St Luke's Church Eccleshill - Articles from "The Link"

Anglicans talking to Baptists

For many years there was little talking and listening between Anglicans and Baptists. That’s a great pity, because churches are supposed to be inclusive, not divided.

Perhaps it all started to go wrong shortly after the Reformation, when the Protestants believed that people should read the bible for themselves as God’s guide for their lives. It wasn’t long before different people started interpreting the bible in different ways. Here were some of the questions they found:

can babies really be baptised, or only people who can repent?
should there be bishops controlling the churches, or should each church really be led by the Holy Spirit individually?
should anyone be allowed to vote at a church meeting, or only those who have become born-again Christians?
should there be vicars, or is everyone equal in God’s church?
should leaders wear robes in church, or ordinary clothes?

These questions and lots of others were bandied about for nearly 100 years, until finally in 1662 the dissenters were told to conform or get out of the Church of England. Expulsion is not a good background for dialogue.

However, born-again believers of both denominations have never had much difficulty in being friendly, and it seems there is progress on all these fronts. I was particularly pleased to read of the progress on beliefs about baptism, in a General Synod report “Pushing at the Boundaries of Unity” (GS Misc 801).

Both churches agree nowadays that becoming a Christian (a follower of Jesus) is a process and not an instant. Anglican reports like “On the Way”, interdenominational ones like “Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry”, and plain common sense have all helped in this. Baptist churches can have problems of baptised unbelievers, and there is no right answer to the question “How old do you have to be to get baptized in a Baptist church?”

Both churches agree that a baptism service needs an opportunity for the candidate to make a personal affirmation of faith - so “confirmation” or an equivalent is important in a church which baptizes infants. This is still true even though some talk about “complete sacramental initiation” in baptism.

Both churches have services of Thanksgiving (or Dedication) for young children: proper services in their own right and lovely occasions (provided they’re done well).

The report doesn’t ask our churches to unite. It asks us to work together when we can, and avoid upsetting each other on contentious issues; and it gives some very sensible suggestions about how.

John Hartley

	*St Luke's Church, Eccleshill - The Link* magazine** The Link is published monthly at 40p (Senior Citizens 35p), and we deliver free within the parish and post copies (at the reader's expense) to those who request it. Please contact us if you would like a free copy for a trial period. April 2006, Page 6.
Home Page. Index of articles: by subject, by date. In this issue: (April 2006) Did Jesus die? A lonely cross, Annual Meeting, Baptists, Question.	Anglicans talking to Baptists For many years there was little talking and listening between Anglicans and Baptists. That’s a great pity, because churches are supposed to be inclusive, not divided. Perhaps it all started to go wrong shortly after the Reformation, when the Protestants believed that people should read the bible for themselves as God’s guide for their lives. It wasn’t long before different people started interpreting the bible in different ways. Here were some of the questions they found: can babies really be baptised, or only people who can repent? should there be bishops controlling the churches, or should each church really be led by the Holy Spirit individually? should anyone be allowed to vote at a church meeting, or only those who have become born-again Christians? should there be vicars, or is everyone equal in God’s church? should leaders wear robes in church, or ordinary clothes? These questions and lots of others were bandied about for nearly 100 years, until finally in 1662 the dissenters were told to conform or get out of the Church of England. Expulsion is not a good background for dialogue. However, born-again believers of both denominations have never had much difficulty in being friendly, and it seems there is progress on all these fronts. I was particularly pleased to read of the progress on beliefs about baptism, in a General Synod report “Pushing at the Boundaries of Unity” (GS Misc 801). Both churches agree nowadays that becoming a Christian (a follower of Jesus) is a process and not an instant. Anglican reports like “On the Way”, interdenominational ones like “Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry”, and plain common sense have all helped in this. Baptist churches can have problems of baptised unbelievers, and there is no right answer to the question “How old do you have to be to get baptized in a Baptist church?” Both churches agree that a baptism service needs an opportunity for the candidate to make a personal affirmation of faith - so “confirmation” or an equivalent is important in a church which baptizes infants. This is still true even though some talk about “complete sacramental initiation” in baptism. Both churches have services of Thanksgiving (or Dedication) for young children: proper services in their own right and lovely occasions (provided they’re done well). The report doesn’t ask our churches to unite. It asks us to work together when we can, and avoid upsetting each other on contentious issues; and it gives some very sensible suggestions about how. John Hartley
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