As lamented in a previous blog, the daughter unit is persisting upon being re-baptized on Sunday. Frankly, I just don’t get it. To me it’s just more snowflake B.S. from a generation that is hell-bent on putting decorum, tradition, and once common sense in the rearview mirror.
The daughter was baptized in the Methodist Church, confirmed in an Anglican Church, and has regularly taken Communion in these and several other Presbyterian and/or Reformed Churches. She left a Presbyterian church last year with much fanfare and a send-off ceremony by the pastor and began attending a dispensational congregation. She has been regarded as a communicant member in good standing in every Church she has attended for the better part of 20 years. A minimum prerequisite to receiving Communion in any Church is baptism—although they may require confirmation or other conditions.
The daughter decided to be re-baptized in the new congregation not due to any spiritual change in her life or theology but simply to be a part of the group. My wife is calling this farce of a ceremony an initiation.
Lest you need proof, just ask her, my wife did. The daughter was asked if she had remained at the Presbyterian Church where she was taking Communion weekly would she feel the necessity to be baptized and she replied, “No.”
Knowing that she was a communicant member in other churches, why is the pastor of this new church persisting in letting this go forward? It would be proper for them to accept a letter of transfer from the previous congregation and/or require the daughter to attend a new member class just so she learns the distinctives of their church but re-baptizing is unbiblical—not that they seem to care.
Baptism is a binary thing, either you have been baptized in the Trinitarian formula of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit or you have not. As stated in my previous post on the subject, there is no such thing in the Bible as being re-baptized—the only exception being those in the New Testament that received John’s baptism and later that of the Apostles.
The chasm of logic required to justify re-baptism in this case cannot be bridged with any amount of verbal and semantic gymnastics. Nothing short of disdain and willful repudiation of the Holy Scriptures and Historic Church justifies this act.
Had someone left the faith in rebellion and subsequently repented and desired return to the Church, I would still think it wrong but at least understandable due to a change in heart. However, in this case no change of heart is alleged thus the act is one of initiation not into the Body of Christ but to be accepted into the Sunday clubhouse.
This act is one of excommunicating the vast majority of the Church on earth and the Church Militant. It also begs the question of what other theology is defective in this group which daughter thinks is so wonderful that she can chuck her birthright for a cup of water.
Oh, her pastor will tell you that baptism doesn’t save you; so again, what purpose does it serve in this case? Nobody can answer that question. What’s more disturbing is that no one thinks to even ask it.