Children of the Promise: The Biblical Case for Infant Baptism

I said in my review of Douglas Wilson's To a Thousand Generations that it was one of two books that finally convinced me of the paedobaptist position. This is the other one.Before I read this book, I was a Baptist, albeit one who had already accepted the basic premises of Covenant Theology.Booth doesn't merely address baptism in this book. The first part of it is a cogent explanation of Covenant Theology. If every Dispensationalist would read this book, perhaps we would stop "talking past each other." ...Booth's writing style is easy to read, and the vignettes presented with each chapter do a great job of illustrating his points.If you are a Baptist with questions on the subject, you owe it to yourself to read this book. If you already believe in paedobaptism, this book should help you understand why.

In this book, Robert Booth does a fabulous job of demonstrating that the essential unity of the various covenants that have been administered by God is the very basis for infant baptism. Understanding this unity will enable one to see that Scripture does indeed enjoin the promises in the covenant (forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God) not only to us, but to our children. God deals with His people corporately, not simply individually, and it is this that is perhaps most difficult for us in America to understand. Above all else, this book is well-written and faithful to the Word of God.

While Mr Booth's topic is primarily directed to why Christian children should receive the sign of the covenant "baptism", he also does an excellent job of showing why it is imperative that we see the Old & New Testament as a unity. He shows why we must understand the Old Testament to fully understand the New Testament.

This book is the best introduction to Covenant Theology that I've seen. Booth, formerly a Baptist pastor, provides a cogent presentation of Covenant Theology -- the undergirding foundation of infant baptism. He gives a thorough overview of the Biblical plan of redemption via successive, expanding covenants, culminating with the crowning achievement of redemption: the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. Frankly, I'd be surprised if anyone could walk away from this very "down to earth" book without "converting" to Covenant Theology in general and infant baptism in particular.

If there was any book I wished to give a layman who did not believe in infant baptism or was generally unfamiliar as to why the practice is done, this would be it. Pastor Booth writes in an easy to read style while at the same time deals adequately with the complex issues and arguments surrounding this divisive issue. He answers all the common objections to infant baptism in a convincing manner (while at the same time maintaining a spirit of charity), and he does answer some of the more recent works attacking infant baptism, although not to as rigorous an extent as I would have liked (e.g. Paul Jewett's book "Infant Baptism and the Covenant of Grace"). He does a very good job of explaining the household baptisms of Acts 16 (which, in my opinion, should settle the matter that people were baptized who had not made a profession of faith, a key objection to infant baptism), and he does an excellent job at demonstrating how the essence of God's eternal covenant has been the same from Genesis to Revelation - only the administration has changed. A weakness of the book is that he does not delve into the practice of infant baptism throughout the history of the new covenant church. Although this is treated by a different author in an appendix of the book, perhaps a more thorough list of quotations from many church fathers could have been helpful to demonstrate the universality of the practice until the advent of the Anabaptists in the 1500's. (Prior to that time, only fringe groups opposed the practice of infant baptism.) All in all, the book accomplishes its purpose in establishing infant baptism as the correct doctrine of New Testament teaching. Even the most ardent opponent of infant baptism will have difficulty countering the book's arguments without having to resort to straw man or red herring arguments.