Ancient Paths Blog

Why Baptists Should Not Insist On Immersion

In a collegial debate over baptism with a fellow pastor and friend, while we both agreed there were some rare circumstances where baptism by immersion was not possible - a deathbed conversion for example - I argued that in some situations non-immersion may be common, even the norm, and should not be a bar to church membership - even in a Baptist church.

From the Creed - in God...

From the opening statement "I believe" the Creed passes immediately to what is believed - "in God..."  We might be tempted to pass this statement quickly by as being a given.

Certainly this is a fundamental starting point even in the view of scripture:  Hebrews 11:6, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."

But here is an instance where the Apostle's Creed is so very pertinent to our modern situation as Christians in society.

We Temporarily Interrupt This Blog...

So, where've I been the last two weeks?  Why haven't I been posting stuff? 

The answer to that was neatly summarized by a refridgerator magnet I once saw which said something to the effect -

"We temporarily interrupt this marriage to bring you hunting season."

November is deer hunting season here in Minnesota and the tradition in my family continues as the following pictures display -

From the Creed - I Believe...

It's fitting we should say something about this word believe.  After all it's this word which gives the creed its name - credo is the Latin verb meaning I believe.  It's also the first thing confessed, by which we are distinguishing ourselves from others - "I am a believer" or put negatively, "I am not an unbeliever."  That's a good place to start.  Why bother considering something one doesn't believe?

But this word also has a range of meaning not always appreciated in popular usage.  Many times it's just a synonym for "I think...", "it's my opinion that..." or maybe "I hope...".  But the Bible means something very specific when it comes to belief or faith - particularly faith that leads to salvation.  There are actually three distinct aspects to Biblical belief:

The American Heresy - "Easy on the Supernatural Please..."

So what would Paul put his finger on if writing an epistle "To the Americans"?  After all each letter he wrote seemed to address at least one issue.  The Galatians had been infiltrated by the Judaizers - those advocating belief in Jesus andcircumcision to be saved.  The Colossians were being influenced by some sort of "hollow and deceptive philosophy" - possibly a mixture of Greek philosophical ideas and Jewish mysticism.

In my last post I suggested he would address our "this worldly perspective" - that Christianity was for maximizing our lives in this world.  But I think he'd also address our materialist perspective.  By this I don't mean we're too much into stuff.  I don't dispute that but what I mean by materialism here is that we're soft on the supernatural.