earlier today, i went to a group discussion about baptism
that a friend invited me to. i’m not sure what denomination
they were… the pastor guy (who apparently speaks greek)
rejected the idea of infant baptism (the style i referred to
in the original sin entry). there were some bits i disagreed
with, but what he had to say was very interesting.
his interpretation of the bible led to a version of baptism
that was more like the sacrament of confirmation.
i think his definition was sufficiently vague for me to
interpret it as – a conscious, well-informed, public decision
to be committed to life and the good of mankind. i like the
symbolism: jumping into a lake, not knowing how deep it is,
getting in completely over your head and trusting that
it will all turn out ok.
whatever all that means is pretty relative.
he also pointed out the importance of a “baptism of
the holy spirit” which is the emergence of a personal
conviction to live for the good of everyone, not just
your self. as soon as you feel truly connected with
God (everything, everyone, through the “holy spirit”)
you naturally feel responsible for helping out.
without this internal baptism, a dunking in water
is just kidding yourself.
1 Cor 12:12-13 For just as the body is one and has
many members, and all of the members of the body,
though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body -
Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – and all were made
to drink of one Spirit. (RSV)
the definition of baptism is debatable, but
we all drink from life’s artesian flow.
Tags: artesian, baptism, body, christ, committed, completely, everyone, everything, god, good, holy spirit, life, mankind, ok, relative, responsible, spirit, trust
