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Christianity and Paganism - What is the Truth?

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MennoSota

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I'm just quoting Scripture which says baptism now saves you. There is only One Lord, One faith and One baptism according to Scripture. You are saying there are two. I have to go with Scripture.

In Galatians 6:11 Paul says "See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand."
Do you interpret that literally?
I'm just quoting Scripture!

Do you understand that forcing water baptism on the passage leads to a myriad of interpretive problems in other areas of the scriptures? You should consider that such a literal interpretation is not what the author has in mind.
 

utilyan

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By your logic, if there is no water available a person will die in their sins.
No, Peter does not say that water baptism saves. The baptism of the Spirit, which happens at regeneration, is evidence of salvation. Water is irrelevant to salvation.

So when Jesus bled blood and water at the cross was it all physically irrelevant? Was the blood not holy at all? Just spiritually holy?



1 peter 3

20who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. 21Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

Baptism now saves you. When you wash your hands do you turn the faucet and then SPIRIT comes out? and you wash your hands in spirit? because it says quite clearly NOT THE REMOVAL OF DIRT FROM FLESH.

That is a WATER BAPTISM. Unless of course you think they were a little confused by the HOLY SPIRIT comming out of the faucet.

If you got the holy spirit flowing out of your kitchen faucet, then you got a pretty good case.


Acts 10

44While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message. 45All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered, 47“Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?” 48And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.


Is PETER DRUNK? why is he ordering them to be baptized if they already baptized? Why does he need water at all?
 

HankD

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That is not how we are "baptized into Christ" Gal. 3:27
That is not how we are buried with Christ in baptism bringing a newness of life. Romans 6:3-4
That is now how we are born again. John 3:5

The apostles were already born again, regenerated, saved and in the New Covenant when at Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them giving them the power to speak in tongues and preach the Gospel to all nations. That event is what Catholics would call the Sacrament of Confirmation where the Holy Spirit is given for a special purpose, to empower you to spread the Good News.
I disagree.

HankD
 

notadoctor

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I'm just quoting Scripture which says baptism now saves you. There is only One Lord, One faith and One baptism according to Scripture. You are saying there are two. I have to go with Scripture.

From the "What We Believe" page of Grace Baptist Church, Tyler, TX, (your congregation)

Grace...

Salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ is the only way God saves sinners. The works of men, their religion, and sincerity will be rejected at the judgment.

Where is baptism mentioned here? OR...are you in opposition to the doctrine of your own congregation?
 

Adonia

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Peter, Paul and Jesus disagree with you. "Baptism now saves you." ......he who believes and is baptized will be saved.....unless one is born of water and Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God."......."he saved us............by the washing of regeneration and renewal n the Holy Spirit which he poured out upon richly through Jesus Christ our Savior so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life" Titus 3:5-7

We are saved by grace and that saving grace is first received in water baptism.

This is what our friends seem to never accept - real things that have to actually happen as per the Scriptures. Time and time again they ignore the true meanings of what they actually say.
 

JohnDeereFan

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The charge has been made here that the Latin Rite of Christianity is somehow part and parcel of paganism. Why single out the Catholic faith tradition out when all of Christianity could also be seen as likewise guilty of the same charge?

Where did it start? Let us go back 3500 years where the "god" Mitra is found in the Indian Vedic religion. Fast forward 1500 years to 1500 BCE where Mitra made it to the Near East (Assyria). This "Mitra" then evolved into "Mithra", the Persian derivative, who was a "benevolent god" and the bestower of health, wealth and food. Mithra also seems to have been looked upon as a sort of Prometheus, for the gift of fire. (Schironi, 104) His worship purified and freed the devotee from sin and disease. So what else do we know about Mithra?

  • Mithra was born on December 25th of the virgin Anahita.
  • The babe was wrapped in swaddling clothes, placed in a manger and attended by shepherds.
  • He was considered a great traveling teacher and master.
  • He had 12 companions or "disciples."
  • He performed miracles.
  • As the "great bull of the Sun," Mithra sacrificed himself for world peace.
  • He ascended to heaven.
  • Mithra was viewed as the Good Shepherd, the "Way, the Truth and the Light," the Redeemer, the Savior, the Messiah.
  • Mithra is omniscient, as he "hears all, sees all, knows all: none can deceive him."
  • He was identified with both the Lion and the Lamb.
  • His sacred day was Sunday, "the Lord's Day," hundreds of years before the appearance of Christ.
  • His religion had a eucharist or "Lord's Supper."
  • Mithra "sets his marks on the foreheads of his soldiers."
  • Mithraism emphasized baptism.
So we can see that while we all believe Jesus is indeed the true God, the Creator Himself incarnated on this earth, it's origins from paganism do indeed exist and they exist for all of Christianity, not just one particular Christian faith tradition.

