NowTHINK!AboutIt

Avoiding Hackneyed...Making Sense

What Is The Meaning Of Baptism

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Baptism expresses the commitment to becoming a better, more capable, more informed Christian.

Baptism Is Symbolic and Ceremonial
Not Mystical

Baptism is usually thought of as a Christian rite but many different religions have initiatory practices that resemble baptism: Mandaeism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Shintoism and even Judaism offer rites involving water that are similar to Christian baptism.

This post, however is focused on Christian baptism and in it we’ll answer questions like:

  • Is baptism necessary for salvation? In other words, will I only go to heaven if I have been baptized?
  • If so, which baptism is the right one?
  • If baptism isn’t necessary to get to heaven, why bother getting baptized?

The last question is the primary point of this post.

Popular Christian Meanings For Baptism

As the above questions indicate, Christian baptism is understood in very different ways:

  • Some Christian denominations do believe baptism is essential for salvation. In other words, if you’re not baptized, you’re not saved. Catholics, Church of Christ, and even Mormons are known for this belief (although Mormons aren’t Christian). The groups that believe this also claim their baptism is the only acceptable one.
  • Others believe baptism is only a public statement of commitment to Christian living. In infant baptism, the parents are committing to raising their child according to Christian principles. Otherwise, the baptizee is committing to living by those principles. In both cases, baptism is looking forward to life yet to come.
  • Baptists (and Evangelicals) practice believers baptism. Any person of any age who is capable of confessing their faith in Christ is a candidate for baptism and the event looks backward and forward. It celebrates the rebirth that occurred at salvation and anticipates the new life in the future. Believers know they have been changed and expect to be different in the future than they were in the past. Baptism expresses a commitment to that expectation. It is a celebration expressing praise for the experience of salvation and hope for the future.

Why We Talk About Baptism

Baptism is an important topic for several reasons.

One, it featured so prominently at the beginning of the New Testament that it became a nickname for the first preacher, John the Baptist (a phrase used no less than fifteen times in the Gospels).

John baptized hundreds and he preached what became known as the baptism of repentance (Mark 1:4).

Although Jesus baptized no one personally, under His leadership, the disciples continued this tradition (John 4:2).

Second, and most importantly, after Jesus rose from the dead and before He ascended into heaven, He clearly commanded His disciples to evangelize everywhere and baptize those who believed. Jesus’ instructions clearly state:

Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. (Matthew 28:19)

All of that is to say we can’t be dismissive about this important issue. We need to understand it as best we can and apply to our ministries. [Read more…] about What Is The Meaning Of Baptism

Why It’s Impossible To Invoke Old Testament Law In The Modern Era

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Perfection, which is impossible to achieve, is static. There is no end to the depths of wrong.

Old Testament Laws Changed Society
But Did Nothing
To Change Basic Human Nature

Before we start, a few preliminary facts are in order.

  • The term Old Testament law refers to the legal codes specifically mentioned in the books Exodus through Deuteronomy.
  • According to Jewish scholarship, there are a total of 613 laws.
  • The Ten Commandments provide the legal framework and every Old Testament law can be categorized under one of these ten.
  • The Ten Commandments were focused on two areas, both of which were relationships: the relationship we have with God (four commandments) and the relationship we have with humans (six commandments). The fact that these laws were relationship driven was confirmed by Jesus in His discussion about the two great commandments (love God, love your neighbor – Matthew 22:34-40).
  • All 613 laws, in one way or another, targeted abuse. We aren’t to abuse our relationship to God and we aren’t to abuse our relationship to family, friends and neighbors. Even neglecting mold in one’s house, which had nothing to do with the ceremonial service, endangered the lives of others, a type of abuse (Leviticus 14:33-53).
  • When specific Old Testament laws were applied in individual cases, the outcome was the equivalent of case law. The intent of case law remained the same, reduce abuse.

Now to the discussion. [Read more…] about Why It’s Impossible To Invoke Old Testament Law In The Modern Era

14 Thoughts On Gay And Trans Issues

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Even if you don't believe the Bible, it's still an ancient document that sheds light on the past.

No One Fits The Pattern
Of God’s Original Design

When people argue over gay and transgender issues, the arguments are often taken from two different sources: The Bible and science.

Between the two, Bible arguments are the ones that vary the most and those differences come from the way people view it.

  • Some don’t believe the Bible at all and dismiss it entirely.
  • Some accept the Bible as significant and take a vigorous approach to interpretation.
  • Others take the Bible so fanatically, every word is taken literally, no interpretive effort required. This third type is usually referred to as Fundamentalist.

