Why Some Churches Practice Infant Baptism and others do not.

[Valerie]

But we can't honestly try to join an Anabaptist church when we learned what we learned. They are, no offense, about the most stubborn people I've met but love them anyway

We prefer to think of it as "earnestly contending for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints."

I know. But I've seen the same people contend against each other here and seem to never move from their positions and reading my Mennonites in Europe history book, well,,,,,,,,,,

[Josh]

But we can't honestly try to join an Anabaptist church when we learned what we learned. They are, no offense, about the most stubborn people I've met but love them anyway

We prefer to think of it as "earnestly contending for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints."

I know. But I've seen the same people contend against each other here and seem to never move from their positions and reading my Mennonites in Europe history book, well,,,,,,,,,,

Why would any of us change a position that is correct and biblical?

[ken_sylvania]

All that has nothing to do with the ancient practice of baptizing a Christians infants & children and the other "Protestant" denominations that believe to do so too, which is what this topic was about. Bad behavior does not negate what was taught. We have visited probably 12 different Orthodox congregations. We spent about a year in one and visit periodically and these are very devout Christians. I refuse to see these people as Apostate no matter what's going on. Jesus did not write off the Jews nor did Paul because they messed up and God did command war so that doesn't make their teachings wrong - any more than bad Jews made the teachings wrong

Ancient does not equate to what Jesus and the apostles taught in the scriptures. Christianity is about following Jesus.

Jesus started the Church with His Apostles. The Holy Spirit then was poured out on them and the church began and it was said long before Constantine by Origen that the Apostles themselves taught to baptize infants. This was not a late invention.

Uh.. I guess you realize that Origen made his comments about baptizing infants long, long after the last of the apostles had died. That seems kind of like a late invention to me...

[Valerie]

Are you calling me a liar?

Before I was a Christian I invited them to our various Ultimate sort of parties (they didn’t attend). These tended to have a lot of alcohol involved.

It became very obvious due to dress issues etc when I became a Christian. After that point I also started talking about my new church. That was the point at which they invited me to check out their church.

No. You assumed they wouldn't invite you to church as they thought you were a heathen. Did they tell you that? Parkside is huge on evangelizing so I just wonder if you assumed wrongly

Well, they had a chance to do so for several years, and they didn’t do so until after I started attending a conservative Mennonite church.

What inference would you make?

Without being there, I don't know. Maybe they were planning to invite you but hadn't.

Why do we stay at Parkside? You know me by now. We don't fit anywhere completely anymore. We sure don't want to voice our differences unless someone starts a topic like this and says to "discuss" we are where we are 2000 years from the beginning, it is what it is- quite a mixed bag for Christians to choose from and Ii ts become almost as mudslinging as politicians

[ken_sylvania]

They are, no offense, about the most stubborn people I've met but love them anyway

I guess it takes one to know one, eh?

[Valerie]

Ancient does not equate to what Jesus and the apostles taught in the scriptures. Christianity is about following Jesus.

Jesus started the Church with His Apostles. The Holy Spirit then was poured out on them and the church began and it was said long before Constantine by Origen that the Apostles themselves taught to baptize infants. This was not a late invention.

Uh.. I guess you realize that Origen made his comments about baptizing infants long, long after the last of the apostles had died. That seems kind of like a late invention to me...

Apostolic succession. Handed down. He didn't just make that up.

[ken_sylvania]

Regarding reading 'back into the text' many would say those who believe in nonviolence are doing that. Jesus could have said something like 'follow me and get rid of your swords' ....

Well, he kind of did. He said "Love your enemies" and "whosever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also."
If a person will not hear such a clear command, neither will they be persuaded even if Christ were to actually demonstrate such nonresistance and subsequently rise from the dead.

[RZehr]

If those Amish at Parkside can, in spite of clear teaching and knowledge and practice, drop the covering after a short time passes - why would it be strange to find out that some people a hundred years after Christ apostatized and adopted infant baptism?

Sure, in the context of 2,000 years of history, the first 100 years is fairly early. But apostasy doesn’t need decades - see Parkside Amish. Or see how most of Christiany dropped the head covering practice in the modern era. Getting off course can happen anytime, early or late, and can happen fast or slowly over time.

So the fact that infant baptism happened long ago shouldn’t really be any more material than if it happened 100 years ago.

[ken_sylvania]

Jesus started the Church with His Apostles. The Holy Spirit then was poured out on them and the church began and it was said long before Constantine by Origen that the Apostles themselves taught to baptize infants. This was not a late invention.

Uh.. I guess you realize that Origen made his comments about baptizing infants long, long after the last of the apostles had died. That seems kind of like a late invention to me...

Apostolic succession. Handed down. He didn't just make that up.

How do you know he didn't just make it up? How do you know he didn't just assume that's where it came from? It's not like he heard anything from the apostles themselves. By Origen's day there was all kinds of things had already changed from the Apostles time.

[Soloist]

Uh.. I guess you realize that Origen made his comments about baptizing infants long, long after the last of the apostles had died. That seems kind of like a late invention to me...

Apostolic succession. Handed down. He didn't just make that up.

How do you know he didn't just make it up? How do you know he didn't just assume that's where it came from? It's not like he heard anything from the apostles themselves. By Origen's day there was all kinds of things had already changed from the Apostles time.

Who ordained Diotrephes? Did he ordain anyone else? Do you know?
Handed down indeed.

We don’t have the originals, the men who claimed it didn’t say who taught them and clearly were not taught by the apostles.
Therefore you are making a conclusion based not on documented records but on an argument that is flawed.