My Pastor’s wife just gave birth to their first child this past weekend (congratulations!!!).
My Pastor baptized his newborn son there in the hospital.
Leaving aside the anabaptists, surely such an act is laudable – and in no way controversial.
Unless you blog it. Then everything is controversial.
Alas, my Pastor’s action, as detailed in his post on the event, was upbraided by a gentleman who holds dogmatically the belief that it is improper to baptize outside of the physical building of the church. At least, that’s how I read him – he seems to be a bit inconsistent so pinning down his exact position is difficult.
At any rate, this gentleman’s arguments seem to center around 2 basic assumptions:
1) That the building of the church is simply the “proper” place for baptism as the “sacred space in the community”
2) After all, that’s where the baptismal fonts are – and surely that means something!
I could belabor the fundamental absurdity and assumed anachronisms present in the case he lays out, but that is not the purpose of this post. Rather, the purpose I have in mind is to illustrate one basic truth:
Dogmatism without Scripture is bluster.
This gentleman tries to make a compelling argument for his position based on church history (tradition) and leaps of logic – and boy is he dogmatic.
But you know what? He has yet to cite Scripture in defense of his position. He has yet to go to the Word for its wisdom and truth. He has based his entire case on nothing more than the shifting sands of opinion and assertions that, quite frankly, are not at all supported by Scripture.
Dogmatic as he is, it’s nothing more than empty talk, hot air, vanity… In the words of my pastor: show me the Scriptures. Until then, it’s all just bluster.
This ascriptural dogmatism happens in the Church more than most of us recognize – this is a reminder to always, ALWAYS, be actively asking: where is this in the Bible?
Anyway, you should check out the post (which is good all by itself) and subsequent conversation to see for yourselves what this looks like. Oh, and you may recognize a certain, let us say “satirical” reference to Acts ch. 8 in my own contribution to the discussion. Rest assured, it is satirical only – my Bible reads just like the rest of yours. 
