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History and Sources of Baptism

2020, ECO Theology Resources: Baptism

A short paper looking into the contextual elements that made baptism an immediately understandable and plausible symbolic expression of Christian discipleship in the first century.

Related Papers

Benjamin Snyder

This essay exposes the ideological biases characterizing recent research into the origin of "Christian baptism" as scholars variously root its origin in their preferred religion (Greco-Roman, Jewish, or sui generis Christianity). This is made possible in part through the constructed categories of various types of “baptisms” and a preference for "Christian baptism," which controls comparison. To remedy the distortion of sources, I propose that a robust implementation of comparative method is necessary, including clarification on what, why, and how we compare. This will shed clearer light on the origin of the religious ritual of baptism in, of, and around the Bible.

Daniel M Keeran MSW

This paper examines the historical development of baptism and recent efforts in Catholic and ecumenical circles to rediscover the early church practice and meaning of this central act of conversion to Christianity.

Barry L Neufeld

St. Cyril uses a allegorical hermenuetic to find many passages that foreshadow and enrich our understanding of the meaning and reason for Baptism. In a day when the Church was not only legal, but fashionable, he insisted that his baptismal candidates (catechumens) were sincere and committed to their Christian Faith.

Bibliographical references, index, 50+ photographs. Where were the 3,000 people baptized on the day of Pentecost when the church first began? Where is the oldest known baptismal basin dating from the first century AD? What is the large oval hole in the floor of St. Peters basilica beneath the current baptismal font? Why are the early baptismal basins so large? The original practice and meaning of baptism as the central experience of personal conversion to Jesus Christ, has become a lost mystery to millions of people in the world. From the early centuries of the common era until the 13th century, changes in baptismal practice have occurred. This volume contains much new information and combines a look at baptism from two perspectives: the biblical teaching followed by the physical evidence of the places of baptism in the ancient and medieval world. Descriptions of baptismal basins are given for the period in Europe, specifically the Mediterranean region. See inside this book at http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Mystery-Baptism-Daniel-Keeran/dp/1442124660

Jason Weatherly

This a paper I wrote for "Story of Christianity" class at Urshan Graduate School of Theology

Noel B. Reynolds

Kirk M Ruch

The events of Jesus’ baptism in the Gospel of Luke marked an important transition in God’s historic work to redeem the world. Nothing would be quite the same after Jesus was baptized, prayed and received the Spirit, and heard God’s voice acknowledging him in terms reminiscent of Isaiah 42.1, with distant echoes of Psalm 2. This paper will explore the place of the baptism of Jesus in the overall narrative context of Luke-Acts; relevant nuances of the meaning of John’s baptism affecting this context; Jesus’ baptism and subsequent ministry in the Spirit; and a brief connection of the meaning of Christian baptism relevant to Jesus’ baptism. This will be followed by a necessarily brief comment on the early Church Fathers’ approach to the baptism of Jesus, and a conclusion suggesting a path forward toward appropriate expectations and application in our own time.

in: Leachman J.C. (ed.), The Liturgical Subject, Subject, Subjectivitity and the Human Person in Contemporary Liturgical Discussion and Critique, (= Faith and Reason), SCM Press, London 2008, pp. 201-225.

Enrico Mazza

James McGarigle

A short challenge to the Baptist position on Titus 3:5b based upon Scripture and the Early Church Fathers.

Baptism in the New Testament and the Early Church Prepared by Daniel Keeran, MSW For deeper study visit www.wbschool.org "On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the people of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity." Zechariah 13:1

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What is Baptism?

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In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Baptism

Introduction.

• Topical Studies
• Primary Sources
• Word Studies
• Social-Scientific and Ritual Studies
• Greco-Roman Purifications
• John the Baptist
• New Testament Texts
• Noncanonical Texts
• Gospel References apart from John the Baptist and the Baptism of Jesus
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• Second and Third Centuries
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• Baptism for the Dead
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Baptism by Everett Ferguson LAST REVIEWED: 26 February 2013 LAST MODIFIED: 26 February 2013 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195393361-0004

Baptism was the central rite in the ceremonies of initiation into the Christian church. It required faith, and so was normally associated with a period of instruction and involved a verbal confession of faith, and of repentance, so it was often accompanied by prayer, fasting, and a renunciation of Satan. It was normally administered by immersion in water. After examining antecedents to Christian practice and usage of the words for baptism, this article will consider the baptism of Jesus as foundational for Christian practice, other texts on baptism in the Gospels, the corpus of Pauline writings, the Acts of the Apostles, and other New Testament texts. Then some attention will be given to developments in the early history of the church, especially related to the doctrine of baptism, and particular problems related to the practice of baptism. The literary evidence from the early church in regard to baptism is supplemented by attention to evidence supplied by art and archaeology.

General Overviews

General studies of the early history of baptism not limited to one century or group of writings include comprehensive surveys covering the theology and liturgy of baptism, topical studies of one aspect or theme connected to baptism, and collections of primary sources. Maertens 1962 is a comprehensive historical treatment of baptism in early Christianity. Heiser 1987 concentrates on the development of baptism in the Greek church. The liturgy of baptism is the central theme for Stenzel 1958 and Saxer 1988 . Kretschmar 1970 , a very comprehensive treatment of baptism in the early church, consciously includes much theology along with liturgy. Johnson 1999 and Spinks 2006 present briefer but comprehensive surveys in English. The most complete study in English is now Ferguson 2009 , covering Greco-Roman and Jewish practices, the New Testament, and the Christian development until 500 CE .

Ferguson, Everett. Baptism in the Early Church: History, Theology, and Liturgy in the First Five Centuries . Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2009.

This work aims at completeness in coverage of the sources in the first three centuries and becomes more selective, but still representatively comprehensive, for the 4th and 5th centuries. It builds on recent scholarly work and pushes areas of consensus to form a synthesis from which further study can proceed.

Heiser, Lothar. Die Taufe in der orthodoxen Kirche: Geschichte, Spendung, und Symbolik nach der Lehre der Väter . Trier, Germany: Paulinus, 1987.

Heiser studies the Greek Fathers up to the 6th century, when the Orthodox rite was essentially established. He emphasizes the patristic interpretation of the baptism of Jesus as the pattern for Christian baptism, of baptism as part of the renewal of humanity into the pattern of paradise at creation, and of the biblical images of baptism.

Johnson, Maxwell E. The Rites of Christian Initiation: Their Evolution and Interpretation . Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1999.

This textbook on the history of the rites of initiation includes extensive quotations of primary texts and covers history and theology from an ecumenical perspective. It notes the current status of scholarship on controversial points.

Kretschmar, Georg. “Die Geschichte des Taufgottesdienstes in der alter Kirche.” In Leiturgia Handbuch des evangelischen Gottesdiensts . Vol. 5. Edited by Karl Ferdinand Müller and Walter F. Blankenburg. Kassel, West Germany: J. Stauda, 1970.

Kretschmar notes that in the early centuries baptism (and not the eucharist) was the central liturgical act of the church. The unifying theme of baptism was the work of Christ, which provided the ground for the “once for all” nature of baptism. He argues that the Syrian sequence of only one anointing, and that before baptism, was present also in Egypt and Cappadocia.

Maertens, Thierry Histoire et pastorale du rituel du catéchuménat et du baptême . Paroisse et liturgie collection de pastorale liturgique 56. Bruges, Belgium: Publications de Saint-André, 1962.

Maertens follows primarily the Western development through the Middle Ages within a Roman Catholic framework of interpretation. In the early centuries the action of God, liberty of the candidate, and participation of the community were held together in the baptismal ceremonies, but by the Middle Ages the practice of infant baptism meant that the community elements either disappeared or were reinterpreted.

