Christian Baptism

This vintage classic remains one of the finest treatments of this subject. For decades it has been my "go-to" book. It was a pleasure to replace my well-worn and flood-damaged copy with this excellent printing.

good presentation. Credo Baptists need to read this and quit accusing us of taking shortcuts or clinging to romish doctrine.

I read this book at Covenant Theological Seminary when I was working on my Master of Divinity degree. I'm now serving as a pastor in Pearland, Texas as Faith Community Church. The book was excellent and provided a thorough answer to those who are against infant baptism. Dr. Murray's discussion on the concept of abrogation is worth buying the book. His grasp of the issues and solid appeal to careful study of relevant Hebrew and Greek terms is very helpful. This book convinced me not to become a baptist because it gave a convincing case for infant baptism and modes beyond immersion. I highly recommend this book for those trying to establish a Biblical understanding of the subject.

... by a master Theologian. While those who deny the validity of the baptism of the children of believers are many & make much noise, their arguments upon closer examination are less than convincing. Prof Murray lays out a careful and quite biblical exposition of the classic reformed view on baptism which includes not only converts, but the children of converts as well.If you have an open mind, the least you can say after reading this book is that he has laid out a plausible case for his position.Of course, if you are wedded to the American (& now Western) emphasis upon "individualism," you will not be convinced. Quite frankly, that is because of the individualistic grid through which you read the scriptures. However, non-western peoples have little problem understanding the Covenantal position on household baptisms.How you will view the matter of baptism all depends upon your starting world view. Not exegesis.Recommended!

In my search for what to believe about the what, why, how, and whom of baptism this book was most helpful. Murry gives the fullest, most bible-based explanation of baptism I have read to date. He systematically addresses all the pertinent issues using scripture as his base with helpful footnotes explaining what various creeds and theologians have said as well. His defense of infant baptism is grounded in the covenants of the Old Testament carried through a close examination of Acts and the New Testament letters.The only problem with this book is the use of Greek and Hebrew letters in the discussion about the meanings of words in regard to what baptism is and is not. I have a very rudimentary understanding of Greek pronunciation, and no idea how to pronounce Hebrew letters. This was highly distracting while trying to follow a fairly complex arguement. I would like to see an edition of this book with English pronunications inserted after the Greek and Hebrew words.Although I am not thoroughly convinced infant baptism is the way to go this book gave me a lot to ponder as I turn my sights on the last leg of this journey to find out what to do regarding my children.Highly recommended.

So glad I discovered this book! I wanted to know more about the subject of baptism, specifically about the mode of baptism (sprinkle or immersion?) and infant baptism (commanded by God or no?). I was raised believing one way and then in high school, I switched to a church that thought another. So since then, the subject of baptism has been a bit hazy for me until I read this book. Theologian John Murray lays it out somewhat simply (some of the Hebrew word references got confusing and some parts were a bit wordy) as he supports his views with multiple Scriptural references and other reputable theologians' references (i.e., John Calvin). While I may not thoroughly understand all of what he said, I walked away from Christian Baptism with greater knowledge of what baptism and infant baptism is and how it applies to the Christian and the Church.

John Murray is without a doubt one of the greatest theologians of all time, and certainly this past century.But in this work, he was unable to clearly make his case because of inherent tensions in his presentation.Chapter 2 on the Mode of Baptism was perfect and extremely convincing. But when he gets to chapter three on the Church, he undermines the entire case of his book by his inability to properly classify the state of the Church. I don't think John Murray had a wrong view of the Church, but I don't think he was able to explain his views in such a short space. He referred to the "Invisible" and "Visible" Church several times and then said he didn't like those words, and that they weren't really scriptural. Much of the book was him wrestling against those terms with nothing to replace them with. This carried over into the other chapters, such as the one on Infant Baptism. You can see in this book how many of the tensions or unclear points of his theology were later sorted out and expounded upon (rightly or wrongly) by Professor Norman Shepard and Doug Wilson.But none the less, he makes a decent case for Infant Baptism. But his thesis and entire book is overshadowed by the confusion regarding the Visible and Invisible Church. In addition, he gives a very unlikely exegesis of Romans 6.

Very clear reasoning for his views on a subject that is not always clear to many Christians.