Well all the demanding for evidence of Reformed doctrine and practices reminded me of a discussion on another forum where someone demanded the same proof. He made the assertion then that Constantine was the one who instituted the practice of infant baptism. Well that discussion made me go back, dig out old notebooks, and textbooks from an era long long ago-- in another kingdom far far away-- Due West of nowhere, and I posted it for them--Forgive me for my laziness, but I will cut and paste from that forum and drop it into here. This is scripture verse, where I see 'Covenantal practices' and also early writings from some writers... BTW some of these writers were heretics (IMHO ), but the fact that they recorded such events or made mention of them will hopefully provide evidence of what we are looking for.
Hopefully I am not 'pontificating' but attempting to add some scriptural as well as historical evidence on the table-- which I see precious little of sometimes in 'apologetics'.
Quick reply to Constantine being the one to introduce paedo-baptism.
That is an old ana-baptist argument. Constantine was ruler from 306-337 AD.
First: lets discuss in scripture where we see Households being baptized:
1.) Acts 16:14-15 -- "One of them, a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, from the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God, listened, and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying. After she AND HER HOUSEHOLD had been baptized, she offered us an invitation ...."
2.) Acts 16:30-33 --"Then he (the jailer) brought them out and said, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?' And they (Paul & Silas) said, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus and you AND YOUR HOUSEHOLD will be saved.' So they spoke the Word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house. He took them in at that hour of the night (midnight, v. 25) and bathed their wounds; then he and ALL HIS FAMILY were baptized at once."
3.) Acts 18:8 --"Crispus, the synagogue official, came to believe in the Lord along with his ENTIRE HOUSEHOLD, and many of the Corinthians who heard believed and were baptized."
4.) See also Acts 10:24-27 & 10:44-48 where Peter Baptizes the entire family of Cornelius.
NOW-- from literary works, we read the Church Father St. Hippolytus of Rome in 215 AD ( almost a century prior to Constantine):
"And they shall Baptize the little children first. And if they can answer for themselves, let them answer. But if they cannot, let their parents answer or someone from their family." (Hippolytus of Rome, Apostolic Tradition, 21 c. AD 215).
Now Hippolytus was a student of Irenaeus of Lyon who wrote: "For He came to save all through Himself --all, I say, who through Him are born again to God [i.e., Baptized] -- infants, and children, and boys, and youths, and old men." (Irenaeus, Against the Heresies 2:22:4 -- c. AD 180)
Irenaeus was Polycarp's disciple, and Polycarp was the Apostle Johns disciple.
I could put more quotes up here from different Church fathers, but there are some whose theological views, even on infant baptism, I do not agree with.
All of this is merely to show you that it WAS OCCURRING prior to Constantine, and that the early church did practice infant baptism.
I think I disagree with Irenaeus-- I think he was off center just a bit in his theology.. in fact it seems to me his view on baptism is that it is the act which inducts one in to the Kingdom of God.
But it shows historically where infant baptism was occurring.
Now OC you said that in a covenant, the lesser is the one who 'makes' the covenant with the greater.
False. The lesser is never in a position to barter, cajole, or contract. It is always the greater who is in the position, and it is always the greater who generates the covenant, and then offers it to the lesser. IN this case, God made a covenant with man. God invites those whom he wills into his covenant-- God enables them to fulfill his covenant for His glory. God is the Originator, the author, the perfecter, and the finisher of our Faith, as well as his Covenant with His elect. He is the Captain of our Salvation...
You mention Germany's tumble into immorality, because: 'well if we are saved, then what does it matter how we live" ( read your bible in Romans .. Paul addresses the same question to the Romans who posed the same question... start in chapter 6. Lastly your summation of the reformed doctrine of the perseverance of the saints is misrepresented by the phrase: "Once saved, always saved". If you insist on using that phrase.. qualify it: "Once truly saved by God ( and the elect are unknown ) , Once always saved by God". Actually-- I believe Calvin said in regards to the perseverance issue: He that endures to the end shall be saved. Thats how Reformed theology views that.
One add on: Calvin believed immersion to be the proper method, but made allowances for other methods such as sprinkling.
“Whether the person baptized is to be wholly immersed . . . or whether he is only to be sprinkled with water, is not of the least consequence: churches should be at liberty to adopt either, according to the diversity of climates, although it is evident that the term baptize means to immerse, and that this was the form used by the primitive Church” (Institutes, 1975 ed., Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, II, 524.)
