The Shaping of the Reformed Baptismal Rite in the Sixteenth Century

by Hughes Oliphant Old

This meticulously researched book recounts how the early sixteenth-century Reformers, steering a course between the old Latin rites on the one hand and the Anabaptist movement on the other, developed a baptismal service that they understood to be reformed according to Scripture. Hughes Oliphant Old's study shows the Reformed baptismal rite to be well thought out, pastorally sensitive, and theologically profound.

Genres: Theology, History, Church History

340 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1992

About the author

Dr. Hughes Oliphant Old was the John H. Leith Professor of Reformed Theology and Worship at Erskine Theological Seminary and Dean of the Institute for Reformed Worship. He was a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and studied at the University of Tübingen, the Protestant Theological Faculty of Paris, the Institute Catholique of Paris, and the University of Basel. He completed a D. théol. at the University of Neuchâtel and was appointed a member of the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton, New Jersey. His 18 years of pastoral ministry in two churches, combined with meticulous research, has informed his prolific publishing.

Reviews

[Peter Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very, very good. I loved this book, even though I couldn't translate all the German or Latin. There are two things I love about H. Old's writing.

First, he always tells you less than he knows. When you read him there are paragraphs which are little glimpses into the history of a subject or a person. You know that there are large amounts of information he left out. You wish you could sit down with him and have him expand on those paragraphs.

Second, he teaches theology through history. You think you are reading history, but when you are done your theology has morphed. He doesn't do this in an underhanded way. He simply shows how what men do and do not do in history flow from their theology. This book was superb in explaining that the reformers theology of baptism flowed directly from their theology of grace.

Two topics I enjoyed from this book. First, he explained how the Anabaptist opposition helped clarify the reformers' position. Second, I enjoyed the different types of baptismal prayers he quoted.

My theology and practice of baptism was clarified by this book. I am very grateful for H. Old's labors and scholarship. He has wielded a tremendous influence on my view of liturgy, sacraments and the Church.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took a little while to get going, but, once it does, it is a really brilliant book. The discussion of how the Reformed divines used the Bible's employment of synecdoches to refute the Anabaptists was especially interesting. If a part is made to represent a whole or vice versa, then the baptism of households and nations must include the children who reside therein. Of course, the Reformed defence of infant baptism is much broader than that one point, with heavy emphasis being placed on the substantial unity of the covenant of grace in all ages since the fall as a major factor undergirding the baptism of believers' children.

One minor criticism is that the author sets up a false dichotomy between the Reformers' belief that worship must be according to scripture and the Anabaptists' view that whatever is not commanded is forbidden. The Reformed believed that whatever is not commanded in worship is forbidden, a point evinced from John Calvin's writings alone, but they interpreted commanded in a broader sense than the Anabaptists did. In other words, they included both lawful biblical examples and what may be deduced from Scripture by good and necessary consequence in their definition of commanded worship.

Dr Old continually mentions one theologian called Leo Jud, whom I would love to know more about, though I am struggling to find anything by him in English. If you know of anything of his that has been translated, please let me know.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be fascinating, greatly informative and easily accessible. Old offers a look at the development of the practice of baptism among the Reformers, but in so doing he gives us much more than that. For anytime one studies the Reformers, one necessarily studies all of church history before the Reformers. This book offers a sweeping (but detailed) view of the baptismal rite from NT times into the early Christian centuries, through the long Middle Ages into the Reformation. Old analyzes changes in the rite of baptism in light of historical, political, and theological developments in the church and the culture generally. He demonstrates how the baptismal rite developed through the centuries and what the Reformers had to work with as they set to reforming the baptismal rite in their own churches. I've read a good deal about the Reformed doctrine of baptism, but I was blown away by how much I didn't know about the Reformed practice of baptism. Further, I am impressed at how conversant the Reformers were (generally, but specifically with regard to baptism) with the early and medieval church. The Reformers (and Old's presentation of their work and thought) should encourage us to read more broadly and be less provincial. This is an excellent book and is highly recommended for anyone interested in the doctrine and practice of baptism in the Reformed churches.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scholarly and passionate.

This really is a fantastic study. The writing is lucid and concise, and the subjects fascinating and instructive.

The great value in this sort of work lies in the light it sheds on the confessions of the Reformation period. Does our interpretation of their confessions line up with what we can see they evidently believed from their liturgies? Consequently, if we cannot say the same as the Rubrics of the 16th Century liturgies in our services it is for one of two reasons: either we wrongly interpret the meaning of their confessions or we have advanced beyond the truth they had and ought to admit that we no longer believe the same as they.

Absolutely loved it.

Favourite part(s): The section of the great baptismal invocation, and the which their catechisms reveal.

[Ryan Jankowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Old's book surveys the unfolding of Reformed baptismal liturgies across various locales of the 16th century reformation, including Zurich, Strasbourg, Geneva, and the Palatinate. He traces how Reformers revised inherited rites to align more closely with Scripture, emphasizing the Word, covenant theology, and the communal responsibilities of the church (pastors, parents, and even God-parents). This is worth reading and far superior to Karen Spierling's book on the same subject.

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fine.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a thorough and scholarly work on the shaping of the Reformed baptismal rite in the 16th century, just what I was looking for.

[Cbarrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent and helpful.