Aug
24
2009
Romanian Baptists on the Problem of SBC "Rebaptizing"
I have a number of friends who have grown up in Baptist churches. Many were baptized as children, again as teenagers, and then again as adults. (I remember one church baptizing the entire youth group after a special weekend retreat. Nevermind that most of these teens had grown up in church and been baptized once or twice before!)
Most of those who have been baptized more than once will claim that their earlier baptisms were invalid because they were not truly saved, or they did not know enough about what was going on to see their baptism as personally meaningful. Dr. Danny Akin recently estimated that perhaps 50% of our baptisms are “re-baptisms.”
During my five years of ministry in Romania, I discovered that this problem (which seems to plague Southern Baptist churches in the States) was virtually non-existent in Eastern Europe. In five years time, I never once witnessed a “re-baptism.” Never once did someone in a Baptist church there even ask for such a thing.
Why do Baptists in America have this problem? And how do Baptists in Romania avoid this problem?
In answer to this question, I will be posting a forum featuring several Romanian Baptist theologians and pastors. I have asked some specific questions about Baptist practice in Romania, and have translated their answers for the benefit of Southern Baptists in the U.S.
Americans send missionaries elsewhere to train others. But I believe that we in America can benefit from hearing from our brothers and sisters overseas as well. Here are brief biographies of the participants in this week’s forum.
Dr. Paul Negruț
President of Emanuel University of Oradea
Pastor of Emanuel Baptist Church, Oradea, Romania
Former president of the Romanian Baptist Union
Married to Delia since 1975; 2 daughters: Anna-Salomea (b. 1979), married to John, gave us first grandson, Paul Gabriel (4 yr. old) and Lois Paula (b. 1985), married to Sebastian.
Author of Revelație, Scriptură, Comuniune, Cristos, Biserica și Lucrurile de pe Urmă, Suveranitatea lui Dumnezeu și Sensul Vieții sub Soare, Nu este Bine ca Omul să fie Singur, and Biserica, Statul și Autoritatea.
Doru Hnatiuc
Pastor of Emanuel Baptist Church, Oradea
Professor of Homiletics at Emanuel University
Contributor of articles to Creștinul Azi and Mesaj
Editor of numerous books
Dr. Corneliu Simuț
Reader in Dogmatic & Historical Theology at Emanuel University
Editor of Perichoresis
Author of The Doctrine of Salvation in the Sermons of Richard Hooker
Dr. Marius Cruceru
Pastor of Aleșd Baptist Church
Dean of the School of Theology at Emanuel University
Author of Intoarcerea în Oglinda and Augustin: Un Amator…