Those who don’t believe the Bible usually avoid any conversations involving the Bible. But there is a very important idea that non-believers need to consider.

The Bible is an ancient document, and we study ancient documents to understand how cultures of the past handled social, cultural issues.

And since the Bible factors largely in discussions about moral and even political issues today, it is imperative that everyone join the discussion, not so much to bash the Bible but to understand the what and why of Bible content.

So even if you don’t believe the Bible, it’s important to be mindful of what it says.

That’s reason for any person, even non-believers, to engage the discussion.

But whatever the case, there’s no question that the biggest problem is interpretation. The Bible is a book. It conveys a message, but what the Bible literally states is not always what the Bible intends to teach and everyone believes that even when they say they don’t.

The answer to this dilemma is for everyone to consider relevant cultural and historical issues for the time period in which laws were given before trying to apply those laws. That is the interpretive process and it should be exercised every time we approach any passage in the Bible. [Read more…] about 14 Thoughts On Gay And Trans Issues

6 Proofs The New Testament Kingdom Is Not A Theocracy

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If no theocracy has ever succeeded in the past, why do we think it wil work out well now?

We Have No Idea
When The Kingdom Is Coming
And We Haven’t Been Commissioned
To Make It Happen

Key ideas explored in this article are:

  • The problematic nature of democracies.
  • The internal nature of the Kingdom.
  • Choice vs compulsion and the failure of human middlemen.
  • And the agreement between biblical principles and democracy.

One form of Old Testament government, studied curiously by Christians and surprisingly entertained in recent times, is a Theocracy.

In simple terms, the word means the rule of God. Sounds intriguing but that definition is rather slim. It provides no detail and in practice has proven to be nightmarish depending on the parties forming such a government.

The idea provokes many questions.

Who will lead in a theocracy? What religious activities will it require? What prohibitions will it enact?

Those are just a few of the questions and the answers could and probably would change depending on who is in office. Religious rules can be quite obsessive and any new Pharaoh could change the rules at will based on how he or she perceives God.

If the JW’s win out, we won’t be allowed blood transfusions. If the Catholics win out, we won’t be allowed birth control.

Remember, a theocracy is a state, a religious state, governed by the rule of God. Because God is the understood Ruler, but cannot be seen, the leader’s connection to God is presumed and legislation, about which questions wouldn’t be allowed, neither needs nor requires consensus.
[Read more…] about 6 Proofs The New Testament Kingdom Is Not A Theocracy

Faith Basics Should Be The Same For Everyone

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It's one thing to be true to your faith. It's entirely another to claim your faith is absolutely true.

Differences Are Inevitable
Conflict Is Not

First a brief definition.

Faith refers to anything you believe which cannot be irrevocably proven or widely accepted.

I believe in God. I can’t prove Him.

Unfortunately, that is the nature of faith. We call it faith because it cannot be tested in a lab. The only evidence we have is circumstantial.

And it isn’t the same for everyone. There are so many different varieties of faith, it’s easy to see that it tends to morph.

Therefore, when it comes to relationships based on faith, we must be careful. Before joining hands with anyone just because they have faith, we must determine exactly what they mean by the term.

Faith isn’t equal. Faith ideas can be polar opposites.

Even when faith ideas are similar, they can be very different. One person believes Jesus is all one needs to get saved. Another adds baptism to the formula. Both believe in Jesus but the two ideas can’t be reconciled.

The uncomfortable truth is faith (the idea, the concept, the stance) tends to migrate depending on whose adopting it, how they promote it and on what they base their faith conclusions.

And since we can’t prove what we believe, it is entirely possible to become emotionally reactive when others respond derisively to the ideas we hold most strongly.

Buddhism, for example, is based on the teachings of Buddha. He excites attention because many of his teachings are at least thought provoking if not obvious. Some are easily accepted by all.

One of his popular statements illustrates the point:

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present.

Easy to grasp and accept.

I’m not sure Buddha was the first to advocate for such an idea. In fact, Paul said something similar:

Behold, now is the accepted time, today is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:2)

Paul’s focus was salvation, not life in general, but the application was the same. If it didn’t happen in the past, don’t focus on the future, it can happen right now in the present.

Many have said something similar but Buddhism probably popularized it and the only ones to disagree are the disagreeable.

Ideas of this nature are sensible. They compel us to think and that’s a good thing.

One important observation is the fact that every religion promotes some ideas that are easy to see and accept. They all have an element of faith (that which can’t be seen) and sense (that which can be easily recognized).

But the balance between faith and sense is not fixed and because of that problems can surface. [Read more…] about Faith Basics Should Be The Same For Everyone