Baby dedications feel like a transition species in some sort of evolution away from infant baptism Jim Mon, 11/23/15 8:30 pm Fundamentalism & Evangelicalism Baby Dedications Several centuries from now I can imagine a church historian excavating the fossils of church bulletins and seeing the words “Baby Dedication” in an order of service. “What is that?!” the historian will exclaim. “Ah,” a colleague will knowingly nod. “That’s a late-twentieth century specimen called Paedo-Dedicatius. It was a transition species that evolved out of a herd of Presbtyerians roaming the North American continent who decided to join what were called ‘Bible churches.’ Their pastors were baptistic, so they wouldn’t baptize the babies, but they agreed to ‘dedicate’ them in order to placate the Presbyterian parents. Eventually the creature made its way into Baptist churches, too.” “I see,” the first historian replies. “It’s a very strange looking animal.” “Yes, indeed.” “I just cannot imagine what it was like to walk about on the earth in those days! Makes me nervous to think about…By the way, what’s a Presbyterian?” “Yes, those have gone extinct as well. You see…” Discussion
Discussion