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From: "David Lamb" <>
Subject: Re: Baptists [was: Help! Where would you look next?]
Date: Wed, 14 Dec 2005 13:25:12 -0000
References: <000501c5ff7b$46d2d650$10d0ff3e@animausdjz8jw8> <000001c5ffc3$d49d2060$e4432f50@oemcomputer> <015801c60043$a32d9480$0202a8c0@Vaio>


Hello Colleen and other fellow-listers,

I think I may have confused this matter of Baptists and baptism by some lazy
or careless wording. I wrote:

"There is no minimum (or maximum:-) age for baptism laid down in the above,
though the "candidate" for baptism would clearly need to be old enough to be
able to "profess repentance towards God" etc."

It would perhaps have been less ambiguous if I had written something such
as:

"The above quotes (from Baptist statements of faith) make no mention of age.
They just say that a candidate for baptism must have personal faith in Jesus
Christ. There is no "set age" for this - different people come to faith in
Christ at different ages. The Essex-born 19th century preacher Charles
Haddon Spurgeon was born in Kelvedon in 1834, and was converted in
Colchester at the age of 16. Some people may be converted earlier, and some
may be in their old age."

So a Baptist church is unlikely to as a candidate for baptism, "How old are
you?" But it will ask about the candidate's faith in Christ. It's pretty
much the same as what happens in the Church of England, except that in
Baptist churches, the questions are put to the candidate himself, rather
than to godparents who answer on behalf of a baby.

I hope that is a little clearer. If not, please let me know.

Regards,
David Lamb (Paignton, Devon, UK)
Interests (Essex): BAXTER, BERRY, EREY, GOLDSTONE, LAMB, MOTT, PARTRIDGE,
SARGENT, TICHBORNE, WEBB, WHEELER, WILLSHER
(Suffolk): BRYNGLOVE, CRISPE, FINCH, PARTRIDGE, PORTER, PRATT

----- Original Message -----
From: "Colleen" <>
To: <>; <>
Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2005 12:16 AM
Subject: Re: Re: Baptists [was: Help! Where would you look next?]


> Yes, the registration districts were based on the hundreds, were, weren't
> they, so is it likely, do you think, David, that villagers of small
villages
> or hamlets around Burnham would have seen themselves as born in Burnham,
or
> that they would have described themselves as such?
>
> Regarding your other interesting points about the age for Baptisim of
> Baptists, at what age would you think someone in the late 18th or early
19th
> centuries might be considered old enough to profess their faith and so be
> Baptised into this church?
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
> Colleen


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