THE MENNONITE BROTHERHOOD IN RUSSIA (1789 - 1910), P. M. Friesen, 1911

“Should persecution on the part of the believers be directed toward us on account of the Word of God, we will pray for our oppressors, Rom. 12:14, as Christ taught us, and endure persecution gladly, 124 Luke 6:22, 23. We consider this present momentary affliction not worthy of the glory which shall be revealed to us. We admonish one another accordingly, for example with the words of I Pet. 4:12-19. 2 . "Concerning Dogmas, Customs, Regulations, and Capital Punishment a) “The Anabaptists reject infant baptism and insist that re-baptism is absolutely necessary for anyone wishing to join their sect. They declare themselves willing to baptize infants only in extreme cases, and then only on the condition that the child will be allowed to believe what he will later in life. b) “Infant baptism runs counter to the dictates of God’s Word, nor do we take into consideration any transmitted traditions. We simply rely on the Word of God, asking the candidates— as the apostles did before they baptized— whether or not they have faith and then baptize upon an affirmative response, as in the case of Philip the Ethiopian Eunuch, Acts 8:37-39. If some wish to suggest that the fact that the apostles baptized whole families is evidence for infant baptism, as, for example, Peter and the household of Cornelius, Acts 10, and Paul and the Philippian jailor’s house- hold, Acts 16, and other instances in which children may have been bap- tized, we will not allow ourselves to be entangled in such assumptions, acknowledging that children may well have been present; but these were obviously not too young to rejoice in God’s grace— as the latter example suggests, while the first states that all possessed the Spirit of God which Local Councils against Einlage 331 came over Cornelius’ household. Thus we too baptize children if they can give a living testimony to the grace of God in their hearts. Infants, how- ever, are not baptized under any circumstances— nor do they require baptism at that stage— for Christ Himself has pronounced them blessed. Nor do we refer to our baptism as a rebaptism, for because the earlier baptism was not based upon faith, we now baptize upon the faith as the sign and covenant of a good conscience with God, I Peter 3:21. In Acts 19 Paul does not recognize John's baptism of the twelve men, but baptizes them again on the basis of a living faith in Christ. We remain true to the basic principle expressed by Christ when He spoke to His disciples just before His ascension: Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized, shall be saved, but whoever does not believe, shall be damned, Mark 16:16. a) “They reject the belief in predestination according to the grace of God. [What is one to make of such a complaint?!] b) ‘ ‘And he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to th