I want to post at least one more entry under this title. In light of some discussions I have had lately on the topic of baptism, and specifically regarding the particular argument discussed in the last two articles, I want to make another observation.

I was thinking about the argument and I believe there is another fallacy going on here as well. Though it is usually unspoken, I do believe it is implied in the way that the argument is used.

First let me restate the argument that I am considering.

Premise 1. Believers are to be baptized.
Premise 2. Infants cannot believe.
Conclusion 3. Therefore Infants cannot be baptized.

Now, as has been stated several times and in several ways in the last two articles, the most glaring fallacy is that the subject of premise one and two are not the same, therefore what is true of the subject of premise one cannot be said to be untrue of the subject of premise two. The conclusion does not follow necessarily. But this is not the reason for this third entry, so I don’t want to be redundant by continuing to focus on this same critique.

Which brings me to my next critique. While discussing this argument with a baptist friend of mine, he asked me the following question. “Terry, in what way would we define baptism if not with this verse in Mark 16:16?” His point was, how are we to know to whom baptism is limited if we don’t follow the description in the verse under consideration. Well their are several ways to answer that question, but that is for another day and another article.

For now I want to point out what I believe is being implied in this kind of question and how it speaks to understanding the use of the argument made from this verse and others like it. I want to suggest that when the first premise is stated in the argument, in the mind of the person using th argument “believers” is actually “believers only”. So, the argument would then look look this:

Premise 1. Baptism is for believers only.
Premise 2. Infants are not believers.
Conclusion 3. Therefore infants cannot be baptized.

The fallacy of this argument should be easy to spot for those who understand the proper use of argumentation. This is circular reasoning. The conclusion is assumed in the first premise and therefore the argument fails because it proves nothing. It is a mere unproven assertion at this point.

Because this fallacy is unspoken and exist in the mind of the person using the argument it may be the reason why many have a hard time seeing the problem with the argument:

Premise 1. Believers are to be baptized.
Premise 2. Infants are not believers.
Conclusion 3. Therefore they are not to be baptized.

Because in their minds they are assuming the conclusion in the first premise, i.e. “Believers only” they cannot see how that the conclusion does not follow. They are convinced before they even use the argument that baptism can only be for believers, and will not allow for any other conclusion. So, because of this unspoken assumption they are “begging the question” and so they are guilty of the fallacy of circular reasoning.

Blessings in Christ,

Terry W. West