Rebaptism: Is A Need for Rebaptism Biblical?

Michael Spencer, the iMonk, is hosting a very good discussion on rebaptism and questioning the need for rebaptism. Michael plans a multi-post discussion on rebaptism and the many apologies for and against the practice of rebaptism among many Baptist and evangelical congregations. Michaels says the practice of rebaptism is "an issue that has deeply affected and weakened my own denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention,...". With the continuing decline in Southern Baptist adherents and baptisms, Michael's discussion is timely and much needed.

What does the Bible say about rebaptism? Well, rebaptism is not demonstrated in any of the New Testament. There are many examples of baptisms, but no examples of rebaptism. Paul seems to implicitly instruct against the need for rebaptism in one of his letters:

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Ephesians 4:4-6

Paul in his letter to the Ephesians seems very clear that there is one and only one baptism. This section of his letter reinforces the oneness of God and the one faith established by Christ. Combined with the fact that there isn't a single example of rebaptism in the Bible, I am unable to understand how sola scriptura Christians can wander into the error of rebaptism and the confusion and doubts it creates in their congregations. But, then again, so many early Christians wandered into the error of rebaptism that the second Ecumenical Council in 381 specfically addressed rebaptism in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed of 381.

In one holy catholic and apostolic Church; we acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed of 381

In the interest of full disclosure, our congregation recites the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed of 381 at most services and also holds the early Christian doctrine of one baptism, as do we.

I encourage CAS readers to click over to the Internet Monk blog and join in the conversation taking place regarding the need for rebaptism. As always, be charitable!

Related Posts:
Baptism by Immersion Only
Baptism by Immersion - Clothed or Unclothed?
The Holiest of Nights

Source: Rebaptism: What Is It?

The Geek of Immersion Baptism

Here's an interesting video from a Catholic priest who baptises by immersion. "Father Geek" describes in a YourTube video how their church's immersion pool is constructed and setup. Later, several immersion baptisms using the pool are shown.



I don't know if you caught it, but the converts are immersed not once, but three times. This is in keeping with the early NT church's teaching on how to baptise as described in The Didache and in later ante-Nicene letters.

And concerning baptism, thus baptize ye: Having first said all these things, baptize into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in living water. But if you have not living water, baptize into other water; and if you can not in cold, in warm. But if you have not either, pour out water thrice upon the head into the name of Father and Son and Holy Spirit. But before the baptism let the baptizer fast, and the baptized, and whatever others can; but you shall order the baptized to fast one or two days before.
The Didache

"And each of you was asked, whether he believed in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and ye made that saving confession, and descended three times into the water, and ascended again; here also hinting by a symbol at the three days burial of Christ."
Cyril of Jerusalem, Of Baptism

Also, by using a pump, the baptisms were able to be conducted in "living water" as instructed by our early Christian forefathers.

Source: Fr. Geek's Video Podcast #6: "The Geek of Immersion Baptism"

Ordination Prayer for Women Deacons Differs

Finalmente! At long last, I have had the "Ah ha!" moment and can now explain and prove the difference in male and female deacons from the early Church. The answer lies within the two different prayers found within the existing Orthodox faith. God bless the poster on the troparion to Saint Phoebe the Deaconess on the Peter Akinola blog and for commenter 7 for pointing to anastasis.org.uk .

ORDER FOR THE ORDINATION OF A WOMAN DEACON

Holy and All-powerful God, through the birth in flesh of your Only-begotten Son and our God from a Virgin you sanctified woman, and granted not only to men but also to women the grace and visitation of the Holy Spirit. Now, Master, look upon this servant of yours also, call her to the work of your service and send down upon her the rich gift of your Holy Spirit. Guard her in your Orthodox faith in a blameless way of life in accordance with what is well pleasing to you, as she fulfils her ministry at every moment.

ORDER FOR THE ORDINATION OF A DEACON

Lord, our God, by your foreknowledge you send down the gift of your Holy Spirit upon those who are appointed by your inscrutable power to become ministers and to assist in the service of your most pure Mysteries.

Did you spot the difference? Only the male deacon is ordained to minister and to assist in the Eucharist (pure Mysteries). Female deacons are ordained to the work of service, which does NOT include the Eucharist. This difference in ordination prayers aligns the two groups of deacons perfectly with the historic position of deacons within the Church. The work of service for female deacons consisted largely of assisting female converts during baptism. (Early Christians were naked during baptism, just like modern day Copts are naked during baptism.)

The Roman Catholic Womenpriests have devoted considerable space to providing the ordination rite for Deaconesses and to their comparison to the ordination of male deacons. On first glance, the presence of an ordination rite for women deacons and a comparison chart showing "identical" rites seems to be prima facia evidence for the sacramental ordination of women deacons. Except, the writer of the Roman Catholic Womenpriests text omitted mentioning that the ordination prayers are distinctly and sacramentally different between male and female deacons. This omission may be either accidental or deliberate. We'll have to take the more charitable stance and assume that this was accidental. If accidental, then the comparison table will eventually be corrected to mention the difference in ordination prayeer.

So, it doesn't matter one iota that an ordination rite exists or how similar the two ordinations rites are or even how many icons of Phoebe depict her wearing a deacons stole, there was and still is a major difference in the ordination rites of male and female deacons.

