334 Dimensions of Baptism
With this in mind, the present study will seek to explore the way in
which the baptism of believers is inextricably linked to a particular eccle-
siology and further, that it is not only an expression of that ecclesiology,
but a sacramental sign which makes a certain ecclesial reality possible. In
particular it shall be argued that the baptism of believers expresses the
belief that the Church is a fellowship of believers only. Further, the
baptism of believers offers an experiential view of faith which highlights
the devotional dimension of worship, as well as a discipleship model of
the Church which has creative possibilities for Christian witness and
mission.
It is ironic that, until the twentieth century,^3 Baptist writers have tended
to be more concerned with a polemical defence of their view concerning
who should be baptized and how they should be baptized, than with the
theological meaning of baptism. This is understandable as Baptists and
baptistic groups remain a minority within a world Church where the
majority of Christians practise the baptism of infants. The purpose of this
present study is not to examine Baptist writings on baptism in detail but to
link the baptism of believers to the Baptist understanding of the Church
within the context of some contemporary writings in sacramental and
liturgical theology.Worship as a Manifestation of the Church
The Lutheran theologian, Gordon Lathrop, illustrates the way in which
contemporary liturgical theology perceives the Church as the subject of
the liturgy and, therefore, interprets the act of worship itself as a manifes-
tation of the Church:From the viewpoint of liturgical theology, the most basic and constitutive
sense of the word 'church^5 refers to the communal gathering around
washing, texts, and meal, as these are interpreted as having to do with Jesus
Christ. The 'catholic church' is best perceived as the deep, biblically- For the development of sacramental interpretations in the twentieth century, see
Anthony R. Cross, Baptism and the Baptists: Theology and Practice in Twentieth-
Century Britain (SBHT, 3; Carlisle: Paternoster Press, 2000), pp. 341-48. However,
see Cross, 'Dispelling the Myth of English Baptist Baptismal Sacramentalism', BQ 38
(2000), pp. 367-91, for evidence that there have always been some Baptists who have
held to a sacramental understanding of baptism. See also S.K. Fowler, More Than a
Symbol: The British Baptist Recovery of Baptismal Sacramentalism (SBHT, 2; Carlisle:
Paternoster Press, 2002).