Saxer, Victor. Les rites de l’initiation chrétienne du IIe au VIe siècle: Esquisse historique et signification d’après leur principaux témoins . Spoleto, Italy: Centro Italiano di Studi Sull’alto Medioevo, 1988.

Saxer gives more attention to the rites associated with the catechumenate and the preparation for baptism than to baptism proper and the postbaptismal rites and provides little on the doctrinal meaning of baptism. The same ritual scheme for the nucleus of the baptismal rite may be discerned in all regions. The detachment of confirmation from baptism was made at different moments in different places.

Spinks, Bryan D. Early and Medieval Rituals and Theologies of Baptism: From the New Testament to the Council of Trent . Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2006.

Spinks’s brief but thorough survey gives, for the early sources, more of the theology while also presenting variant views on disputed questions of ritual practice; for the later sources, where liturgies are preserved, the proportions are reversed. In the West after Augustine, baptism “came to be a baptism from something (original sin) more than a baptism into something (the eschatological community of God).”

Stenzel, Alois S. J. Die Taufe: Eine Genetische Erklärung der Taufliturgie . Innsbruck, Austria: Felizian Rauch, 1958.

Stenzel’s interest is liturgy, not theology or parallels from the history of religions, and primarily the Western development leading to the medieval Roman liturgy. The earliest sequence in conversion was proclamation, faith, and baptism. Stenzel opposes the interpretation that the baptizand stood in the font when water was sprinkled or poured on him.

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The Baptism of Jesus

Other essays.

Jesus’s baptism is an act of humility. In his baptism, he consents to be counted as if he were a sinner, along with everyone else.

This essay examines the significance of Jesus’s baptism in relation to the history of redemption and the person and work of Christ. It surveys the Gospel record of Jesus’s baptism and its emphasis on the coming of the Spirit and the Father’s voice of approval.

Introduction

What is the significance of the baptism of Jesus? Here is the record given in Matthew 3:13–17:

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

The passage presents us immediately with a mystery: at first John the Baptist resists the idea of baptizing Jesus. But in the end, he consents. Why did he resist, and why did he change his mind? In addition, what is the significance of the opening of the heavens, the descent of the Spirit, and the voice from heaven?

Backgrounds

The record of John the Baptist and his baptism of Jesus occurs not only in Matthew 3:13–17, but in Mark 1:9–11 and Luke 3:21–22. In addition, John 1:29–34 overlaps with these passages. It describes the descent of the Spirit on Jesus (verse 33), which took place when Jesus was baptized. But it does not directly describe the baptism itself.

The verses that directly describe Jesus’s baptism by John do not fully explain its significance. The Gospels invite us to see the event of Jesus’s baptism in relation to a larger context. Each of the Gospels describes the ministry of John the Baptist and the significance of his baptism more broadly. Each also alludes to Old Testament backgrounds, and each looks forward to a baptism that Jesus himself will bring, the baptism with the Holy Spirit: “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matt 3:11).

The History of Redemption

The Gospels set the baptism of Jesus in the context of the age-long unfolding of the history of redemption, which takes place according to the plan of God. The background of this history is found in Genesis 1–3, in the events of creation and the fall. The fall of Adam is followed by the first promise of redemption, found in Genesis 3:15, the promise of “her offspring,” the offspring of the woman, which already points to Christ (Gal 3:16).

John the Baptist explains his baptism as “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4). His central message is, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt 3:2). The call to repentance is spread all the way across the pages of the Old Testament, because human sin dishonors God, renders us guilty, and breaks fellowship with the God who made us. Repentance on the part of man is necessary, but also atonement in order to deal with the guilt of sin. In the Old Testament, the necessity for atonement is symbolized by animal sacrifices, which depict the removal sin through the death of an innocent substitute. These sacrifices prefigure the coming of Christ as the final atoning substitute. John says, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29; compare verse 36). The Old Testament also describes ceremonies that use water as a symbol for washing and cleansing from sin: Leviticus 1:9; 8:6; 11:32; 15:5–33. These ceremonies point forward to Christ, whose blood cleanses us (Heb 9:12–22). John uses water in baptism, thereby signifying cleansing and the forgiveness of sins.

God called John the Baptist to serve as the forerunner of the Messiah: “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matt 3:11). The Gospels indicate that John is the fulfillment of the prophecies in Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1 concerning a prophetic forerunner (Matt 3:3; Mark 1:2–3). John proclaims that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt 3:2).

God has always been ruling over the world (Ps 103:19), but the “kingdom of heaven” comes when God climactically exerts his power to accomplish the salvation of his people. John announces that this decisive time of salvation is “at hand.” And Jesus, the one greater than John, actually brings this kingdom in an inaugural form as he casts out demons and heals diseases (Matt 12:28; Luke 7:22–23). The decisive events that bring salvation are Jesus’ death and resurrection.

So, the Bible gives us an understanding of the unique role of John the Baptist in the history of redemption. He is the one appointed to “prepare the way” for Jesus (Matt 3:3). He stands on the cusp of a new era, the era when God’s saving rule will be exerted and salvation will be accomplished by Jesus, once and for all.

John’s Objection

With this larger context in view, we are ready to appreciate more deeply the baptism of Jesus by John. John is preparing people for the coming of Jesus by his call to repentance. When Jesus himself comes to John, John recognizes Jesus’ superiority: “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (Matt 3:14). John’s objection makes a good deal of sense. John is baptizing with “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4). Jesus has no sins and needs no forgiveness. He has nothing to repent of. So, it would seem, John’s baptism is totally inappropriate for Jesus. In comparison to Jesus, John is the one who needs to repent and be baptized: “I need to be baptized by you.” Jesus, unlike the people to come to John, is one who will himself be baptizing, with a baptism much greater than John’s:

I [John] baptize you with water for repentance, . . . . He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. (Matt 3:11)

Jesus’s Answer

It is no wonder that John feels he should object. And yet Jesus answers the objection: “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matt 3:15). What does he mean? It is a mysterious statement, and yet it satisfies John: “Then he consented.” Jesus says that his baptism will be “to fulfill all righteousness.” The word “fulfill” fits in with the entire complex of what is happening. The coming of John the Baptist himself fulfills the Old Testament prophecies that announce beforehand that he will come as the forerunner (Isa 40:3; Mal 3:1). The coming of Jesus is the fulfillment of the long-standing promises of climactic redemption, promises that began with Genesis 3:15. Jesus brings with him the saving rule of the kingdom of God. For Jesus to be baptized is one aspect of fulfillment, and one aspect of bringing “all righteousness,” the deep righteousness that belongs to God and his kingdom.

But how is Jesus’s baptism a “fulfillment of all righteousness”? The Jews are coming for repentance. They come for forgiveness of sins. Jesus has no sin, as we have noted (2Cor 5:21; Heb 4:15; 1Pet 2:22). But he is “the Lamb of God” (John 1:29), the sin bearer . He identifies with the sinful people of Israel, and he identifies with their sin, because he is coming to be both the final sacrifice and the final high priest (Heb 8–10).

Jesus’s baptism is an act of humility. He consents to be counted as if he were a sinner, along with everyone else. This act foreshadows the time on the cross when he will die for the sins of the people of Israel and indeed for the sins of all those who are his. As 2 Corinthians 5:21 puts it, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Fulfilling “all righteousness” includes not only Jesus being righteously obedient to his Father’s will but providing by his perfect righteousness a righteousness for us , “that we might become the righteousness of God.” This act of exchange, in which Jesus takes our sin and gives to us his righteousness, is depicted symbolically beforehand when he is baptized by John.

The Coming of the Spirit

When Jesus is baptized, he is carrying out the plan of the Father, laid down before the foundation of the world (1Pet 1:20). In response, God the Father acts in approval. “[B]ehold, the heavens were opened to him.” The opening signifies in visual form the opening of the way to God. Jesus as the Son is always in fellowship with the Father, but this opening manifests the reality of that fellowship.

