Rebaptism After Misunderstanding Baptismal Meaning
The question of whether someone should be rebaptized after misunderstanding the meaning of baptism is a contested issue across Christian traditions. The disagreement centers on whether a person who was baptized with a flawed understanding of baptism's significance should undergo baptism again.
One position, represented by John Calvin and other Reformed theologians, argues that rebaptism is not necessary, even if the individual's initial understanding of baptism was incorrect. Calvin contends that John's baptism was a "true baptism" and "one and the same with the baptism of Christ" [1]. According to this view, the validity of baptism is not dependent on the individual's comprehension of its meaning. Calvin also emphasizes that baptism is a sacrament that signifies a person's incorporation into Christ's body, regardless of their initial understanding [5].
In contrast, some traditions, such as the Baptist/Reformed perspective represented by John Gill, emphasize the importance of a conscious, faith-based decision for baptism. Gill argues that water baptism is distinct from the baptism of the Spirit and that not everyone baptized in water is baptized in the Spirit [6]. This perspective suggests that a person who was baptized without a genuine faith commitment or understanding of baptism's significance may need to be rebaptized if they later come to a deeper understanding of the sacrament.
The Catholic tradition, as represented by Thomas Aquinas, takes a nuanced view. Aquinas argues that those baptized by John the Baptist without knowledge of the Holy Spirit and who based their hopes on John's baptism should be baptized again with the baptism of Christ. However, those who believed in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and did not base their hope on John's baptism were not rebaptized [2].
The Eastern Orthodox tradition, represented by John of Damascus, emphasizes the importance of baptism as a declaration of the Lord's death and a means of being "buried with the Lord through baptism" [3]. While not directly addressing rebaptism, this perspective highlights the significance of baptism as a sacrament that is not to be repeated.
The Anglican tradition, as reflected in the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, acknowledges that baptism is a sacrament that signifies regeneration, but also recognizes that individuals can fall into sin after baptism and that repentance is possible [4].
The disagreement among traditions on this issue stems from differing hermeneutical commitments, such as the understanding of baptism's significance, the role of faith in baptism, and the sacrament's relationship to salvation. While some traditions emphasize the objective validity of baptism, others stress the importance of a subjective, faith-based response.
Sources
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 97: to which Paul questioned them, were given to the disciples of Christ. I grant that John’s was a true baptism, and one and the same with the baptism of Christ. But I deny that they were rebaptised (see Calv. Instruct. adv. Anabapt.). What then is meant by the words, “They were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus”? Some interpret that they were only instructed in sound doctrine by Paul; but I would rather interpret more simply, that the baptism of the Holy Spirit, in other words, the visible gifts of the Holy Spirit, were given by”
- theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Third Part (Tertia Pars), Of the Baptism of John, Art. 6: Article: Whether those who had been baptized with John's baptism had to be baptized with the baptism of Christ? I answer that, According to the opinion of the Master (Sent. iv, D, 2), "those who had been baptized by John without knowing of the existence of the Holy Ghost, and who based their hopes on his baptism, were afterwards baptized with the baptism of Christ: but those who did not base their hope on John's baptism, and who believed in the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, were not baptized afterwards, but rec”
- CCEL (Eastern Orthodox) “John of Damascus, An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, section 85: Chapter IX .— Concerning Faith and Baptism. We confess one baptism for the remission of sins and for life eternal. For baptism declares the Lord’s death. We are indeed “buried with the Lord through baptism 2288 2288 Col. ii. 12 . ,” as saith the divine Apostle. So then, as our Lord died once for all, we also must be baptized once for all, and baptized according to the Word of the Lord, In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit 2289 2289 St. Matt. xxviii. 19 . , being taught the confession in Father”
- Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (Anglican) “Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (Anglican, 1571), Section 239: Not every deadly sin willingly committed after Baptism is sin against the Holy Ghost, and unpardonable. Wherefore the grant of repentance is not to be denied to such as fall into sin after Baptism. After we have received the Holy Ghost, we may depart from grace given, and fall into sin, and by the grace of God we may arise again, and amend our lives. And therefore they are to be condemned, which say, they can no more sin as long as they live here, or deny the place of forgiveness to such as truly repent.”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 98: passage, they will extract nothing from it, until they have previously overthrown the doctrine which we have already established concerning the regeneration of infants. 27. But they boast of having their strongest bulwark in the very 2548 institution of baptism, which they find in the last chapter of Matthew, where Christ, sending his disciples into all the world, commands them to teach and then baptise. Then, in the last chapter of Mark, it is added, “He that believeth, and is baptised, shall be saved” ( Mark 16:16 ). What more (s”
- 1 Corinthians (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on 1 Corinthians 12:13: For by one Spirit are we all baptized,.... This is to be understood not of water baptism; for the apostle says not in one, and the same water, but "by", or "in" one Spirit, are we all baptized; the baptism of water, and of the Spirit, are two different things; see Mat 3:11. Besides, all that are baptized in water, are not baptized in or by the Spirit, as the case of Simon Magus, and that of others, show; nor does water baptism incorporate persons into the church of Christ; neither into the invisible church, which is the body of Christ, and here meant; nor into”