I Wish that I could Be Like the Cool Kids
The PCA and Paedobaptist Insecurity
Just recently, I had the privilege of attending the baptism of a dear friend’s daughter at a sister Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) congregation. The baptismal liturgy (“liturgy” might be too strong of a word, but we will stick with that) was the standard PCA method: a clear statement negating that baptism has any sort of salvific power followed by a defense of the practice of infant baptism aimed at an imaginary credobaptist audience, and then the vows by the parents followed by the actually sacramental action of baptism. At this point, the PCA method of baptism no longer triggers me. I have been in and around the Presbyterian world for five years now, so I kind of just expect it. However, this time around, I viscerally felt what lies at the root of this PCA Method: a deep-seated insecurity in both Reformed sacramental theology and the practice of paedobaptism itself.
There are two sorts of insecurity at play here: an insecurity of perception and an insecurity in doctrine. Both have their roots in the predominantly credobaptist sandbox of American Evangelicalism, which the PCA, despite being paedobaptist, plays in. For better or for worse, the PCA has a long history of institutional friendship and collaboration with broader Evangelicalism’s leaders, parachurch ministries, and publishing houses. This has led to the PCA largely adopting a sort of Evangelical sociology that comes with common assumptions regarding theology, piety, and practice.
One could argue that by playing in this sandbox, the PCA has been able to punch above its weight in influence and help move Evangelicalism in positive directions, as seen in the case of the Calvinist resurgence in the first fifteen years of this century. However, it is much more the case that the other players in the sandbox have done much more to shape the character of the PCA than vice versa. An example of this, that is likely obvious for many PCAers, is the prevalence of worship teams and Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) within the PCA. The CCM movement itself is a chief pillar of what makes Contemporary Evangelicalism what it is and has its root in the hyper-evangelical Jesus Movement of the 1960s. It is music designed to be sold to Evangelical congregations. It is written to reinforce Evangelical theology and piety, with a heavy focus on individual conversion and salvation. It seeks to appeal to the current trendy aesthetic in vogue in the Evangelical subculture. Simply put, it is not music designed with Confessional Protestants in mind, much less Presbyterians. The truth is, Credobaptist Evangelicalism— which really just is Evangelicalism— doesn’t think much about their Presbyterian neighbors; in fact, they don’t think about them at all.
When Baptists baptize, they do not spend time defending credobaptism against an imagined Presbyterian audience. If they do critique paedobaptism, it is directed at the Ex-Roman Catholic converts that fill up Evangelical pews. And yet, as a result of their position in the sandbox, Presbyterians in the PCA cannot help but think of their much cooler and larger Credobaptist Evangelical cousins when it comes time to baptize their children. This leads them to a default position of being on the defensive every time they commit what amounts to an apparent sin against the assumptions of Evangelicalism.
Rather than boldly teaching the Reformed doctrine of infant baptism and its efficacy, they instead pivot toward merely attempting to convince the rest of the world that they are not crazy for baptizing infants and that, actually, it is not that big of a deal, and we can just agree to disagree because there are fine people on both sides. But it is not only insecurity regarding the perceived insanity of baptizing infants that trips PCAers up; it is also the Reformed doctrine of the efficacy of baptism. Due to their fear of being labeled as “basically Catholic” by their Evangelical friends, the PCA Method adopts the strategy of negating any gracious efficacy to the sacrament of baptism.
Instead of planting their flag in the Reformed tradition’s glorious teaching that baptism is not only a symbol but a sure witness and effectual means of salvation whereby God applies to us the benefits of Christ’s redeeming work, they entirely negate any sort of grace in baptism by promising the congregation that “now we don’t believe this baptism gives any sort of grace or saves this infant.” All of this is done, in fear and trembling, to give a pinch to the altar of Evangelical assumptions.
But let’s be nice. In many cases, this negation of the efficacy of baptism is rooted more in genuine ignorance of the Reformed teaching on the topic due to the diluted nature of contemporary Presbyterianism. However, that is still no excuse. It is the duty of officers in the PCA to subscribe to and teach according to the system of doctrine set forth in the Westminster Standards. Thus, it is also the duty of officers to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the standards so that they may subscribe to them and teach them. These Standards quite clearly condemn those who would reduce baptism from an effectual means of salvation to a mere symbol.
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