Author Topic: I need your help: Baptism....Why not?  (Read 2551 times)

Offline soul seeker

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I need your help: Baptism....Why not?
« on: February 28, 2011, 04:05:55 PM »
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Since I didn't get any response from necroing an old thread a few weeks back, AND my 12 page paper is due this week.

I would like to know from all Christians on the boards who have NOT been baptized, why not?
    OR
If you know of why a Christian in your life has not been baptized...I probably could use their story too.

Bonus for me is if you have Bible verses to support.

Again, this is not for argumentative or debate purposes...if you are nervous to be trolled or mocked then PM me.  I will delete your answers when the paper is done (which I hope tomorrow evening). 

FWIW:  my professor thought it would be a great idea to include a page or 2 about this opinion, so please help me out.
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Warrior_Monk

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Re: I need your help: Baptism....Why not?
« Reply #1 on: February 28, 2011, 04:17:55 PM »
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From a conversation I had with my cousin. I'm assuming the person is a real person...

"Cause they have been a Christian since they were little and figure that other people may find it important, but personally they don't want to do something they don't desire to do."

I really don't understand why somebody wouldn't want to be baptized, but that was the reasoning.

Offline CJSports

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Re: I need your help: Baptism....Why not?
« Reply #2 on: February 28, 2011, 06:49:14 PM »
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Well Jesus says we need to get baptized and we all should if we get the chance. IMO we don't need to get baptized to get to heaven because some people never have the opportunity. I have not gotten baptized yet because it never struck me in my walk of faith that it is the time. When an opportunity presents itself or god tells me the time is right I will follow his heeding and get baptized.
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browarod

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Re: I need your help: Baptism....Why not?
« Reply #3 on: February 28, 2011, 09:03:18 PM »
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When an opportunity presents itself or God tells me the time is right I will follow His heeding and get baptized.
^This is a good explanation of my position as well.

Offline YourMathTeacher

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Re: I need your help: Baptism....Why not?
« Reply #4 on: February 28, 2011, 10:41:42 PM »
+3
I was pressured into baptism by my mom when I was 11 and unsaved. My mom made all of my siblings get baptized all on the same day. It was so fake that it made me ill. I didn't know what it meant, I just didn't want to get in trouble.

Many years later, when I came to know Christ at age 20, I was asked if I wanted to get baptized, but I said that I already had been. There was never an argument from Christians if you said you were already baptized.

Many years later, when I became a Youth Pastor at age 31, I baptized new believers, but felt guilty... hypocritical. I talked with my wife about my desire to get baptized as a believer finally. However, my fear was that a Youth Pastor asking for baptism would make the Senior Pastor question my faith. So, I said nothing.

Many years later, with that guilt still lingering, my son told me that he had accepted Christ as Savior and wanted to be baptized. The timing seemed to be appropriate for us to be baptized together as father and son. I still felt very awkward as a 40-year-old believer of 20 years getting baptized with new Christians. I was worried that people would wonder if I had been faking my faith all this time.

I got baptized with my son anyway, which was both a great bonding moment and a huge sigh of relief for me. I felt like a great burden had finally been lifted off my back.
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Warrior_Monk

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Re: I need your help: Baptism....Why not?
« Reply #5 on: February 28, 2011, 11:10:48 PM »
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My youth pastor only recently got baptized, since he wanted to be baptized into a community of believers where he would stay. He "accepted" Christ in high school, and knew he wouldn't be staying there long, so he waited.

Offline Isildur

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Re: I need your help: Baptism....Why not?
« Reply #6 on: March 01, 2011, 12:18:11 AM »
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I am pretty sure I have not been Baptized as far as I know... though I could have been and have just never bothered to ask about it.

My church is part of the Evangelical Friends Southwest denomination. In the Society of Friends there is the whole inner light concept where there is instead a "inward baptism of the Holy Spirit" instead of a water baptism. Though my denomination has no problem with people getting baptized.
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Offline SomeKittens

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Re: I need your help: Baptism....Why not?
« Reply #7 on: March 01, 2011, 03:08:12 PM »
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I disagree with the Evangelical Friends.  I think that there are two separate baptisms, one of the flesh, and one of the spirit.  The water baptism is a public declaration of faith.
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Warrior_Monk

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Re: I need your help: Baptism....Why not?
« Reply #8 on: March 01, 2011, 03:11:32 PM »
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I disagree with baptism of the spirit.

