion, which is practiced as open participation in MB congregations, was with-held from me until later, which I didn't expect, and this really confused me. I think it would have been better to have explained to me that I should wait for baptism, than to allow me to be baptized and join the congregation, and then not allow me to participate in communion.]
0 x
Congregation: Gospel Haven Mennonite Fellowship, Benton, Ohio (Holmes Co.) a split from Beachy-Amish Mennonite.
Personal heritage & general theological viewpoint: conservative Mennonite Brethren.
User avatar
Josh
Posts: 23826
Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2016 6:23 pm
Location: 1000' ASL
Affiliation: The church of God

Re: Baptism and the Age of Accountability

Post by Josh »

In a typical moderate conservative Mennonite church, ages of 13 or 14 are common for children of members. There aren't really any requirements of them other than to show up in instruction class when their parents come to church. If their family is busy off travelling etc then the class is suspended.

For outsiders, we have to wait until instruction class is held, once a year. Then we have to make sure to never miss a class, but put up with the class being delayed often for the whole summer due to family vacation schedules. So the waiting period is often well over a year. For one of my outsider friends, it worked out to about 2 years. For another it was about 1 year - his timing coincided with a class.

It seems a bit off to allow children so young to be baptised (and these ages keep getting pushed younger and younger), but to require outsiders in their 20s to wait a year or more. Myself, I was baptised at age 9 with no understanding of what I was doing, and I don't remember it. However I see God had a plan for that since the particular way I was baptised means I can have good fellowship with certain Pentecostal people.

Ultimately for us outsiders, the best thing to accept is that for us, baptism in our home church shouldn't be viewed as something we need done quickly, but also accept it will be done upon a member parents' request rather promptly. Once I accepted this as "just the way things are", I stopped feeling so miserable and excluded and got back to the work of the kingdom.

Now if I could just figure out how to dodge baptismal regenerationists who like to encourage me to doubt my salvation...
0 x
Sudsy
Posts: 5859
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 3:32 pm
Affiliation: .

Re: Baptism and the Age of Accountability

Post by Sudsy »

I was immersed in water at the age of 7 with the understanding that it was an act of obedience following an acceptance of Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I don't think there is such a thing as 'age of accountability' as everyone is different in what age they might be to be capable of understanding and believing in Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Personally, I would not push a child in this commitment and to some extent our parents had a concern that Jesus was coming soon and they wanted us to "be ready". At a point that a child or teen asks to become a follower of Jesus, I don't think God would turn them away. We all must come in child like faith.

What I don't see in the NT is a delay between repenting, confessing Christ as Lord and Saviour and being immersed. The NT pattern is asap and the pattern is immersion also. There is no period of 'proving' one has been born again. Who knows how many of the 3,000 were born again on the day of Pentecost but they baptised them all. I suspect, as happens today, some were just following the crowd. There is a group in a near by city that will immerse you immediately upon your confession of belief and repentance. They are set up to immerse people every Sunday if need be.

Pre-baptismal classes and pre-fastings and cold running water, etc ,etc were all add-ons by man to what the NT teaches, imo. I think the tie of immersion to becoming a member of the local church had something to do with delayed immersion. Imo, formal membership in a local church is not the same as becoming a member of 'The Church' and can occur at a later time. Joining 'The Church' is automatic when one is born again. So, I'm not too convinced on the habits of some Anabaptists including my own church.

Few actually follow NT practise regarding the timing that we see in the earliest NT church. I think we like to complicate things often that are pretty straight forward.
0 x
Pursuing a Kingdom life in the Spirit
User avatar
Josh
Posts: 23826
Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2016 6:23 pm
Location: 1000' ASL
Affiliation: The church of God

Re: Baptism and the Age of Accountability

Post by Josh »

The actual fruit of unlinking baptism from discipleship and being a member of the body of Christ is that we have a lot of people who've gotten wet, but discipleship never happens - nor victory over sin.
0 x
Judas Maccabeus
Posts: 3881
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 11:13 am
Location: Maryland
Affiliation: Con. Menno.