Out of that opening “the Spirit of God” descends. The physical movement symbolizes visually that the Spirit, in the form of a dove, is the Spirit of God himself, who comes from God’s dwelling in heaven. The Spirit is “coming to rest on him.” This resting signifies the same thing that Jesus talks about in Luke 4:18–19: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me [Jesus], because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.” Jesus carries out his public ministry in the power of the Spirit: “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matt 12:28).

Does Jesus Always Have the Spirit?

The coming of the Spirit to “rest on him” raises a question. Did Jesus not have the Spirit before this point? According to the biblical doctrine of the Trinity, each person of the Trinity is fully God. Jesus is God, as John 1:1 affirms. God the Son is always in intimate fellowship with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. The three persons are one God, and they indwell each other. Jesus always has the Spirit, because he is God. So any additional work of the Holy Spirit has reference to Jesus’s human nature , not his divine nature.

Observe that John the Baptist is “filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb” (Luke 1:15). Surely the same is true with respect to the human nature of Jesus, who is greater than John the Baptist (compare Luke 2:40, 52). That is to say, the Holy Spirit dwells in Jesus’ human nature from the beginning.

Then what new is happening at Jesus’s baptism? The Holy Spirit comes to do a new work in equipping Jesus for his public ministry, according to Luke 4:18–19. This new work is again with respect to his human nature. With respect to his human nature, Jesus is in some respects like a prophet or a king, who receives the Holy Spirit for the purpose of ministry to others.

The Voice of the Father

Along with the descent of the Spirit comes “a voice from heaven.” This is the voice of God the Father. “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matt 3:17). This voice picks up on two main Old Testament texts, Psalm 2:7 and Isaiah 42:1. Psalm 2:7 looks forward to the coming of Jesus as the king in the line of David. Isaiah 42:1 describes Jesus beforehand as “my servant, whom I uphold.” In Isaiah 53, the servant is the one who brings salvation to the people by dying for their sins. God the Father delights in the obedience of his Son, and what he says anticipates both Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross and his reign over the world, when he is exalted in the resurrection and the ascension.

Overall, this dramatic event at Jesus’s baptism has the features of “theophany,” the appearing of God. It is like what took place at Mount Sinai (Exod 19–20) and to Isaiah (Isa 6) and Ezekiel (Ezek 1). The opening heaven is analogous to Ezekiel 1:1; the appearance like a dove is analogous to Old Testament visual displays of the presence of God; the voice from heaven is like Mount Sinai and the voice of God to Isaiah and to Ezekiel. We see here an intensive manifestation of the presence of God. And it is a trinitarian presence. God the Father speaks from heaven. God the Spirit descends like a dove. God the Son is the one addressed by the voice of the Father. It is fitting, because Jesus in his incarnation is the fulfillment of Old Testament theophanies.

Jesus Baptizes with the Spirit

We should also remember John the Baptist’s prophecy that the one who comes after him “will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matt 3:11). This prophecy points to the day of Pentecost, described in Acts 2. On that day the Holy Spirit comes to the apostles and the church with “tongues as of fire” (verse 3). In this way the baptism of Jesus provides a foundation for our baptism with the Holy Spirit. Jesus is our representative. He is our representative already when John baptizes him. He is our representative as sin bearer on the cross. He is our representative when he rises from the dead, thereby providing new, resurrection life for those who are his.

So the features depicted in Jesus’s baptism by John come to apply through Jesus to us. We are cleansed from sin by the washing with Jesus’s blood, signified by the water of baptism. Heaven is opened to us through Jesus, giving us communion with God the Father (Heb 10:19–20). We receive the Holy Spirit, who descends on us when we have faith in Christ (Rom 8:9–10). We hear the voice of God the Father, who calls us sons in union with Christ the Son (Rom 8:14–17; Gal 4:4–7), and who is pleased with us on account of his being pleased with his eternal Son (Eph 1:4–10).

Further Reading

• “ Baptism of Jesus – Bible Story. ” Compiled and Edited by BibleStudyTools Staff. Provides the key Bible passages and a brief explanation.
• Brandon Crowe, The Last Adam: A Theology of the Obedient Life of Jesus in the Gospels (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2017). A focus on Jesus’s human obedience.
• John Piper, “ The Baptism and the Genealogy of Jesus Christ .” A pastoral exposition of Luke 3:21–38. The first part discusses Jesus’ baptism.
• John Piper, “ Why Was Jesus Baptized? ”
• Vern S. Poythress, Theophany: A Biblical Theology of God’s Appearing (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2018), especially p. 384. Treats the theophany at Jesus’ baptism against the background of the general theme of theophany, including the theophany on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2.

This essay is part of the Concise Theology series. All views expressed in this essay are those of the author. This essay is freely available under Creative Commons License with Attribution-ShareAlike, allowing users to share it in other mediums/formats and adapt/translate the content as long as an attribution link, indication of changes, and the same Creative Commons License applies to that material.

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What Is Baptism and How Important Is It?

John Piper Twitter @JohnPiper

What difference does god’s happiness make, god’s promises for the world to come, how faith obeys, what is ‘white-hot worship’, god rewards those who believe, pastors need pastors.

• Scripture: Colossians 2:8–15    Topic: Baptism & Membership

In our three-part series on baptism and church membership, we focused last week on the meaning and importance of church membership. And today we focus on the meaning and importance of baptism. The note I want to strike immediately — the tone and the truth that I want to set first and foremost — is that baptism gets its meaning and its importance from the death of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in our place and for our sins, and from his triumph over death in the resurrection that guarantees our new and everlasting life. Baptism has meaning and importance only because the death and resurrection of Jesus are infinitely important for our rescue from the wrath of God and our everlasting joy in his glorious presence. That’s the note that must be struck first.

We are not mainly talking about religious ritual here. We are not mainly talking about church tradition here. We are mainly talking about Jesus Christ and his magnificent work of salvation in dying for our sins and rising for our justification. Talking about baptism means talking about how Jesus taught us to express our faith in Jesus and his great salvation. So don’t have small thoughts as we begin. Have large thoughts. Great thoughts about great reality — Jesus Christ, the Son of God, crucified to bear the sins of millions and raised to give them everlasting life in the new heavens and the new earth.

Sign, Emblem, and Ordination

To answer the question What is baptism and how important is it? let’s read again what the elders of Bethlehem joyfully affirm in the Bethlehem Baptist Church Elder Affirmation of Faith (Section 12.3), and then look at some of the biblical foundations for it:

We believe that baptism is an ordinance of the Lord by which those who have repented and come to faith express their union with Christ in his death and resurrection, by being immersed in water in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is a sign of belonging to the new people of God, the true Israel, and an emblem of burial and cleansing, signifying death to the old life of unbelief, and purification from the pollution of sin.

Let’s take five parts of that affirmation and look at the biblical basis for them.

1. Ordained by Jesus

First, “We believe that baptism is an ordinance of the Lord . . .” What we mean by this is that the Lord Jesus commanded it — he ordained it — in a way that would make it an ongoing practice of the church. We find this most explicitly in Matthew 28:19-20: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

“In baptism, by faith, we are united with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection.”

“Make disciples” is the main verb: “Having gone, make disciples of all nations.” The defining participles are “baptizing them” and “teaching” them. So the church is commanded to do this for all disciples. Making disciples of all nations includes baptizing them.

And the time frame is defined by the promise of Christ’s help in verse 20: “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” The promise of help is for as long as this age lasts. So the command he promises to help us with is as long as this age lasts.

So baptism is a command, and ordinance, of the Lord Jesus to be performed in making disciples until Christ returns at the end of the age.