Offline SomeKittens

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Re: I need your help: Baptism....Why not?
« Reply #9 on: March 01, 2011, 03:15:24 PM »
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I'd assume that Jon's paper is on water baptism, but some discussion of the Spiritual baptism might be good.  Do you think it doesn't happen anymore/didn't happen at all, or just shouldn't happen?
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Offline soul seeker

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Re: I need your help: Baptism....Why not?
« Reply #10 on: March 01, 2011, 04:58:57 PM »
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My paper is actually on both....outline for you guys info:
(Acts is the backbone of Scripture support)
Major points  (I can provide minor points if people are seriously interested):

Thesis:  In the book of Acts, Luke presented two different methods of how a Christian can be baptized and both methods play a unique role in God's plan of salvation.

A. Baptism performs a unique role in God's plan of Salvation

B. Water is one method that a Christian can be baptized

C. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is another method that a Christian can be baptized

Edit:  I have completed point 1 and moving into point 2 is what this thread is about.
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Offline soul seeker

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Re: I need your help: Baptism....Why not?
« Reply #11 on: March 01, 2011, 11:28:02 PM »
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For those who participated, I want to give a big THANK YOU!  Your input was very valuable.  This particular paper is now done.  (I now have a 15 pager to write this week in another class.)
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Offline Minister Polarius

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Re: I need your help: Baptism....Why not?
« Reply #12 on: March 01, 2011, 11:55:42 PM »
-1
Your teacher approved that as a thesis?
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Offline soul seeker

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Re: I need your help: Baptism....Why not?
« Reply #13 on: March 02, 2011, 12:33:54 AM »
+1
Judging from your question, I assume you don't approve.

To answer your question, yes.
    The breakdown:  I was given a choice of four topics and I chose: A paper investigating the role of baptism in the book of Acts

     Thesis definition as given by the professor:  A thesis is one complete sentence that contains all points in your outline.
        A secondary defined goal:  Research papers must attempt to prove a point (or thesis). 

I have completed all of the above, so I'm not quite sure what you are expecting of a thesis in general or why you feel you must belittle my thesis specifically.
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Offline Minister Polarius

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Re: I need your help: Baptism....Why not?
« Reply #14 on: March 02, 2011, 12:37:27 AM »
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The order of the sentence doesn't match the outline. What I meant was that I was surprised you had a teacher who would accept a thesis that's essentially arguing doctrine at anything below a masters level.
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Offline soul seeker

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Re: I need your help: Baptism....Why not?
« Reply #15 on: March 02, 2011, 12:54:59 AM »
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As for the order of wording in the thesis statement, it was reviewed twice by the Professor and 20 of my peers.  No one said anything, so I feel safe to assume that the wording of the thesis statement does not need to match the outline exactly.  With that assumption in mind, rewording my thesis statement to match the outline would be awkward, and reworking the outline would disrupt my logical train of thought. 

As for the second part, I am not sure I understand what you are getting at, but maybe a few of these facts may help clear it up.
1) I am in a Master's program.
2) Two different aspects/themes of my paper are discussed by the "big boys"= those with doctoral degrees in the scholarly realm.
        a. the relevance of water baptism in general and also specifically it's role in a Christian's salvation. 
        b. The role of the Holy Spirit in ancient times versus modern times.  Has it changed?  Was it limited?  Are there two different baptisms of the Holy Spirit? etc.
 These two themes are still contested in scholarly circles and not beneath a Master's program paper(unless I misunderstood what you were saying-->which is easy on a discussion board).

That is the backdrop of my paper and its exploration of the two sides of each of those aspects while focusing on Luke's portrayal of them in Acts.
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Offline Minister Polarius

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Re: I need your help: Baptism....Why not?
« Reply #16 on: March 02, 2011, 09:58:21 AM »
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Oh, excellent! Man, I just had a big long train of assumptions running down my track.
I am not talking about T2 unless I am explicitly talking about T2. Also Mayhem is fine now somehow!

 


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