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A Message b y Rev Steve Schlei BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD For otherwise what will those who are baptized or the dead accomplish i he dead are not actually raised Why indeed are they beingbaptizedfor them I Corinthians 15:29, Introduction Does your church practice bapti,sm for the dead? If not, then is your church truly biblical? Are you nllssing part of God's will for your life? Are you livingin disobedience to God. This obscure verse has troubled and perplexed commentators forages. Asthe reader may be aware, this 'one text pro vides the basis for the extensive genea logical research of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mor mons). Accordingto Mormonteaching, the vicarious baptism of the living pro vides salvific benefits for the dead. his explains their zeal and willingness to expen d va st amounts of money and ef" fort to collect and secure precise g e n e ~ logical data. To my knowledge, only the Mormons among all professing Chris tian groups have made baptis for the dead an important part o f their religious rituaL . . Most Christians would be relieved if thisembarrassinglydifficultpassageconld be expunged from the Bible, Few ortho- dox interpreters see in it anything of real sermonic value. It seems to provide no blessing and beneficial comfort to the Christian faith, and it raises a number of serious questions. For example, shonld the Christian church be practicing bap tism fot the dead? Can baptism of the . living prOvide saving benefits for the dead? Are the Mormoris the only group that have properly preserved this prac tice from the early church? n what way would proxy baptism of the living on he dead be an truth of he resurrection (the subject that Paul has under discussion in the con text)? Is this verse simply a "red herting" which could easily divert men from the true Gospel of salvation by faith inJesus Christ? Take heart Orthodox Christians do not need to scratch their heads in red faced silence, or desperately scramble in an attempt to offer face"saving explana tions for this passage. it be said at the outs et that Corirtthians 15:29 is abeau tiful and excitingponion of God's Word which provides powerful confirmation of the truth of a most precious Christian doctrirte-theresurrectionofour bodies from the grave. AvoidingPitfalls in Interpretation Numerous ingenious interpret ations have been offered in an attempt to ex- 4 ~ THE OUNSEL of halcedon ~ May, 994 plain this passage. Unfortunately, they are generally speculative in nature, and they fail to demonsttate how Paul's argu ment for the truth of the resurrection is strengthenedbywhathe says in verse29. Paul did not write this section of Scrip ture while daydreaming. His words are not irrelevant or foolish. Like all the writers of Sctipture, his words were di- rected by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit OI Timothy 3: 16; IPeter 1:10-12), A truly satisfying solution must avoid speculat ion and demonsttate the divine wisdom evident in this portion of holy Sctipture. Mostdesirably,Sctipturemust be used to illumine I Corirtthians 15:29, forit is a cardinal principle ofinterpreta tion that the Bible is its own best inter preter, Let us examine the context, and I would encourage you to have a Bible handy to consult. Others try in various ways to offer alternarive explanations of the words "baptism: "for," and "the dead." For example, some have said that p . ul is referring to the martyrs who were oop med into the ranks of the dead ("bap tism" being used metaphorically to refer to death, d Mark 10: 38; Luke 12:,50). But why would Paul refer to the blessed martyrs in such an obscuremarmer? Also, the preposition "for" (Greek huper) does not sustain this interpretation. t been suggested that was refer" rirtg to the practice of baptizing Chris tians "over" (huper) the graves of the dep.d, The Greek word "huper" can be ttanslated "over," but this introduces another problem, Why would Chris tians be baptized over the graves of the dead, and what relevance would this practice have in Paul's discussion sup porting the truth of the resurrection? It has been suggested that "for" be translated "with a view toward" the dead. Thus Christians were being baptized with a view toward being reunited with their dead loved ones. Then why does Paul himself among those who desire to see their departedlovedones?Hementions "those"
