Probably They are God’s Children: Theodore Beza’s Doctrine Of Baptism

Abstract

The discussion that took place between Theodore Beza and Jacob Andreae during the Colloquy of Montbeliard in 1586 highlights the differences among the French Reformed doctrine, the doctrine derived from the Basle Reformation, and the Lutheran doctrine. It also makes very clear how consistendy the Genevan Reformers related their sacramental theology, their understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit, and their doctrine of predestination.

Renaissance and reformation revisited

“…In their debates on the proper understanding of baptism, Jill Raitt concludes that 'for Beza, the Spirit worked through gifts that utilized human faculties', whereas Andreae invoked the supernatural. 23 The notion that 'Erasmian reform' and 'Calvinist reformation' were part of the same spectrum -a commitment to the ethical renewal of the Church -can be found, too, in the writings of Charles Perrot, minister at Geneva for forty years until his death in 1608. 24 A similar progression, albeit under a different confessional sign, from catholic reform through Erasmian evangelism to Lutheran adherence, stamped the career of that internationally renowned scholar and humanist, George Buchanan.…”