Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Getting De-Baptized?

Here's a report about atheists using a hair dryer to get "de-baptized."

Certainly, it's meant to be provocative more than performative, as atheists no more believe in a God who works through Baptism than they believe in that God (even if they disagree on the existence of a deity, they do have in common with many Christian denominations a common belief in the inability of God to work through Baptism).

Unfortunately, that's not how Baptism works. Once baptized, always baptized. Jesus describes Baptism as being "born again" to Nicodemus. So, just like the only way to undo your first birth is to die, so the only way to undo your re-birth is--mm-hm--to die.

But don't worry atheists, even if you can't undo with a hairdryer what God has done with His Word, the benefits of Baptism are only received by faith. If you reject the faith God delivers through His Word (yes, babies, even the Word in Baptism; you don't have to reach an age of accountability to get your ears to work), your Baptism is of no salutary effect. So, turn off the hairdryer; it's a waste of electricity.

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