In perusing the blogs I ran across an interesting blog article. It referenced a story about groups of atheists and secularists seeking to be “de-baptised”. In this story the atheist and secularist affirm that baptism should be done by those who make a conscious decision to do so. Do not get me wrong, I am not saying these atheists and secularists are doing this on a theological conviction based on scripture. I am saying that they are using the argument that we Baptists have used for years–an infant does not have the capacity to affirm their profession of faith in Jesus Christ. We Baptists base our conviction on scripture, not concerning an infant’s capacity to decide, but on the example of Jesus and the Greek word used to describe baptism.
John Hunt, a 58-year-old nurse, began the movement when he applied to be “de-baptised” from his faith. Following the legal counsel from the Church of England, he published an announcement in the London Gazette. Hunt held that he was too young to make any decision when he was christened at five months old. We now have atheists and secularists affirming what Baptists have advocated for years–infant baptism is nothing more than a religious practice that means nothing to the person involved.
Baptism by immersion is a personal decision made by a believer. This decision should be based on a clear conviction of that believer that scripture calls one to this step. One identifies with the Lord Jesus Christ through this act and that should never be taken lightly. Nor should it be dumbed down because others try to call one pharisaical because of the insistence on baptism by immersion.
