Water Baptism is a scam for
labelling people
Jesus was clear that some of the bad people of Jewish
background were not Jews at all anymore because of their sin. They though
they were for they had rites of initiation. Christianity has sought ways
to stick labels on people for that gives it political recognition. The
result is that people end up divided from others. An us versus them
attitude creeps in. In Northern Ireland, people were stopping their
Catholic observance and still claiming to be proper and real Catholics.
This was a cultural political thing. It is a total insult to those who
work to keep religion and politics separate as they should be. It is
correct as many observers say, that religion leads to divisiveness and this is
the breeding ground for violence. But bouncy castle religion, where people
go along with religion for the parties and the benefits, holds on to the labels
that give rise to the division in the first place. It goes further than
real religion in fomenting and nurturing hypocrisy. Hypocrisy itself is a
breeding ground for harm and hate.
Baptism of babies is supposed to confer the power from God to have
faith in the gospel. Pity the Church men don't care to admit that many
children just are not interested in Christianity! They don't care and
blame the child for falling away. How convenient.
Jesus seems to argue that initiation into
Christianity is between him and the person alone. Priests trying to
label people by baptising them in fonts of water is wrong.
Baptise means to immerse. Jesus said that John baptised
in water but he would baptise with the Holy Spirit and fire.
This indicates that the Christian baptism is not a baptism in water.
Jesus never clearly commanded water baptism.
He said that unless a man is born of water and the Spirit he
cannot enter the kingdom
of God. But the word for spirit
is the word for wind. Water and wind
are the cleansing powers of God and
emblems of the Holy Spirit.
so
Jesus was using water and wind as symbols for the spirit. Proof of this is
in how he told his listener, a Jewish theologian, he shouldn't
have
to explain that to him for it was in the Old Testament. The Old Testament never mentions water
baptism or speaks of a sacrament of baptism that can take away sins. So our interpretation is right.
Jesus told the disciples to go and baptise all nations in the
name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He never mentioned water.
The episode does not clearly command water baptism. "in the name of" means
in the authority of. Here are possible clarifications. "Go and
immerse the nations into the authority of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit."
"Go and immerse all nations in the authority of the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit". This could mean that you may need express authority from Jesus in
a vision before you can baptise in water.
Jesus said nothing about what words to use when baptising in
water. He commanded to baptise in the authority or name of the Father, Son
and Spirit. This does not hint what kind of wording should be used.
Nor does he mention water. He may have meant that the apostles are to
baptise the nations by their preaching causing the Holy Spirit to come upon
their hearers.
Peter says that baptism saves only as an appeal to a clean
conscience from God. In other words,
it is the repentance that saves not the water baptism. Though the early Christians practiced
baptism in water there is no reason to think that it was a command.
The practice was relevant then as a follow on from the
baptisms performed by John the Baptist, but today it would be dangerous to
continue the practice as there is little else but lies and error surrounding the
baptism tradition.
