Baptism Debate Introduction

Good evening and welcome to the long -awaited baptism debate for infants or believers only.

We've been waiting for this so long. Actually, I was hoping that Mr. Shishko would be a Baptist by now and this would be unnecessary.

But we finally have the opportunity to see these two men, two good friends and brothers in Christ, two scholars and two men, more than able to handle the job at hand for each of them.

First of all, I want to thank Pastor David Knapp of the Full Gospel Christian Center here in Port Jefferson Station, allowing us to use these beautiful, spacious facilities that we have here for the debate.

Let's have a round of applause. I particularly love the architecture of this building.

It's quite beautiful. In fact, I wonder what they do with this thing over here.

Looks like one of them little kiddie pools or something. I guess they just cool off in the hot sun of these.

I'm not sure, but anyway. By the way, I am Chris Arnzen, formerly of WMCA Radio, and I'm hosting a new program that I hope you tune into called

Iron Sharpens Iron on WNYG Radio, 1440 AM. It's a live call -in program.

Today we didn't have that many calls during the program, but I found out later that my listener died.

No, but really, the program is quite an excellent program, not because of me, but because the

Lord has just, in his providence for some reason, given me so many friends and acquaintances over the years that I've had some of the most brilliant thinkers in the world on this station, on the program.

So I hope you keep tuning into that program. And it's also available on the internet. You can hear it live.

And there's also a flyer out there in the hallway for that program.

But we have today here at the debate our competitors, if you will,

Dr. James R. White, who needs little introduction. Dr.

James R. White is the Baptist debater, and he's going to be defending the proposition that baptism is only for those who have personally repented and believed in Christ.

Dr. White is the director of Alpha and Omega Ministries, a Christian apologetics organization based in Phoenix, Arizona, and is an elder of the

Phoenix Reformed Baptist Church. He is a professor, having taught Greek, systematic theology, and various topics in the field of politics.

He has authored more than 20 books, including The King James Only Controversy, The Roman Catholic Controversy, The Same -Sex

Controversy, The Forgotten Trinity, The Part is Freedom, The God Who Justifies, Dangerous Airwaves, Harold Camping Refuted, and Christ Church Defended, and the soon -to -be -published

Pulpit Crimes, The Criminal Mishandling of God's Word. He is an accomplished debater, having engaged in more than 50 moderated public debates with leading proponents of Roman Catholicism, liberal

Protestantism, Islam, Jehovah's Witnesses, Oneness of Pentecostals, Mormonism, and that was just a

WMCA staff luncheon. But here he is, ladies and gentlemen,

Dr. James White. My other very dear friend, who is here to oppose that proposition that we just mentioned,

Pastor Bill Shishko of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. His thesis is, baptism is not only for those who have personally repented and believed in Christ.

Bill Shishko has served as pastor of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Franklin Square, New York, for over 25 years.

During his time as pastor there, the church has been blessed with significant numerical growth, and has overseen the formation of two mission churches, one in Mount Vernon and one in Bohemia, New York.

He is also one of the instructors at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Taylors, South Carolina, where he teaches in the

Department of Applied Theology. He has written numerous articles for the Orthodox Presbyterian Church publications,

New Horizons and Ordained Servant, as well as magazines such as the Banner of Truth. His public ministries have taken him to such foreign mission fields as Suriname, Cyprus, Egypt, Uganda, China, and Wales.

And his conference ministries have been carried out in a number of states in our own nation. Ladies and gentlemen,

Pastor Bill Shishko. Our moderator, who is a mutual friend of all of ours,

Pastor Richard Jensen of the Hope Reformed Baptist Church in Medford. He is also the,

I believe the youngest, he was the youngest Suffolk County homicide detective, correct?

And was involved in the Ambyville Horror murder case. Not as a participant, as a, as a, as a officer of the law.

He is the moderator, and I'd like to introduce you to him, Pastor Richard Jensen.

There are book tables, I just wanted to let you know. During breaks, if you'd like to go outside and see the different books, both sides have a book table up there.

We have the Reformed Baptist side has a book in particular, The Baptism of Disciples Alone, A Covenantal Argument for Credo -Baptism vs.

Paedo -Baptism by Fred Malone. And there's also a book that the Orthodox Presbyterian Church is offering by Greg, it's edited by Greg Strobridge, The Case for Covenantal Infant Baptism.

And there are other books and tapes and so on as well at these tables. A very good friend of mine, Dave Grossi, has written a brilliant book,

Preaching with Biblical Passion, a Scriptural and Historical Study, and Pastor Grossi has a book table out there as well.

And speaking of book tables, it reminds me of when I was manning a book table one year at a

Christian Reformed church that was having a conference. The Christian Reformed church, as you know, also believes in infant baptism as do the

Orthodox Presbyterians. And this was in the basement of the church during a break and I was manning the book table.

And a Christian Reformed pastor approached me and said, I understand this book table is being run by a

Reformed Baptist church, is that true? I said, yes. He said, are you selling anything conflicting with infant baptism here?

I said, I don't see any Bibles. Just kidding.

But I think you've had enough of me. I am going to hand over the debate to my very good friend, our moderator,

Pastor Richard Jensen. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. Good evening, everyone.

And just a couple of words on the role of the moderator. The first role that the moderator takes in this is to keep the debate moving along in an orderly fashion and so my first order of business will be to keep this microphone away from Chris as much as possible.