2. Union with Christ

Second, baptism “expresses union with Christ in His death and resurrection.” The clearest teaching on this is Romans 6:3–4:

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

In the wider context of Romans, I think it would be a mistake to say that water-baptism is the means of our being united to Christ. In Romans, faith is the means by which we are united to Christ and justified. But we show this faith — we say this faith and signify this faith and symbolize this faith — with the act of baptism. Faith unites to Christ; baptism symbolizes the union.

An analogy would be saying, “With this ring I thee wed.” When we say that, we don’t mean that the ring or the putting of the ring on the finger is what makes us married. No, it shows the covenant and symbolizes the covenant, but the covenant-making vows make the marriage. So it is with faith and baptism.

So similarly Paul is saying, “With this baptism you are united to Christ.” And the point we are focusing on here is that we are united to him in his death and burial and resurrection. “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” So the imagery of baptism is death, burial, and resurrection. Christ was buried and raised to new life.

In baptism, by faith, we are united with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection. Baptism dramatically portrays what happened spiritually when you received Christ: Your old self of unbelief and rebellion and idolatry died, and a new you of faith and submission and treasuring Christ came into being. That’s what you confess to the world and to heaven when you are baptized.

3. Immersed in Water

Third, we believe this expression of union with Christ in death and resurrection happens “by being immersed in water.” The clearest evidence for this is Romans 6:3–4 which describes the act of baptism as burial and rising from the dead. This is most naturally understood to mean that you are buried under water and then come out of from the water to signify rising from the grave.

The word baptism in Greek means dip or immerse . And most scholars agree that this is the way the early church practiced baptism. Only much later does the practice of sprinkling or pouring emerge, as far as we can tell from the evidence.

There are a few other pointers to immersion besides the meaning of the word and the imagery of death and burial. In Acts 8:37–38, the Ethiopian eunuch comes to faith while riding with Philip in his chariot and says, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” Philip agrees and it says, “He commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water , Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.” That they “went down into the water” makes most sense if they were going down to immerse him, not to sprinkle him. Similarly it says in John 3:23, “John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there .” You don’t need plentiful water if you are simply sprinkling. You just need a jar.

So there is really very little dispute that this was the way the early church baptized. They did it by immersing the new believer in water to signify his burial and resurrection with Jesus.

4. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Fourth, baptism means doing this immersing in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. That’s what Jesus said in Matthew 28:19: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit .” This means that not just any immersing is baptism.

There is a holy appeal to God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit to be present in this act and make it true and real in what it says about their work in redemption. There is no salvation without the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. When we call on their name, we depend upon them and honor them and say that this act is because of them and by them and for them.

5. Expression of Faith

Fifth, baptism is an expression of faith and therefore only for believers. The key sentence in the Bethlehem Elder Affirmation says, “We believe that baptism is an ordinance of the Lord by which those who have repented and come to faith express their union with Christ in his death and resurrection.” So our understanding of the New Testament is that the meaning of baptism includes the fact that it is an expression of the faith of the one being baptized. It is not something that an unbeliever can do. It is not something than an infant can do. That is why we don’t baptize infants.

“Baptism is a command, and ordinance, of the Lord Jesus to be performed in making disciples until Christ returns at the end of the age.”

There are several passages that have had the greatest influence on me over the years in persuading me of the Baptist view. One of the most important is Colossians 2:11–12:

In him [Christ] also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ — so Paul speaks of circumcision in “made-without-hands” terms. Circumcision today has meaning for the Christian, not as a physical act, but as a spiritual act of Christ in which he cuts away the old sinful body and makes us new. It is virtually synonymous with the new birth. Then he speaks of baptism — having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead .

So the image of spiritual circumcision is closely connected with the image of baptism: “You were circumcised . . . having been baptized . . .” The old “body of flesh” was cut away in conversion; you died and rose again in baptism.

Infant Baptism

It’s probably right, therefore, to say that baptism has replaced circumcision as the mark of being part of the people of God. In the Old Testament, men were circumcised to signify membership in the old-covenant people of God, and in the New Testament men and women are baptized to signify membership in the new-covenant people of God.

That has led many Christians to assume that, since circumcision was given to the male children of the people of the old covenant, therefore baptism should be given to the male and female children of the people of the new covenant. That’s the gist of the argument.

But textually and covenantally, it doesn’t work. Look carefully at Colossians 2:12: “. . . having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith . . .” The words through faith are all important on this issue. Paul says that when you come up out of the water signifying being raised with Christ this is happening through faith .

Verse 12: “. . . in which [baptism] you were also raised with him through faith .” Baptism as a drama of death and resurrection with Christ gets its meaning from the faith that it expresses. In baptism you are “raised with him through faith .”

Paul shows the same way of thinking about baptism and faith in Galatians 3:26–27: “In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith . For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” We become sons of God through faith and no other way. Then he says, “for” — connecting this way of becoming sons of God with baptism — “for as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

That explanation with the word for only makes sense if baptism is understood as an acting out of faith. “In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith . For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Or to turn it around: Since you were baptized into Christ, therefore we know that in Christ you are all sons of God through faith. Why? Because that is what baptism means: You were baptized into Christ by faith. Baptism without faith was inconceivable to Paul.

Spiritual Birth

So when the shift happened in redemptive history from the old covenant to the new covenant and from circumcision to baptism, there was a shift from an ethnic focus on Israel and only males being given the sign of membership in the people, to a spiritual focus on the church of all nations with both male and female being given the sign of membership in the people, namely, baptism.

Membership in the new-covenant people of God is not by physical birth, but by spiritual birth. That new birth happens by the word of God, the gospel (1 Peter 1:23–25). Therefore, the church should be composed, not of the believers and their infants, but believers only. And the sign of membership in the new-covenant people is not a sign for infants but a sign for believers.

“Baptism has replaced circumcision as the mark of being part of the people of God.”

So we can see how the meaning of baptism is woven together with membership in the people of God. And since the local church is an expression of that people, baptism is closely connected to membership in the local church. In the New Testament, being a Christian, being baptized, belonging to the new-covenant people of God, and being a member of a local church were linked together. If you tried to pull one of those out (not a Christian, or not baptized, or not in the new-covenant people, or not a member of local church), it would have made no sense. They belonged together. So baptism is important.

It was uncompromisingly commanded by the Lord Jesus.

It was universally administered to Christians entering the early church.

It was uniquely connected to conversion as an unrepeatable expression of saving faith.

Baptism and the Local Church

So now after two sermons, we have two things that are important. Baptism is important. And the nature of the local church as a sacred expression of the universal body of Christ is important. Failing to be baptized is serious. Excluding genuine believers from the local church is serious. There are godly, Bible-believing, Christ-exalting, God-centered followers of Jesus who fail to see the dreadfulness of not being baptized as a believer. And there are godly, Bible-believing, Christ-exalting, God-centered followers of Jesus who fail to see the dreadfulness of excluding such people from church membership.

The question we should ask is not only hard to answer, but it is hard to formulate. Perhaps the Lord in his mercy will show us how to do both in a way that will cut this knot for his glory. May the Lord grant a wisdom like Solomon’s or, even better, a wisdom like the One who is greater than Solomon.

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SOR Essay Guide (Tips for Success)

Jamon Windeyer

Wednesday 23rd, March 2016

A Studies of Religion essay is worth 40% of your HSC Mark. 40%! When you consider that even your English essays weigh a max of 20% each, well that puts it into perspective. An SOR Essay is worth a MASSIVE amount of marks, all invested in a single essay and a single argument.

I’ll admit my first few prelim SOR essays were not very good. I didn’t quite get the idea of analysing a religions impact on the believer, it is definitely not something you learn how to do in any other religious based class before it. But I stuck at it, and I had an awesome teacher, and I got there. It is something that is difficult to do, but you know what, it can be done!

This guide goes through a few of the things to consider when addressing a SOR essay. Note that I did SOR 1, but this advice can absolutely be applied to SOR II as well.

Which Religion Should I Write About?

