Baptized for the Dead
On Sunday morning, I am speaking on Purgatory. That leads to the issue of baptism for the dead (1 Corinthians 15:29).
When I was reading what others have written about it, the general consensus is that it does not mean vicarious baptism because it was not being practiced at the time by the church as a whole, but that we do not fully understand what it means.
One writer said that Paul appears to be making the point that detractors were denying the resurrection but that even pagans believed in the doctrine, since they were practicing vicarious baptism.
What do you think the passage means?
J. Randal Matheny 7:36 pm on August 13, 2011 Permalink |
Thistleton (highly recommended) on 1 Cor. makes a strong case that it means being baptized in order to see one’s dearly beloved deceased in the Lord. Seems to fit best with all other evidence of Christian baptism. I thought I had written on it somewhere, but I cannot find it just now.
Richard Hill 10:22 pm on August 13, 2011 Permalink |
Richard, we finished 1 Corinthians a few weeks back and of course had a discussion about this passage. My comment got long so I’ll make it a separate post.