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“Believe and Be Baptized”: Conversations on Baptism in the Anabaptist-Mennonite Tradition

This study guide is intended to help introduce “Baptism and Incorporation into the Body of Christ, the Church” to churches who are part of the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. It begins with a brief overview of the ritual of baptism in the Bible and the Early Church, and traces the emergence of the Catholic tradition of infant baptism. It then introduces the Anabaptist conviction that following Jesus and participating in the life of the church should be a conscious decision, symbolized by voluntary, or adult, baptism, rather than infant baptism. Subsequent chapters extend the conversation to the larger Christian Church by following the structure of “Baptism and Incorporation into the Body of Christ, the Church”, giving particular attention to the relationship of baptism to sin, grace, faith, discipleship, and the life of the church. Although the orientation of the study guide is clearly intended for an Anabaptist-Mennonite readership, the text always seeks to present the Catholic and Lutheran perspectives in a clear and fair way. Along the way, the study guide also attempts to honestly acknowledge a host of pastoral questions that Anabaptist-Mennonite congregations continue to confr

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