When the dead are dunked…

In my studies today I came across 1 Corinthians 15:29 and it reminded me of a long conversation I had with a Mormon friend of mine.  She was raised in the Mormon church and is VERY knowledgable and involved there.  The Bible following Christian Church is often at great odds with the Mormon faith.  The Mormons do NOT believe in the same God that Christians do… nor the same Jesus.  But when asked, they consider themselves Christian… and with all the same terminology, it certainly sounds like they are to the everyday Christian Joe who hasn’t researched what the true Mormon beliefs are.  It saddens me that she really hasn’t seemed to view her beliefs with any scrutiny and has always accepted what was fed to her.  I know that 95% of Christians are just as guilty of this statement as well.  But regardless, I tried to make her question her beliefs (and was very up-front about my intention to do so…) and I told her that I wanted her to discover WHY she believed what she believed.  If she really researched it and found she thought she was in the right spot… great!  If not… then it’s a good thing she looked.

When eternity is at stake, blind acceptance is a fool’s choice.

Anyway, on with the passage I remembered this from…

“Why else are they Baptised for the Dead, if the Dead raise not at all?” – 1 Coninthians, 15:29.

The Mormon church takes this passage VERY literally.  They have their children research their geneology and find the name of some distant dead relatives who weren’t baptized in the Mormon church. Then those children temporarily assume the name of the dead relative and are baptized…  and this is to proxy baptize the dead relative who failed to do so when they were alive.

Here’s a rather interesting article I found that explains that passage with some amazing depth that I never knew before researching the issue…  P.S. James Walker (the author of this article) was born and raised a Mormon… all of his family is Mormon… He has since left the Mormon church and identifies himself as a Christian and has started a non-profit foundation that does nothing but reach out to Mormons to show them the truths that he has found. So yes… it is a biased view behind the writing… but he knows what he’s talking about!

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1 Corinthians 15:29 – Mormonism’s Baptism for the Dead
 -James K. Walker

A unique teaching of Mormonism is the practice of baptizing on behalf of the dead. This is a very important belief of Mormons today. Mormon Apostle Bruce R. McConkie taught: “…the Lord has ordained baptism for the dead as the means whereby all his worthy children of all ages can become heirs of salvation in his kingdom,” (Mormon Doctrine, p. 73).

In every active Mormon Temple proxy baptisms for the dead take place in which living Mormons temporarily assume the names of dead people to perform baptisms on their behalf. Mormon leaders teach that this activity was practiced by the first century Christian churches and quote 1 Corinthians 15:29 as proof (Ibid).

1 Corinthians 15:29

“Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?”

Historically, this passage has been the source of much speculation and some confusion. One second century sect, the Cataphrygians (Montanists), seem to have developed the practice of baptizing actual corpses based on a misunderstanding of this verse (see Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, edited by Walter A. Elwell, p. 119).

In order to understand this or any other Biblical passage, it is important to examine the context to understand what is being talked about.

The entire fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians deals with the resurrection. False teachers had infiltrated the church at Corinth, teaching “that there is no resurrection of the dead,” (vs. 13).

Paul had stated that the heart of the gospel was Christ’s resurrection (vs. 1-14). Christ died on the cross for man’s sins, was buried, and that he rose again the third day.

To be saved one must turn from their sins and trust in, or “keep in memory” Christ’s work on their behalf. Christ’s historical death, burial and resurrection is the gospel.

But there were cultic leaders at Corinth that believed and taught that there was no resurrection. The whole chapter is devoted to reasons why this is a false teaching.

Reason #1: There were eye witnesses of Christ’s resurrection (15:5-7);

Reason #2: If there is no resurrection, Christ has not risen (15:13, 16);

Reason #3: If there is no resurrection, Paul’s preaching is in vain (15:14);

Reason #4: If there is no resurrection, their faith was in vain (15:14);

Reason #5: If there is no resurrection, Paul and the other apostles were false witnesses (15:15);

Reason #6: If there is no resurrection, the Corinthian Christians were still lost in their sins (15:17);

Reason #7: If there is no resurrection, all who have died trusting Christ have perished (15:18).

In verses 20-28, Paul explains that Christ has been raised. He is the “firstfruits” of all that will be raised and that all “enemies” including death have been subjected and conquered by Christ.

