Early Christian Conversions Independent Of Baptism

I want to discuss a neglected line of evidence against baptismal regeneration and baptismal justification. There's a widespread pattern of early Christian conversion accounts that involve significant changes in the individual's life prior to his baptism. Those changes range across a spectrum. Often, it can be shown to be probable that regeneration or justification occurred before baptism (e.g., through a reference to forgiveness of sins, through a reference to the reception of the Holy Spirit). But even if prebaptismal regeneration or justification is only possible rather than probable when a conversion account is considered in isolation, that account can have more evidential significance than is typically suggested, such as when it's considered in a larger context, like one of the ones I'll be discussing below.

We're often told that everybody before the Reformation believed in baptismal regeneration, that the alternative to baptismal regeneration is highly implausible because of how unpopular it was before the Reformation, and so forth. There are a lot of problems with those claims, and some of the problems are of a more subtle nature. Because of their subtlety, they often get overlooked or underestimated.

Justin Martyr wrote about an exchange he had with a Christian man that led to his (Justin's) conversion. He refers to how "straightway a flame was kindled in my soul; and a love of the prophets, and of those men who are friends of Christ, possessed me; and whilst revolving his words in my mind, I found this philosophy alone to be safe and profitable" (Dialogue With Trypho, 8). An advocate of baptismal regeneration could argue that God was working in Justin's life in some way that was significant, but not equivalent to what occurs in baptism. And that is possible. I don't think the evidence for the prebaptismal conversion of Justin is as good as it is for other individuals I'll be discussing below. But Justin's comments do add some credibility to the view that he was regenerated and justified prior to being baptized. An easy way to see that is to consider how different the situation would be if Justin hadn't made any comments like the ones I quoted above. What if he hadn't commented on his prebaptismal state at all or had merely referred to being baptized because he was raised in a Christian family, for example? When, instead, he refers to such a substantial change in his life in a non-baptismal context, that's significant.

There's a discussion of Tatian's conversion in his Address To The Greeks. He refers to being brought to faith in scripture and being taught by God (29).

Minucius Felix mediated an exchange between a Christian, Octavius, and a non-Christian, Caecilius. Immediately after the exchange, without any involvement of baptism, Caecilius is referred to as being persuaded of Christianity (Octavius, 40). He comments, "I yield to God; and I agree concerning the sincerity of the way of life [Christianity] which is now mine". So, he's claiming to be living the Christian way of life, and he's doing so before baptism, becoming a catechumen, or anything like that. Minucius Felix refers to how Caecilius had "believed" (41) and was "converted…to the true religion" by his discussion with Octavius (1).

Of these three examples, I think Caecilius is the most significant, and Tatian is the least. But all three are relevant to some extent.

There would have to be something that would convince somebody to be baptized. And it could be a lot of different things: family tradition, cultural tradition, being persuaded that Christianity is true by some means, etc. Not everything that leads up to baptism warrants the conclusion that the individual being baptized was regenerate prior to the baptism. I'm not citing individuals like Justin, Tatian, and Caecilius just because there was any sort of change in their lives before baptism. Rather, it's the type of change in these individuals' lives that I'm appealing to. When Justin refers to an unusual experience of having a flame kindled in his soul just after speaking with a Christian or such strong conversion language is applied to and used by Caecilius, for example, that increases the plausibility of his having been regenerated prior to baptism.

Some people think Justin advocated justification apart from baptism in his writings, despite the highly efficacious language he uses when discussing baptism in some places. I haven't been convinced by those arguments. I still think Justin likely held to baptismal regeneration and baptismal justification. But we have to distinguish between his earlier experience and his later theology. People are often inconsistent (e.g., the example sometimes cited of an Arminian praying like a Calvinist). "I do believe; help my unbelief." (Mark 9:24) Jesus gave the man what he had requested, despite his unbelief (verse 25). Paul rebuked the Galatians and Peter for their inconsistencies regarding the gospel, but they were Christians in spite of those inconsistencies. John the Baptist even doubted Jesus' Messiahship (Matthew 11:2-3), and Jesus responded with a moving commendation of John that implies his redemption (verses 4-19). I think many Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and others who are affiliated with some form of justification through works are Christians, despite their inconsistencies with the gospel. The judgments we make about the salvation of individuals have to take the entirety of the evidence we have into account, not just the theology the individuals are currently affiliated with, and we have to allow for some inconsistencies.

We have many conversion accounts in the earliest Christian sources, and they strongly support the conclusion that regeneration and justification occur before baptism. See here for a double-digit number of New Testament examples of people being justified apart from baptism, including in contexts that are said or implied to be normative. Josephus referred to the non-justificatory nature of the baptism of John the Baptist. Tertullian, though an advocate of justification through baptism, acknowledged that "in days gone by, there was salvation by means of bare faith, before the passion and resurrection of the Lord" (On Baptism, 13). When Justin Martyr, Tatian, Caecilius, and Minucius Felix spoke in such high terms of transformations that occurred in their life or the life of another Christian prior to baptism, they were reporting something that had been occurring for a long time. It predates the New Testament era, going back to how God has been justifying people "from the beginning" (Clement of Rome, First Clement, 32).