A Conversation Around Baptism

All Christians get baptized; it is one of the central realities of our faith, an act upon which we can all agree. Except that some of us baptize infants and some of us only baptize adult believers. In a world where people of different denominations and even faith traditions interact, and especially in a seminary where people of many different denominations interact, the subject of when people should be baptized can lead to spirited discussions.

On Thursday, December 7, at 4:00 pm, the Reformed Church Center at New Brunswick Theological Seminary will host a “Conversation Around Baptism,” particularly around when we believe people should be baptized and why. Theologians representing both infant and believer baptism traditions will present their understandings, and then we will all participate in discussion over dinner, wrapping up around 6:00. The suggested donation for dinner is $15.00, but it is free for NBTS students, faculty, and staff. RSVP to jbrumm@nbts.edu by Monday, December 4.

Danielle L. Brown is the Pastor of Church Life at Cathedral International in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and serves as the Moderator of the Raritan Association of the American Baptist Churches of New Jersey.  In addition to her work in the local church and denomination, she is an increasingly sought after preacher and workshop facilitator.  Dr. Brown is also a member of the Board of Trustees at New Brunswick Theological Seminary and the Mayor’s Strategic Planning Committee in the City of Perth Amboy.  Rev. Dr. Brown holds an MEd from Virginia State University; MDiv and MA degrees from New Brunswick Theological Seminary; and a DMin from Palmer Theological Seminary, where she studied Leadership and Church Renewal.

Daniel Meeter is pastor of the Old First Reformed Church of Brooklyn, NY, with an MDiv degree from New Brunswick Theological Seminary and a PhD from Drew University. He has published extensively, and his book Meeting Each Other in Doctrine, Liturgy, and Government (Eerdmans, 1993) is considered one of the most important modern works on the Constitution of the Reformed Church in America. One area of his concern is the texts and contexts of Reformed baptismal liturgies.

John A. Radano served in the Department of Religious Studies at Seton Hall University from 1965-1984, and was its chairman from 1977-1984, specializing in ecumenical studies. He continues there as Adjunct Professor of Systematic Theology in the School of Theology. He has participated in the North American Academy of Ecumenists, in two international assemblies of the World Conference on Religion and Peace (Princeton, New Jersey, 1979, and Nairobi, Kenya, 1984), and as member of the Pax Romana (a Catholic NGO) delegation at the United Nations (1975-79), and head of the delegation (1977-79). From 1984-2008, he served in the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity(PCPCU), Vatican City, and in 1985, Pope John Paul II appointed him as head of that Pontifical Council’s Western Section. He is the author of several books and numerous articles.