baptism as a “performative sign.”30
Two prominent Mennonite theologians also stand between the far poles marked by Erickson and Jones. In his short book Body Politics John Howard Yoder emphasizes the socio-political function of baptism. He treats four other ecclesial practices similarly. He believes that all are “actions of God, in and with, through, and under what men and women do.” Yoder writes, “Where they are happening, the people of God is real in the world.”31 Yoder’s approach is an attempt to mitigate against a deep leaning within Anabaptist theology toward “rationalism,” a word I use here non-technically, that runs the whole way back to the early Swiss Anabaptists’ affinity with the Zwinglian movement. This sort of rationalism denies out of hand, in ways that go beyond Zwingli, the possibility of Christ’s presence in and through the practices of the church. As I will argue later, this hems in the witness of Scripture and screws down tightly the lid on what we think is possible. A more recent Mennonite treatment of the subject can be found in Thomas Finger’s A Contemporary Anabaptist Theology. In this book he covers baptism under the heading, “The Communal Dimension.” Here Finger follows the early Anabaptist leader Pilgrim Marpeck in seeking to articulate an understanding of the sacrament that links the inner baptism of the Spirit with the outer baptism of water. He pairs this approach with contemporary ecumenical developments to describe the possibilities of a growing convergence between historically divided Christian communities.32 Finger raises concerns about the risks of a traditional Anabaptist emphasis on the voluntary individual. His concern is one that this project will attempt to take seriously. It echoes that of the systematic theologian Robert Jenson, who writes, “baptism, first, lets the gospel be unconditional and, second, prevents the separation of faith from community.”33 Both Yoder and Finger are willing to use sacramental terminology.34 Their work, along with that of a few others, hints at another of this book’s themes, which is that Anabaptist theology invites an approach that is not easily captured by either of the pure traditional types. The description of baptism toward which the following chapters move will be attentive to the gifts that various approaches bring to the contemporary church. It will gather momentum by striving to resist the temptation to consider baptism abstracted from the actual existence of the church or detached from its proper dogmatic location.
To take up the theological task is to work within the medium of words. This can only be done with a combination of boldness and humility, endeavoring to point toward a God who is not embarrassed to be described with such tools but whose being such tools are incapable of spanning. In preparing this manuscript I have often been reminded of these limitations. In spite of this, I seek to use certain terms in deliberate ways. For example, the terms “Jesus” and “Christ” will be used interchangeably to communicate the assumption that the Jesus of history is not separable from the Christ of faith. The term “church” will be used at times to indicate the community catholic and at others to describe local congregations. I am unconvinced that a neat separation of the two is relevant to the ontology of Christ’s body. When I speak of the church in a nonspecific way I usually intend the reference to be broadly understood, not merely referring to what occurs under the official auspices of specific denominations. The term “practice” will be often used to describe baptism in a generic sense. The terms “sacrament” and “ordinance” will be used with the specificity described earlier: the term “sacrament” applied to the practice in question to indicate that it effects what it signifies and the term “ordinance” when it functions only as a testimony to the work of Christ. If the terms “sign” or “symbol” are used in technical ways this will be noted. Beyond these specific terms I will employ some variety in references to baptism (i.e. “rite,” “ritual,” “ceremony”) to avoid a false confidence in the categorical distinctions of pure types. It seems to me that behind official denominational statements and confessional clarity churns the instability of congregational life in which the church’s practices are understood in numerous ways and with little consistency. I hope the raggedness of terminology at times communicates this.
At other points in this book the inconsistency of language is more regrettable. For example, while inclusive language will be used with respect to humanity, masculine pronouns are sometimes used with respect to God as this seems to be the only way to maintain the personhood and relationality of the Trinity. My assumption, though, is that such terms function analogically to describe the relationships of the triune God. They say little if anything about God’s gender or disposition. Lastly, at various times the focal community and thematic anchor of this study will be described as Christian, Believers Church, Anabaptist, or Mennonite. Some readers might even find evidence of my roots in the Swiss Mennonite tradition. These communities and the terms employed to name them are used to narrow or broaden the field of discourse at important points. The narrowing is not intended to be exclusive, but rather to clarify the participants in the conversation and the dynamics under analysis. It is impossible to fully represent the diversity of views held by those within any of these groups, and therefore it should be recognized that ultimately the argument presented here is my own.
Sequence
This project will proceed in three stages. The first, consisting of the first two chapters, is descriptive and analytical. Here I make the case that believers’ baptism must be reconceived. The first chapter focuses on the problematic phenomenon of young children being baptized in Anabaptist contexts and explores the theological assumptions that enable it. The second chapter furthers the analysis of the first by critiquing two alternatives to ecclesial mediation, which is the conceptual correction I propose. It also presents an outline of this concept in dialogue with the work of Karl Barth and John Howard Yoder. Though the analysis of denominational statements and confessions at various points in these first two chapters risks being tedious, it is essential to my approach that this book grapple with the practices and beliefs of actual communities instead of merely batting about the views of one theologian or another.
The second stage of the project will pick up where the constructive gestures in the first leave off and work toward an understanding of baptism through the larger topic of the relationship of the church to the second and third persons of the Trinity. The third chapter considers the work of Pilgram Marpeck alongside that of Dietrich Bonhoeffer to explore how Anabaptist communities might affirm that the church’s life is in some sense sacramental, that it constitutes God’s effective presence in the world. Here I propose that baptism be understood as a participating witness, a revision of Marpeck’s view. The next chapter opens with a description of a highly formative Anabaptist text, the Martyrs Mirror, and argues that God’s work through the church cannot be divorced from questions of the Spirit’s presence in this conflicted body across time. I suggest that even though this issue has been particularly challenging for Anabaptists, addressing it is crucial for a coherent construal of baptismal practice. Both of these chapters attempt to anchor believers’ baptism in the doctrine of God.
The third stage of this project moves from the theology proper discussed in the previous two chapters to a set of concrete recommendations. In this fifth and final chapter, I expand my description of baptism as a participating witness and, in conversation with ancient sources, propose a way of practicing baptism that can better serve the church and its new members.
My aim in this book is to make a contribution to the practical and intellectual life of the church. While the Anabaptist tradition claims roots in the Radical wing of the Protestant Reformation, it tacitly claims historical affinity with various movements and groups reaching back to the first century. Despite this long legacy of lived Christianity, Anabaptists have produced little critical theological reflection. I hope to contribute here to the newly blossoming body of literature written by those reflecting on Christian belief and practice from an Anabaptist perspective. A logical implication of this project for the Anabaptist community would be the conviction that our politics and ethics should be formed, and