Then in verse 29, Paul points out a further reason that the resurrection is real. He says: “Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?” The apostle is pointing out an inconsistency in the practice of these false teachers. Apparently, they did not believe that the dead would rise (15:12), but they practiced proxy baptism for the dead. If the dead do not rise, why did they baptize them after death? It was a contradiction.

By carefully noticing the pronouns, one can see who was actually practicing baptism for the dead. Paul says, “…what shall they do which are baptized for the dead… why are they then baptized for the dead?” Paul did not say, “Why are you (Corinthian Christians) then baptized for the dead?” He did not say, “Why are we (the followers of Christ) then baptized for the dead?” He did not say, “Why then am I (Paul himself) then baptized for the dead?” He was asking, in effect, why these false teachers, who did not even believe in the resurrection, would want to baptize for the dead if the dead do not rise at all.

As pointed out in The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, edited by Colin Brown: “The practice (baptism for the dead) could hardly be reconciled with the Pauline proclamation, and was cited by Paul as part of the polemic: people who deny the resurrection for the dead ought not to get baptized for the dead!” (Vol. 1, p. 147).

Baptism for the Dead and the Book of Mormon

A further problem arises with the doctrine of baptism for the dead when the Book of Mormon is examined.

The Doctrine and Covenants teaches that the Book of Mormon contains: “…the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles and to the Jews also,” (Section 20:9) It also teaches that “…this most glorious of all subjects belonging to the everlasting gospel (is) namely the baptism for the dead,” (Doctrine and Covenants 128:17).

Although baptism for the dead is “the most glorious of all subjects belonging to the everlasting gospel,” and the Book of Mormon contains the “fullness of the gospel,” baptism for the dead cannot be found in the Book of Mormon.

Another problem with baptism for the dead teaching is that the theology taught in the Book of Mormon does not allow for this doctrine. In Alma 34:34, 35, the Book of Mormon teaches that:

“Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis (death), that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.

“For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked,” (emphasis mine).

Finally, a vital companion doctrine to baptism for the dead is the practice of genealogy, or tracing one’s “roots” to determine the names of dead relatives. This is practiced in Mormonism so that those dead ancestors can have temple works performed by proxy (see Mormon Doctrine, p. 308).

The Bible soundly condemns the practice of genealogy for religious purposes (1 Timothy 1:4 and Titus 3:9). The Bible teaches that there are no opportunities for salvation after death. Any doctrine that teaches otherwise is both false and dangerous. As Hebrews 9:27 proclaims: “…it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”

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So yeah… That explains it pretty well. Paul was not baptizing people in the name of dead people… he was saying, “The false teachers that say there is no resurrection are baptizing for the dead…. WHY???”

She commented back to me:

I think this all just comes down to Faith. What an individual believes in. Men can twist *anything* any way they want to — on either side. I prefer to just put my trust in God, listen to him, and go from there. Beyond that, all the logic of men just dosn’t matter to me — I’m more interested in seeing what God has asked us to do now, today, then in figuring out just how it fits with the past. The people who founded my Church were men — inspired, guided, lead — but they made mistakes, and said things that were speculative, and not inspired — which were often taken the wrong way. Or were wrong, but have been corrected.

I replied:

Yes, by all means, the Christian church has had it’s black-eyes in the past as well… but at the same time, I want to challenge you. I want you to look at your beliefs… look at what you were raised with… look at what you’ve heard re-inforced from your family, your friends, your church…. all you’ve ever known. Look at it seriously and with DEEP speculation. If in the end you can say that you’ve decided you’ve made the right choice, then by all means… enjoy. But if you have the slightest inkling of doubt in the whole deal… it’s not worth being complacent about since it’s “the way things are” for you…. This is your eternity at stake here… it’s worth a look.

She had also stated in her first reply:

Eh, continuing revelation makes it so that the mistakes of past generations can be fixed. . .

My response to that:

Mistakes of action are one thing… but mistakes of doctrine or changing doctrine is quite another. Continuing revelation really sounds like a convenient “way out” if things aren’t working the way they want…. Jehovah’s Witnesses often say, “The light got brighter” when an event didn’t come to pass… and they claim that it’ll happen further down the road. They have successfully failed to predict the end of the world over 20 times in their history as a church… but each time… “The light has gotten brighter.”

The moment I find myself in a church that stands behind doctrine which has either failed to come true as stated, or has leadership that “tweaks” their doctrine to fit their desires… is the moment I’d bail and seriously look at what I believe. I say this out of love…. Check it out.