Source: ORDER FOR THE ORDINATION OF A WOMAN DEACON

Liturgical Abuse By Womenpriests

The recent Womenpriests issue by a "Catholic" magazine and the pending announcement of the formal excommunication of two Saint Louis area Womenpriests has prompted me to document my recent observations and interpretation of events.

First, the Womenpriests might could have been taken seriously and would have had a stronger case had they been more faithful to the Mass. Unfortunately, the Womenpriests have not limited their disobediance to the Church to just women's ordination but to grave liturgical abuse:

- Confecting rice cakes for communion.
- Confecting grape juice for communion.
- Use of glass vessels for the "Eucharist".
- Consecrating wine in a carafe for later pouring.

If at some future date the Catholic Church should determine that it does have the authority to ordain women, Catholics would still expect any Womanpriest to follow the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) and confect a valid Eucharist. These first priestesses have poisoned the Eucharistic well, either intentionally or accidentally.

Second, the replies of the two Saint Louis area Womenpriests don't bode well for the long term health of the womenpriest movement. Their statements regarding disassembling the ecclesiastical structure and authority of the church would turn their "churches" into Protestant-styled churches. The lack of centralized authority and ecclesiastical structure has led to the fracturing and babel of doctrines and beliefs in the Protestant world. Have these ladies studied no church history? Have they not read of the Reformation?

The one thing I find intersesting is the return of young Catholics to the traditional Latin Mass. It's quite possible that, at a future date, a formal Latin liturgy may become the primary indicator of a valid Catholic Mass. How would Catholics know that they are where they are supposed to be? A male priest in ornate vestaments with his back to you just said "Oramus".

Source: Church Ladies Be Damned, Part 2

Protestants Joining Catholics in Confession Comeback

Who knew that the ancient Christian practice of confession was making a comeback in a big way? While running a routine bookmarked Google Blogsearch, I discovered this short post, which led to this larger post by a Lutheran pastor, which led to this WSJ article. That's how blogs should work. One should be led from a statement of fact, to a source, and then to other sources.

What originally, caught my attention was the fact that earlier this past summer, 2.5 million Lutherans decided to revive the ancient Christian practice of confession. It seems that, for the last 100 years, no one in this particular denomination of Lutherans had been practicing confession to a priest. In the cited Lutheran example, the pastor wears vestments, stands near the altar, and penitents kneel and confess their sins.

Confess therefore your sins one to another: and pray one for another, that you may be saved. For the continual prayer of a just man availeth much.
James 5:15

Now, while the Lutheran revival of confession may be mind blowing to me and some of you good folks, what really toasted my grey matter was the Wall Street Journal article that the good Father Eckardt cited at the bottom of his post. The revival of confession wasn't limited to the 2.5 million Lutherans. Oh, no. God seems to have initiated a confessional renaissance of the entire Christian church. Even evangelicals are practicing confession! Who knew?

Some evangelicals don't need any prompting. Joshua Wilshusen, 29, a respiratory care student from Lomita, Calif., started meeting two other Christian men for a weekly group confession two years ago. They gather at a park or coffee shop to ask questions such as "Have you coveted this week?" "Have you been sexually pure?" "Have you just lied to me?" Confessing helps him resist temptations. "There've been times when a sin has hurt me all week, when I've lusted after a woman or lost my temper at work, and then I confess it and the peace is restored."

Confession is one of the oldest Christian practices and historical documentation of the practice dates back to about 70AD where it is mentioned in the Didache:

"Confess your sins in church, and do not go up to your prayer with an evil conscience. This is the way of life. . . . On the Lord’s Day gather together, break bread, and give thanks, after confessing your transgressions so that your sacrifice may be pure"
Didache 4:14, 14:1

Around the same time, we find the ancient Christian practice of confessing confirmed in the Acts of the Apostles:

Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices.
Acts 19:18

The early fathers of the Christian church were not silent regarding confession. Origen in his homilies on Leviticus states:

"[A final method of forgiveness], albeit hard and laborious [is] the remission of sins through penance, when the sinner . . . does not shrink from declaring his sin to a priest of the Lord and from seeking medicine, after the manner of him who say, ‘I said, "To the Lord I will accuse myself of my iniquity"
Origen, Homilies on Leviticus 2:4

I am particularly fond of this quote by Basil the Great from around 288AD:

It is necessary to confess our sins to those to whom the dispensation of God’s mysteries is entrusted. Those doing penance of old are found to have done it before the saints. It is written in the Gospel that they confessed their sins to John the Baptist [Matt. 3:6], but in Acts [19:18] they confessed to the apostles"
Basil the Great, Rules Briefly Treated

About a decade later John Chrysostom would write:

"Priests have received a power which God has given neither to angels nor to archangels. It was said to them: ‘Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose, shall be loosed.’ Temporal rulers have indeed the power of binding; but they can only bind the body. Priests, in contrast, can bind with a bond which pertains to the soul itself and transcends the very heavens. Did [God] not give them all the powers of heaven? ‘Whose sins you shall forgive,’ he says, ‘they are forgiven them; whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.’ What greater power is there than this? The Father has given all judgment to the Son. And now I see the Son placing all this power in the hands of men [Matt. 10:40; John 20:21–23]. They are raised to this dignity as if they were already gathered up to heaven"
John Chrysostom, The Priesthood 3:5

Remember...

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness"
1 John 1:9

However, if I am to confess my sins to another, I want it to be to another who has this authority from Jesus:

Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."
John 20:21-23

Source: WSJ - Confession Makes a Comeback