As adorable as it is that you believe these things, none of them are true.

Mithraism did not even reach the West until the 1st century, after Christianity had already been established and long after the numerous Old Testament prophecies of Christ.

Why would the Egyptians need a "messiah"? Mithra was born from a rock, not from a virgin. Mithras had two companions, not 12 disciples. When Mithras and the Sun God feasted together, they did not feast on Mithras, himself, but the flesh of a bull. So the Mithric meal is not analogous to the Lord's Supper.
 

saved by grace

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In Galatians 6:11 Paul says "See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand."
Do you interpret that literally?
I'm just quoting Scripture!

Do you understand that forcing water baptism on the passage leads to a myriad of interpretive problems in other areas of the scriptures? You should consider that such a literal interpretation is not what the author has in mind.
Yes, I take that literally. You don't? I'm sure if we had the original copy that Paul wrote it would have been in LARGE letters.
We know what the author had in mind because what he had in mind was passed down. It called Tradition. Without exception every Church Father East and West believed in baptismal regeneration.
 

MennoSota

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Yes, I take that literally. You don't? I'm sure if we had the original copy that Paul wrote it would have been in LARGE letters.
We know what the author had in mind because what he had in mind was passed down. It called Tradition. Without exception every Church Father East and West believed in baptismal regeneration.

So Paul didn't write with a writing utinsel such as a quill and pen? Did he cause blood to drip out of his hand so he could write with it?

See...literal interpretation...kinda silly.
 

saved by grace

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From the "What We Believe" page of Grace Baptist Church, Tyler, TX, (your congregation)

Grace...

Salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ is the only way God saves sinners. The works of men, their religion, and sincerity will be rejected at the judgment.

Where is baptism mentioned here? OR...are you in opposition to the doctrine of your own congregation?
Actually, you only quoted one small part of the passage.
So Paul didn't write with a writing utinsel such as a quill and pen? Did he cause blood to drip out of his hand so he could write with it?

See...literal interpretation...kinda silly.
What are you talking about? Paul said he wrote in large letters and I accept what he said,
 

saved by grace

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Actually, you only quoted one small part of the passage.
The rest doesn't change what he said. He is comparing the waters of baptism to the waters of the flood where all sin was wiped off the face of the earth. He says this washing is not an external washing like removing dirt from the body but an interior cleansing.
 

MennoSota

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Why would I accept the interpretation of someone in 2017 when I can read how those who lived in the years 100-400 interpreted Scripture? They would be far more reliable then someone who lived 17-21 centuries later.
Not necessarily. The amount of heresy going on in and around that time was just as great as today. Origen is a good example.
 

JohnDeereFan

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The rest doesn't change what he said. He is comparing the waters of baptism to the waters of the flood where all sin was wiped off the face of the earth. He says this washing is not an external washing like removing dirt from the body but an interior cleansing.

Actually, by isolating the statement from its context, it changes it very much. That's what context means.
The text never says anything about an "internal cleansing".
 

MennoSota

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What are you talking about? Paul said he wrote in large letters and I accept what he said,
With his hand, not with ink and a quill. How can a hand actually write without any ink. See. Literalism. You take it too far and it's just silly. Just like your attempt to have water baptism be the cause agent of salvation.
 

saved by grace

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Where do you get your text for this comment?
What comment? About heaven not being opened yet? Eph 4:8 says that when Christ ascended into heaven he took with him a host of captives. Heaven was not opened until Jesus ascended. All the Old Testament saints were in the abode of the dead or Abraham's bosom, whatever you want to call it. We see this in Luke 16. It could also be called paradise where the thief on the cross went. There was also the spirit prison that Peter writes about.
 

saved by grace

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Not necessarily. The amount of heresy going on in and around that time was just as great as today. Origen is a good example.
Origen got a few things wrong when he speculated and did not follow the tradition that was handed down. In the case of baptismal regeneration it was unanimous. The first to dispute this were the anabaptists in the 16th century. Why would I follow what they taught? What was their authority? Even Luther and Calvin didn't want to have anything to do with them. They were heretics in their eyes.
How do you know what heresy is and isn't? It can't be based on your private interpretation because you could be the one who is in heresy. What has always been believed is the most secure way to know which interpretation is the orthodox interpretation.
 
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