You may already know that the SOR exam is structured so that you choose which of your religious depth studies becomes the focus of the essay. So, the first natural question you may ask (in an exam situation at least) is which tradition to worry about? Are any ‘easier’ or ‘harder’ to attempt? Should I plan before I go in or should I decide after seeing the question?

My advice for this would be to develop an idea of which you would prefer, but don’t necessarily lock yourself in. None are easier, harder, or more likely to impress, it is all about which you prefer.

You may even have different preferences based on the area to be discussed! I, for example, studied Islam and Christianity. I was really happy writing essays on Islamic sexual ethics, as well as Aisha (personality), but I didn’t like discussing Friday prayer quite as much, I didn’t click with it as effectively. So if I got a religious practice question for an SOR essay I would switch to Baptism.

It is all about developing an intuition for what you are good at. Play to your strengths. A great way to develop this is through practice: We offer FREE marking for Studies of Religion essays , come and show us and we can help you develop it!

Should I Include All Areas, Or Just One?

Okay, I’ve picked my religious tradition, but what do I include?

Often, SOR essay questions will specify exactly what they want, and this makes things easy. For example:

How do ethical teachings in Islam guide adherents to ‘do good deeds’ in their daily lives?

But what about if they give you a bit of leeway?

Discuss the relationship between at least TWO of Significant Person, Significant Practice, and Ethics, and the way they contribute to Christianity as a living religious tradition.

My personal opinion on an SOR essay like this which gives you more choice is to do all three. If they specify a specific aspect, fair enough, but otherwise, why would you limit what you can talk about? Using all three aspects will give you more ammunition, more evidence, more things to discuss to show to the marker that you know what you are talking about. It allows you to pick the best of your ideas and put only the best on the page. This is by no means what will work for everyone, but it worked well for me, I preferred to have lots to chat about. If you need to brush up on your content, we have SOR Notes available, FREE to download !

But how do you create a SOR essay that links all the parts of a religious depth study together?

How do I Create an Integrated SOR Essay?

This is what was really confusing for me during the course. Essays need a central argument (if you think you want to brush up on the basics of essay writing, I have written a guide on this as well! )

How the heck do you link the three areas together? Sure, they all contribute to the importance of the religion to the adherent, but you are then restricted to writing one paragraph on each aspect. And this doesn’t show the relationships between the areas, like was required in the question above.

However, there isn’t really a way to discuss them together. How do you separate the argument so you can discuss the three areas in a single paragraph? I struggled with this for ages, before I finally figured out something that worked really well.

The answer lies in your preliminary studies. You spend Prelim, among other things, learning about living religious traditions, as well as learning about the core beliefs of each tradition. You learn that a religion is active and living when it enables adherents to connect to their beliefs in day to day life.

There is the link. You can use beliefs to link your three areas together in a SOR essay.

For example, say we are answering this very generic question.

In what way do the the three aspects of Islam (as studied in class) contribute to Islam as a living religious tradition?

Your introduction will cover the usual things. Defining a living religious tradition, explaining that such traditions allow adherents to connect to their beliefs in real, tangible ways, then identifying the areas you will be discussing.

You then craft body paragraphs around beliefs. For example, a Christian belief is in the Divinity and Humanity of Christ, part of which is the resurrection. The Christian significant practice of Baptism mimics this resurrection, particularly Orthodox denominations which practice immersion, allowing the participating adherent to experience their own “resurrection” and thus connect with their belief in Christ. Christian sexual ethics is based on Jesus’ ethical teachings, with the more contemporary focus on “agape” stemming directly from his preaching. Thus, adherents’ lives are informed directly by Christ. Etc, etc

Now this is very rough (I definitely prefer writing on Islam, but most people do Christianity), but you get the picture. The beliefs become the basis by which you discuss the impact of each branch on the adherent, simultaneously. This creates a fully integrated response.

Two things to remember. 1 – This is bloody difficult do to. An SOR essay written in this manner, fully integrated, took me AGES to get the hang of, and I’m still not perfect. 2- It may not suit every question, or every stimulus, or even every writing style. But it worked for me, so if it helps even one person out there, I’m happy to share!

So this is one way you can create an integrated response. There are infinitely many others. All you need is some system by which you can categorise the impact on adherents. You could talk about impacts on individuals, community, and history. You could talk about impacts on different societal groups. The possibilities are endless, find something which works for you.

Some more tips!

For your introduction:

Most SOR essay questions have a focus on Living Religious Traditions. Be sure to define what this means, and define what you believe constitutes an “impact” on the adherent

Make sure you make it clear which areas you will be discussing, and give a VERY brief introduction to them (EG – “Adherents connect to their beliefs through the teachings of significant persons, such as Paul of Tarsus, one of the most pivotal early Christian figures.”)

If the question requires you to judge how effectively a religious tradition is active in the lives of its adherents (or some other judgement), make sure you do this at the end of your introduction.

For your body paragraphs:

Make sure every one starts with a topic sentence which links whatever you will be discussing to the main idea

Be sure to integrate sacred text references at every stage, even when not discussing sacred texts specifically. Prepare quotes for each of the three branches and use them as evidence throughout

Reread every sentence and make sure you are constantly addressing the question at hand, avoid waffle at all costs

Finish every paragraph conclusively, with some final judgement or summary. These are the perfect time to make the links to your Thesis as strong as possible

And for your conclusion, just make sure you give it a good length. Two sentences aren’t enough; you need a solid length paragraph to summarise your stance.

I hope this guide is helpful! I also invite everyone to post any SOR essay questions/ideas (structure, content, etc) in our SOR Question Forum .

Q: How significant is an SOR essay in the HSC?

An SOR essay carries substantial weight in the HSC, accounting for 40% of your overall mark. This underscores its importance as a single essay can significantly impact your final grade. While challenging, mastering the art of crafting a compelling SOR essay is attainable with practice and guidance.

Q: How do I choose which religious tradition to focus on in my essay?

  The SOR exam allows you to select which of their religious depth studies to centre your essay on. While some may perceive certain traditions as easier or harder, the key is to choose based on personal preference and familiarity. Consider your strengths and interests in each area of study to make an informed decision.

Q: Should I include all areas of study or focus on one in my essay?

In essays where the question permits flexibility, it's advisable to incorporate all relevant areas of study. Utilizing all aspects provides a comprehensive analysis, offering more evidence and depth to support your argument. However, if the question specifies a particular aspect, focus on addressing it effectively.

Q: How can I integrate different areas of study into my SOR essay?

A: Integrating various aspects of a religious depth study can be challenging but rewarding. One effective approach is to link them through shared beliefs. By exploring how beliefs inform significant persons, practices, and ethics, you create a cohesive narrative that demonstrates a thorough understanding of the tradition's impact on adherents.

Q: What are some tips for crafting a strong SOR essay?

• Introduction: Define living religious traditions, briefly introduce the areas of study, and clearly state your thesis.
• Body Paragraphs: Start each paragraph with a topic sentence linking to the main idea, integrate sacred text references, ensure relevance to the question, and conclude decisively.
• Conclusion: Provide a substantial summary of your argument, reinforcing your thesis and key points.

Remember to maintain clarity, relevance, and coherence throughout your essay, supported by evidence and analysis. With diligent practice and attention to detail, you can develop proficiency in SOR essay writing and achieve success in your HSC studies.

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A Level Philosophy & Religious Studies

AQA Christianity

Baptism in the Catholic tradition

The Catholic view is that infants must be baptized because it is a sacrament that is required for salvation. All humans are born with original sin and need to be saved by Jesus to avoid damnation for it. The act of Baptism, lowering into the water and then rising out of it symbolises death and resurrection.

Baptism is clearly commanded in the Bible:

Jesus said: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20).

“No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and spirit” (John 3:5).

The Catechism of the catholic church (1992) states that “Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament”.

