Were the Anabaptists Right on Immersionism?
Crossett examines the Anabaptist and Baptist practice of believer's baptism by immersion, arguing that their insistence on this mode reflected an Arminian theology emphasizing human choice rather than God's sovereign grace. The article critiques immersionism as a sign that portrays salvation through human agency rather than through God's elective will and effectual grace, contrasting it with Reformed sacramental theology.
Brian Crossett The Anabaptists in the sixteenth century and onwards took exception to the word “Anabaptist” that was used by their theological opponents to refer to them as those who “baptize again.” Their position was that the name “Anabaptist” did not properly belong to them and that they were simply “baptists” in the true sense of the word. They reckoned that they did not baptize again because those whom they baptized were now baptized for the first time, since baptism of covenant children...