Where I stand

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>>>>> "Timothy" == Timothy Litteral <brotim@gte.net> writes:

    Timothy> Sis:
    >> I recall several verses in the Bible talking about the
    >> baptismal formula:
    >> 
    >> Acts 2:38 (We all know, but just for kicks...) Then Peter said
    >> unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name
    >> of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive
    >> the gift of the Holy Ghost.

    Timothy> Me: Don't get me wrong here Sis, I usually agree with
    Timothy> most of what you say but these verses are discription of
    Timothy> what happened, NOT baptismal formulas.  That IS
    Timothy> Dr. Marx's point.

    >> Acts 8:16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only
    >> they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)

    Timothy> You:
    >> "Jesus" identifies *who* he is.  "Christ" identifies *what* he
    >> is.  Do your family and friends call you "Dr. Lennie Marx" or
    >> "Dr. Marx" all the time?  I daresay they don't.  I think they
    >> call you "Lennie" (or some other nickname).  "Dr." is *what*
    >> you are, not *who* you are.

    Timothy> Me: In this case, his title IS part of his name Sis.  The
    Timothy> point *I* made to Bro.  Steven is that Peter SAID that
    Timothy> ***THE*** name to baptize in was Jesus Christ.  I ahve
    Timothy> already proven that translation of the name was
    Timothy> acceptable since Acts was written in Greek.

    Timothy> Question: Is there any other right way to baptize than
    Timothy> what Peter said through the Holy Ghost (and vice versa)?

Baptism in itself is a ritual of cleansing (in the mikvah) practiced
by the Jews before Jesus.  One place where it was practiced was in the
preparation of the bride for her wedding.  Jewish custom made
engagement a binding contract: "except for the cause of
fornication..."  The bride and groom were honor and duty bound to
become husband and wife when they accepted the terms of engagement.
The bride took the groom's name at the time of her mikvah cleansing.
Likewise, we the church -- Christ's bride -- takes the name of our
husband -- Jesus -- in water baptism.  

It is hard for me to see how the Jews of Bible times could miss the
significance of this, but customs change over time, and we can easily
miss it completely in today's culture.

-- 
--------  "And there came a writing to him from Elijah"  [2Ch 21:12]  --------
Robert Jay Brown III rj@eli.elilabs.com  http://www.elilabs.com 1 847 705-0424
Elijah Laboratories Inc.;  37 South Greenwood Avenue;  Palatine, IL 60067-6328
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