Baptism is thus considered a sacrament , which is an: “efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church … the visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament.” The effect of the sacraments are to strengthen, nourish and give expression to faith and come “ex opera operato”, meaning by the power of Christ. The Catechism says that baptism shows “the sheer gratuitousness of the grace of salvation” , meaning that we are saved by God’s grace, not because we have merited it.

According to Acts (16:15) and St Paul (1 Corinth 1:16), during the initial spread of early Christianity in the first century entire households were baptised because new Christians were adults being converted. However, by the second century many new Christians were those born to Christian parents, and there was clear reference to infant baptism as the standard practice by theologians like Irenaeus.

Augustine claims that although Baptism cannot remove the corruption of original sin in human nature, it can wash away original guilt, which is the guilt we bare for our sinful nature that condemns us to hell. Augustine calls Baptism the “sacrament of regeneration” .

Augustine also argues for infant baptism on the basis of it being apostolic tradition. It was not decided by a church council, so it must have come from the apostles. It was a practice of the early Church and therefore ought to be considered traditional.

Baptism in the Baptist tradition

Baptists form an important branch of Protestantism. One of their key defining features is holding to adult or “believer’s baptism”. This view follows from their theology, in particular the way they adhere to the centrality of the role of the bible, which is a classic protestant theological theme called sola scriptura.

Baptists do not believe that baptism and the eucharist are sacraments, instead they call them ‘ordinances’, meaning commands which have to be followed to be part of the church. The bible is clear that Jesus commanded baptism and holy communion, but Baptists reject the idea that there is biblical support for their being sacramental in the sense of having some kind of saving power. They do not believe that baptism has the power to wash away original sin and save us. Baptists believe that it is only through faith in Jesus that, by God’s grace, we can be saved. This is another classic protestant theological theme called sola fide .

There are different views amongst Baptists on the existence, nature and significance for salvation of original sin but they agree that baptism has no connection to it.

Baptists conclude that Baptism is symbolic, as an ‘outward sign’ which testifies to a believer’s faith in Jesus’ resurrection. They point to Romans 6:3: “don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life”

Baptists take this to mean that baptism symbolizes the power of faith in Christ in our salvation. They claim that therefore only total immersion of a person in water accurately captures this symbolic meaning of death, burial and resurrection.

Baptists believe that the life of Jesus as written in the bible is a role model for how we should act. Jesus was an adult when he was baptised, thus only adults should be baptized.

Faith in Jesus can only be symbolically expressed by someone who has some understanding of Jesus’ teachings and commands. Furthermore, Baptism involves an entering into full membership of a Baptist church, and as such Baptists believe it should only be done by someone who has a full understanding of what they are joining. To that end, adults preparing for baptism typically study the bible and the workings of the Baptist church.

Arguments and counter-arguments for infant baptism

Original sin necessitates infant baptism.

Baptism of infants is traditionally thought to be required to wash away the guilt of original sin. If they die before the original sin is washed away, then their souls will be damned because they are dying in a state of sin. Baptism is more than symbolic.

Pelagius’ rejection of the doctrine of original sin. Pelagius argued that babies are not born corrupted with original sin and therefore do not need baptism. He recommended it for adults only as a symbolic act to draw them closer to Jesus.

Pelagius further argued that if we have original sin, we would be unable to avoid evil, surely making it unjust for God to punish us. If someone couldn’t help doing an action, we typically don’t view them as responsible and deserving of blame and punishment for it.

Pelagius also argued that the biblical passages where command moral behaviour would make no sense if we were corrupted by original sin and thus unable to obey.

Augustine responds to Pelagius that being punished for original sin is not unjust of God, since sin deserves punishment. Augustine further argues that we are able to follow God’s commands, if we are granted that power by God’s grace.

Conflict with omnibenevolence. This doesn’t seem like something a loving God would do.

The Bible clearly requires infant baptism 

According to Acts (16:15) and St Paul (1 Corinth 1:16) entire households were baptised during the initial spread of early Christianity in the first century. This presumably involved infants but mostly included adults because new Christians were adults being converted who then required baptism. By the second century new Christians were increasingly those born to Christian parents, and there was clear reference to infant baptism as the standard practice by theologians like Irenaeus.

“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, son and holy spirit” (Matthew 28:19-20).

This quote from Jesus is part of what is usually referred to as the ‘great commission’ where he gave his disciples a mission before he ascended to heaven. Jesus clearly indicates that all nations are to be baptised. Logically speaking, since infants are members of nations it seems to follow that Jesus is in favour of infants being baptised.

The liberal Christian response: challenging original sin. The liberal view of inspiration developed during the enlightenment period as a response to the emerging evidence that there were historical and scientific inaccuracies in the Bible. Liberals concluded from this that the Bible is not the perfect word of God but was merely written by human beings. It is at most a human record of divine events.

Taking a liberal approach to the bible allows a Christian to re-interpret the verses requiring baptism for salvation and even the verses that suggest we have original sin at all. For example, a liberal Christian might reason that original sin is something humans in ancient times would have believed in because of how brutal life was. It would make sense for ancient people to think human nature corrupt. We now know that people tend to behave morally better when life is prosperous and peaceful.

On this view, original sin does not exist, so babies are not in need of salvation. Adult baptism is also unnecessary but could at least have a symbolic use in affirming a Christian’s acceptance of Jesus’ sacrifice.

However, the liberal approach to the Bible and rejection of original sin is seen by traditionalists as undermining key Christian beliefs and leading to the chaos of every person having their own subjective interpretation of the Bible.

Arguments and counter-arguments for adult baptism

The example of jesus suggests adult baptism.

Baptists & Anabaptists: the example of Jesus. Jesus never baptized children and was himself baptised as an adult, after he had gained understanding of the meaning and significance of baptism. Anabaptists argue that we should therefore baptize adults, to follow Jesus’ example. The life of Jesus is widely viewed as a model for Christians to follow, so surely adult baptism is what Jesus recommended by example.

Jesus is crucially different from us regarding baptism. However, there are good reasons why Jesus’ adult baptism was not meant to be an example for us to follow. Firstly when Jesus was born, the Christian doctrine of baptism did not yet exist. Furthermore, Jesus is often thought not to have been born with original sin. His mother was a virgin so he was not conceived in sin and thus did not inherit it. In that case, Jesus does not need saving from either original sin or original guilt like we do. Jesus was not in danger of being damned from birth so he did not need baptising from birth like we therefore do.

Furthermore, Zwingli also responded to the argument that we should follow Jesus’ example regarding baptism. He claimed that it assumed too close a connection between what Jesus did and what we should do. It would mean, for example, that women can’t participate in holy communion because Jesus invited no women to the last supper.

Baptism requires adult belief and discipleship

Some argue that Mark justifies adult baptism by seeming to link it to belief:

“He who believes and is baptised will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16).

Only adults can truly believe therefore only adults should be baptised.

Jesus’ command to baptise in the great commission linked it to discipleship. Jesus also said that discipleship requires following him and self-sacrifice. Discipleship therefore seems to require an adult understanding of Jesus’ commands and the intention to follow them. Surely, we shouldn’t view Jesus’ command as applying to infants, then, but to adults.

Catholics argue that the parents and godparents of an infant can make the appropriate spiritual declaration to tread the path of discipleship on behalf of the infant. The parents and godparents are then charged with the task of raising the infant in faith, to make good on this declaration.

Arguably it is incoherent for a declaration to be taken on behalf of an infant who can’t understand it.

Baptism requires an adult understanding of God’s call

Barth claims that baptism is only a response to God’s call to salvation that merely testifies to what really saves them, their faith in Jesus. To have faith in Jesus and testify to it by following his command to be baptised requires adult conscious understanding.

