It Takes a Church to Baptize: What the Bible Says about Infant Baptism

The issue of baptism has troubled Protestants for centuries. Should infants be baptized before their faith is conscious, or does God command the baptism of babies whose parents have been baptized?

Popular New Testament scholar Scot McKnight makes a biblical case for infant baptism, exploring its history, meaning, and practice and showing that infant baptism is the most historic Christian way of forming children into the faith. He explains that the church's practice of infant baptism developed straight from the Bible and argues that it must begin with the family and then extend to the church. Baptism is not just an individual profession of faith: it takes a family and a church community to nurture a child into faith over time. McKnight explains infant baptism for readers coming from a tradition that baptizes adults only, and he counters criticisms that fail to consider the role of families in the formation of faith. The book includes a foreword by Todd Hunter and an afterword by Gerald McDermott.

Scot McKnight (PhD, University of Nottingham), a world-renowned scholar, writer, and speaker, is Julius R. Mantey Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Lisle, Illinois. His blog, Jesus Creed, is one of the most popular and influential evangelical blogs. McKnight is the author or editor of more than sixty books, including Adam and the Genome, Kingdom Conspiracy, The Jesus Creed, The Blue Parakeet, The King Jesus Gospel, and The Apostle Paul and the Christian Life. He is also a canon theologian for the Diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others.