Re: Baptism and the Age of Accountability

Post by Judas Maccabeus »

Josh wrote:In a typical moderate conservative Mennonite church, ages of 13 or 14 are common for children of members. There aren't really any requirements of them other than to show up in instruction class when their parents come to church. If their family is busy off travelling etc then the class is suspended.

For outsiders, we have to wait until instruction class is held, once a year. Then we have to make sure to never miss a class, but put up with the class being delayed often for the whole summer due to family vacation schedules. So the waiting period is often well over a year. For one of my outsider friends, it worked out to about 2 years. For another it was about 1 year - his timing coincided with a class.

It seems a bit off to allow children so young to be baptised (and these ages keep getting pushed younger and younger), but to require outsiders in their 20s to wait a year or more. Myself, I was baptised at age 9 with no understanding of what I was doing, and I don't remember it. However I see God had a plan for that since the particular way I was baptised means I can have good fellowship with certain Pentecostal people.

Ultimately for us outsiders, the best thing to accept is that for us, baptism in our home church shouldn't be viewed as something we need done quickly, but also accept it will be done upon a member parents' request rather promptly. Once I accepted this as "just the way things are", I stopped feeling so miserable and excluded and got back to the work of the kingdom.

Now if I could just figure out how to dodge baptismal regenerationists who like to encourage me to doubt my salvation...
Seems a bit older than that in our neck of the woods, but I may be in an atypical congregation.

J.M.
0 x
:hug:
MattY
Posts: 236
Joined: Tue May 02, 2017 5:36 pm
Location: Ohio
Affiliation: Beachy
Contact:

Re: Baptism and the Age of Accountability

Post by MattY »

Sudsy wrote:Who knows how many of the 3,000 were born again on the day of Pentecost but they baptised them all. I suspect, as happens today, some were just following the crowd. There is a group in a near by city that will immerse you immediately upon your confession of belief and repentance. They are set up to immerse people every Sunday if need be.
I have read that the water supply in Jerusalem probably didn't have enough water to immerse three thousand people. They poured. Because it typified the baptism of the Spirit, which was a pouring.
(/Having thrown a controversial grenade into the discussion, runs and hides).
0 x
Almighty, most holy God
Faithful through the ages
Almighty, most holy Lord
Glorious, almighty God
Sudsy
Posts: 5859
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 3:32 pm
Affiliation: .

Re: Baptism and the Age of Accountability

Post by Sudsy »

buckeyematt2 wrote:
Sudsy wrote:Who knows how many of the 3,000 were born again on the day of Pentecost but they baptised them all. I suspect, as happens today, some were just following the crowd. There is a group in a near by city that will immerse you immediately upon your confession of belief and repentance. They are set up to immerse people every Sunday if need be.
I have read that the water supply in Jerusalem probably didn't have enough water to immerse three thousand people. They poured. Because it typified the baptism of the Spirit, which was a pouring.
(/Having thrown a controversial grenade into the discussion, runs and hides).
:lol: I'll stay out of this one and leave it up to gcdonner who is a distinguished scholar on this one.
0 x
Pursuing a Kingdom life in the Spirit
MaxPC
Posts: 9044
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2016 9:09 pm
Location: Former full time RVers
Affiliation: PlainRomanCatholic
Contact:

Re: Baptism and the Age of Accountability

Post by MaxPC »

In my perspective I've seen a protracted childhood among young people. They are less mature at 16 than our generation or even my parents' generation. Perhaps the increased life expectancy has contributed to this. Perhaps the secular culture promotes it too.

I seem to remember that Bar and Bat Mitzvahs occur at age 13 in Jewish faith traditions. Yet I wonder if that is too young: not that it's any of my business since I'm not Jewish.
0 x
Max (Plain Catholic)
Mt 24:35
Proverbs 18:2 A fool does not delight in understanding but only in revealing his own mind.
1 Corinthians 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is folly with God
User avatar
Josh
Posts: 23826
Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2016 6:23 pm
Location: 1000' ASL
Affiliation: The church of God

Re: Baptism and the Age of Accountability

Post by Josh »

I think that when someone's old enough to be married, they're old enough to choose to be baptised, and vice versa. Both are very significant, life-long commitments.
0 x
Post Reply