On Baptism: Mennonite-Catholic Theological Colloquium, 2001-2002, by Gerald W. Schlabach
2004. 147 pp. ISBN-13: 978-1894710473
"This book includes exchanges on the topic of baptism that took place via electronic correspondence in 2001 and 2002 under the auspices of the Mennonite-Catholic Theological Colloquium, a group of fifteen scholars seeking “sustained theological conversation between” the two traditions. The paper that served as the starting point for discussion is by the Catholic theologian Fritz Bauerschmidt, who argues that baptism incorporates children into “a visibly distinctive social order that is set apart from the world to be the instrument of the world’s salvation,” so that the critical factor “is not the age of the baptized but the social posture of the Christian community.” Responses from Joseph Capizzi, Thomas Finger, Stanley Hauerwas, Ivan Kauffman, Walter Klaassen, Alan Kreider and Gerald Schlabach explore various aspects of Bauerschmidt’s presentation, highlighting differences between and common understandings of ecclesiology, catechesis and sacrament. Kreider and Bauerschmidt, especially, undertake a discussion of the place of history in grappling with this topic. Complete reference citations accompany each text. Texts have been edited for publication, but not revised in light of the responses they generated, allowing the book to convey the participants’ original dialogue." - Mennonite Quarterly Review (January 2006)