All Christian theology is wrapped up in them . . . It is easier to rattle them off than to understand their implications. Yet many of the spiritual ancestors of our British Movement were unbaptized, and in the United States the Restoration Movement was under way for some time before the issue of baptism was faced. Obviously, then, baptism was part of something larger for which our pioneers were pleading. Reasons Why Baptism had the Major Emphasis Among Us 1.
Baptism is unique, dramatic, different.
There is something singularly inspiring in baptismal services, even when we have not given sufficient thought to practising them worshipfully. It is easy to point to and explain this difference of practice from the denominations, other differences between us, though just as important are less easily explained and less spectacular. Because we have taken a strong line for the scriptural practice of baptism as against the un-scriptural practice of the paedobaptists, we have been forced into an emphasis out of proportion to that of the New Testament. Baptism is readily argued about. The position taken by the pioneers of our Movement demands thought and study.