Arguably the power of sacraments cannot be dependent on the person receiving it. God and his ways are actually a mystery; completely beyond our understanding, and therefore an adult understands them no better than an infant does. So, although adults do have more understanding in general, they don’t have more understanding of God and therefore understanding cannot be a requirement for baptism or any sacrament because human understanding isn’t what gives them their power.

Beyond the Insider—Outsider Perspective: The Study of Religion as a Study of Discourse Construction

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• Gerhard van den Heever 7  

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This essay reflects on contemporary theorizing of religion which embodies an explicit critique of the imperial project, seeing that by most common consent the scholarly disciplinary field of religious studies (history of religion, phenomenology of religion, Religionswissenschaft) is a late nineteenth century invention that coincides with the emergence of anthropology and ethnography as epiphenomena of the colonial project (whether as Orientalism or as exoticism the Other is rendered manageable subjects). The scholarly study of religion is, therefore, simultaneously a study of the history of theory and concept formation, and the social, cultural, and political work performed by such study and theorizing. The metatheory of the study of religion is a main focus of the essay. Alongside that, the essay focuses more pointedly on the concept of discourse, and considers the extraordinary situation where the same methodological vocabulary that functions in religious studies also functions in critical theological studies, which relativizes the division of ‘insider’ and ‘outsider’ perspectives. Yet both are conventionally practised either in isolation from each other as distinct theoretical and disciplinary bounded/defined study fields, or—the other and almost direct opposite—religious studies being performed in the context of theological study, situated in and offered by theological faculties. An overview of recent debates in the field of religious studies serves to highlight the continued struggle to demarcate the boundaries between the study of religion and the study of theology—in some of the recent, very strident debates mainstream religious studies is labelled as nothing more than theology. This contribution, then, aims at a kind of metatheoretical reflection on the study of religion and theology both as discourses that serve mythmaking, identity formation, culturally strategic purposes. That is, from the discourse perspective that is proposed here, it is possible to move beyond the definitional divide between religious studies and theology—even beyond ‘religion’ itself—to focus on the mundanely material practices that constitute that which is called religion. In the way in which the terms are used it is clear that the terminologies themselves bear the imprint of historical social discourses that occasioned the rise of their use. This essay, then, is something of a metacritique of the language of the study of religion—beyond religion, and beyond the study of religion and theology.

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Non-religion as Religion-Related Discourse: An Empirical Invitation

A Discursive Approach to ‘Religious Indifference’: Critical Reflections from Edinburgh’s Southside

Exploring the Non-Discursive: A Three-Layered Approach to Discourse and Its Boundaries

The rise of the study of religion as a scientific discipline in the later nineteenth century also stood in oppositional contrast vis-à-vis mainstream Christian cultural and theological self-definition; the search for a transcendental, transcultural and transethnic “religious world view and ethic” had as its core value the relativizing of Christian theological world views in favour of a view of religion as the object of study as well as a human practice, as one of a category of human transcendentals, that is, in its decontextualized and departicularized version a shared essential feature of human existence across all possible divisions between humans, whether these are cutural, social, class or ethnic.

The AAR and its sister organization, the SBL, both originated from confessional bodies aimed at promoting Christian faith in the context of the educational system in the USA, cf. Smith ( 2000 ), pp. 87–93.

Zoloth ( 2016 ), pp. 1–22, https://doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/lfv093 .

Zoloth ( 2016 ), p. 13.

Zoloth ( 2016 ), pp. 20–24.

Keller ( 2016 ), http://rsn.aarweb.org/articles/laurie-zolothwas-right-ask-aar-sabbatical-its-too-little-too-late .

Courtright ( 2006 ), pp. 751–54. The citation of Jonathan Z. Smith is from the “Introduction”, Smith ( 1982 ), p. xi.

McCutcheon: McCutcheon ( 1998 ), pp. 51–72; McCutcheon ( 2006 ), pp. 720–50; Martin ( 2000 ), pp. 95–97; McCutcheon ( 2001 , 2003a, b, 2014a , b ); Arnal and McCutcheon ( 2012 ). Issues in the debate from this perspective are now conveniently summarized in the Festschrift for Don Wiebe, who pursued a career in arguing for the difference between the study of religion and theology—and for keeping these apart: Arnal et al. ( 2014 ).

Robert Orsi and some voices responding to McCutcheon from an Orsian perspective: Orsi ( 2006 ); Orsi ( 2016 ); Orsi ( 2012 ); Griffiths ( 1998 ), pp. 893–896; Roberts ( 2006 ), pp. 697–719; Omer ( 2011 ), pp. 459–96; Blum ( 2012 ), pp. 1025–1048; Dunn ( 2016 ), pp. 881–902; Lybarger ( 2016 ), pp. 127–156.

Smith ( 2000 ).

Jameson ( 1981 ).

On historicizing religious traditions, see Engler and Grieve ( 2005 ); Grieve and Weiss ( 2005 ), pp. 1–15; Lewis and Hammer ( 2007 ).

Masuzawa ( 2005 ).

Smith ( 1998 ), pp. 269–84. For a more extended exposition of the imperial nature of the definition of religion, see Horsley ( 2003 ). Horsley’s Religion and Empire was the result of a roundtable panel presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, the papers of which were subsequently published in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion. See also the now blooming industry of studies exploring the making of religions in the course of the colonial project, Pennington ( 2005 ); Gottschalk ( 2012 ). For the South African context, see the work of David Chidester on how the British colonial government of the Cape of Good Hope classified the “religion” of the indigenous peoples encountered in the Border area of the colony for the purposes of governmentality: Chidester ( 1996 ); Chidester ( 2014 ).

Orsi ( 2012 ), p. 11.

Orsi ( 2012 ), p. 9.

Smith ( 2000 ), p. 90. The dual play on first-order and second-order intellection, or, as it is phrased in the context of this discussion: the interplay between “map” and “territory”, is foundational to the argument pursued here. On the one hand, the scholar of religion is engaged in a second-order reflection on religious phenomena of various types. The scholar is reconfiguring, redescribing, comparing and rectifying categories, often in terms and categories with which the “insider” to that religious tradition would not necessarily agree. It is true that the scholar of religion represents the concepts, beliefs and judgements that together inform and make up the subject’s identification of his or her experience, but “at the level of explanation, in my sort or language at the level of redescription, the scholar offers ‘an explanation of an experience in terms that are not those of the subject and might not meet with his approval. This is perfectly justifiable and is, in fact, normal procedure’”, Proudfoot ( 1985 ) as cited by Smith 2000 , p. 90. The scholarly procedure of mapping data in accordance with theory, what Jonathan Z. Smith calls the “comparative enterprise”, that is the fourfold procedure of description, classification, comparison and explanation (Smith ( 2000 ), p. 87) or “the four moments in the comparative enterprise”—description, comparison, redescription and rectification of categories (Smith ( 2000 ), p. 87; Mack ( 1996 ), pp. 256–259, a discussion of Smith’s theoretical position), denies the possibility of the student of religious phenomena merely repeating or paraphrasing the subjects under scrutiny. Much of religious scholarship is characterized by an unwillingness to seriously engage in considerations of theory of religion. At most, theory and its necessary entailments are reduced to method, a procedure of reading texts that avoids any effort at redescription. In most cases exegesis amounts to nothing more than paraphrasing (this is still the case, for example in the classic exegetical genre, the biblical commentary). In consequence, theories of literature as well as social theories have been adapted and pressed into service of exegesis, but these only serve to “escape the ‘cost’ of those theoretical positions”, Smith ( 2000 ), p. 90.

Smith ( 2000 ), p. 91, a quotation in its entirety of Borges’s ( 1999 ), p. 325.

