McCrie on Baptism
How did I miss this gem? I have never seen it listed, referred to or
quoted, but this is an outstanding contribution from the presbyterian and
reformed perspective.
Thomas McCrie, the younger,
was the elder son of his namesake, Thomas McCrie, the elder, biographer of John Knox
and Andrew Melville. McCrie was a pastor
and theological professor of the
Original Secession Church. When the majority
of this body joined the Free Church of Scotland in 1852 he became a minister of
the Free Church and served as Moderator in 1856.
McCrie, like his father, was
principally a church historian, but he
did produce one work of biblical theology, “Lectures on Christian Baptism”,
(1850). This work is a treasure!
It is pastoral. This is not a heavy theological tome for
theologians but the product of his teaching ministry at his congregation in
Edinburgh. It is written in simple,
direct language, with few footnotes. He believed that covenant baptism was at
the very heart of reformed faith and practice.
It was not a difficulty to be hidden, but a blessing to be proclaimed,
and he did so in this series of lectures given to the ordinary members of his
congregation.
It is persuasive. I have tried to keep abreast with current
reformed works on baptism and can say that McCrie stands head and shoulders
with them as a popular defence of covenant baptism. Argument after argument is presented in a
driving logic that forcefully establishes the truth. I especially appreciated his explanation of
baptism as a seal, given that there is a tendency among some Scottish
paedobaptists to teach a doctrine that verges on presumptive regeneration.
It is polemical. McCrie gently corrects the errors of those
who reject covenant baptism, the Baptists, and those who exaggerate the
sacramental efficiency of baptism, the High Anglicans who taught baptismal
regeneration. Firmly but fairly McCrie
shows the errors of these positions. (Federal
Vision theology was not around then, but the principles he enunciates, answers
their errors.) If there is such a thing as eirenical polemic then McCrie
exemplifies it.
Here is a work that can be shared
with our congregations in the knowledge that they can understand it without a
degree in theology or a mastery of biblical languages. It is available for
free:
No comments:
Post a Comment