Smith refers to this story in the context of his discussion of George Foot Moore’s discussion of borrowings in Jewish religion, according to which the Jews borrowed concepts from other traditions, borrowings that were possible because ultimately these concepts were deeply rooted in Judaism itself. Therefore these were not “real” borrowings. In this context Smith refers to Borges’s tale of Pierre Menard as an example of reproducing what was already there; see his “In Comparison a Magic Dwells”, Smith ( 1982 ), pp. 30–31. The tale of Borges is taken from Jorge Luis Borges, “Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote”, (1999), pp. 45–55. I will make somewhat different use of the allegory. Borges’s tale is a curious mixture of verisimilitude and the absurd, of fantasy and the seemingly historical. However, it can be profitably mined for its implications for the type of argument followed here in the context of an exposition of a theory of religion.

Borges, “Pierre Menard”, p. 49.

“To compose Don Quixote at the beginning of the seventeenth century was a reasonable, necessary and perhaps inevitable undertaking; at the beginning of the twentieth century it is almost impossible. It is not in vain that three hundred years have passed, charged with the most complex happenings—among them, to mention only one, the same Don Quixote”, Borges, “Pierre Menard”, p. 51.

Borges, “Pierre Menard”.

With regard to the former: “...his resigned or ironic habit of propounding ideas which were the strict reverse of those he preferred”, Borges, “Pierre Menard”, and with regard to the latter aspect, see the comparison between the two texts: “The latter [Cervantes], for instance, wrote (Don Quixote, Part One, Chapter Nine): [... truth, whose mother is history, who is the rival of time, depository of deeds, witness of the past, example and lesson to the present, and warning to the future.] Written in the seventeenth century, written by the “ingenious layman” Cervantes, this enumeration is a mere rhetorical eulogy of history. Menard, on the other hand, writes: [... truth, whose mother is history, who is the rival of time, depository of deeds, witness of the past, example and lesson to the present, and warning to the future.] History, mother of truth; the idea is astounding. Menard, a contemporary of William James, does not define history as an investigation of reality, but as its origin. Historical truth, for him, is not what took place; it is what we think took place. The final clauses—example and lesson to the present, and warning to the future—are shamelessly pragmatic”, Borges, “Pierre Menard”.

I am leaving aside questions of a literary nature, such as the absurd, bizarre and fantastical in Borges’s oeuvre. I will focus here only on what it can be made to say for the scholarly reflection on the study of religion.

From traduce, to misrepresent. Theorizing, that is, the mapping of theory on to data, always implies a metaphorical process or the act of translation, if you wish. It is the proposal that the second-order language appropriate to one domain (the familiar/the known) may translate the second-order language appropriate to another domain (the unfamiliar/the unknown), or in the Durkheimian sense as followed here in this study, the proposal that the second-order language appropriate to society (in this case the known) may translate the second-order language appropriate to that of religion (in this case the unknown). It behoves us to keep in mind that “translation is never fully adequate. There is always discrepancy. (To repeat the old tag: ‘To translate is to traduce.’)”, Smith ( 2000 ), p. 91.

Again, in the sense of changing of condition of existence, or transformation.

The representation of data in scholarly theorizing and thinking demands more than a mere paraphrasing of the subject material. For the scholarly and theoretical purposes of comparison weak translation will be insufficient for purposes of thought. As Smith put it: “To summarize: a theory, a model, a conceptual category, cannot be simply the data writ large”, Smith ( 2000 ), p. 91 (emphasis in original).

In this regard I want to draw attention to the distinction made by Norwood Hanson between “sense-datum” words or “data-words” and “theory-loaded” words; see Braun ( 2000 ), p. 9; Braun and McCutcheon ( 2000 ). Although the context in which Braun refers to Hanson deals with concept formation in religious studies scholarship, the issue is relevant here as well. Hanson illustrates the difference between “sense-datum” words or “data-words” and “theory-loaded” words with the following illuminating example. Consider the two words “hole” and “crater”. In Hanson’s example “hole” (as “spatial concavity”) is a data-word, that is, its minimal lexical meaning can be ascertained by observation, and let us assume for the moment that something like objective observation is possible. In contrast to this, to label a certain spatial concavity a “crater” already expresses an interpretation as to its origin, namely that its creation was quick, violent and explosive. But note, the formation of the “hole” is not a given, only the absence of matter in the concavity. How this effect was produced and how we should name the phenomenon is the result of assumptions and interpretations. The “crater” is therefore produced by our assumptions and interpretations. In general, concepts “are products of scholars’ cognitive operations to be put to work in the service of scholars’ theoretical interest in the objects of their research. Concepts are not given off by the objects or our interests”, Braun ( 2000 ), p. 9; Braun and McCutcheon ( 2000 ).

Flood ( 1999 ).

This particular confluence of discursive streams was formed by Husserlian phenomenology and Hegelian philosophy; see Flood ( 1999 ), p. 31. As such Husserlian phenomenology was an outgrowth of German philosophy of the subject (Subjektsphilosophie) of German idealism of the late Enlightenment and early Romanticism. The Husserlian transcendental “I” as the absolute ground for certainty resulted, in the shape of the eidetic reduction and epoché, in a search for timeless essences, (1999), pp. 9–10. It is from phenomenology in general, and Husserl in particular, that phenomenology of religion derived some of its central concepts, namely “bracketing” (epoché), truth statement, the intuition of essences, and empathy, (1999), p. 16.

Flood ( 1999 ), p. 8.

Flood ( 1999 ), p. 16.

Flood ( 1999 ), p. 4.

As Flood put it so beautifully: “Mocassin walking or empathy does not provide a sufficiently rigorous theoretical basis on which to build an academic discipline”, Flood ( 1999 ), p. 4. “Moccasin walking” refers to the Indian adage “never judge a man until you have walked a mile in his moccasins”.

Flood ( 1999 ), p. 6. For an overview of the field of conventional and canonical approaches to the study of religion, consult the following comprehensive collection of essays: Whaling ( 1995 ); see in this volume the essays by Whaling, “Introduction”, p.1–40, King, “Historical and Phenomenological Approaches”, pp. 41–176; Ninian Smart, “The Scientific Study of Religion in Its Plurality”, pp. 177–190; Whaling ( 1995 ), pp. 191–252; David Wulff, “Psychological Approaches”, pp. 253–320; Günter Kehrer and Bert Hardin, “Sociological Approaches”, pp. 321–50; Jarich Oosten, “Cultural Anthropological Approaches”, pp. 351–84, and Wouter E. A. van Beek, “Cultural Anthropology and the Many Functions of Religion”, pp. 385–98. We are concerned here with a specific theory of religion, as social construction, social formation and mythmaking. The point on phenomenology of religion is only raised here to illustrate the background against which Jonathan Z. Smith developed his practice of historico-comparative studies of religion. Many essays of his take issue, for example, with Eliade’s work and present rereadings of his work.

Flood ( 1999 ), p. 25.

See the critique of this type of explanation of myth and ritual in the essays of Jonathan Z. Smith, where he clearly overturns this view by showing how myths and rituals are to be understood as social performances grounded in, and elicited by, specific social circumstances. Exceedingly well-written discussions of myth and ritual, the emergence of the Myth and Ritual school of (mainly) Cambridge, and the polyparadigmatic function of myth, ritual and religion are to be found in Versnel ( 1984 ), pp. 194–246; Versnel ( 1993 ). In the main he shows how myths and rituals are strategies for dealing with ambiguous situations, hence the remainders of inconsistencies and ambiguities not smoothed over in myths and rituals.

Flood ( 1999 ), pp. 7–8.

Flood’s term “dialogical approach” includes all the elements of the theory of religion espoused here, namely self-reflexivity, narrative (and narrative theory), history (and historical contingency), culture, signs, socio-political domains or contexts of meaning-creation as well as social and cultural theory. Flood clothes this contrast also in other terms, namely the contrast between a “philosophy of consciousness” (that is, phenomenology) and a “philosophy of the sign” (dialogical approach).

Braun ( 2000 ), p. 11.

However, one wants to name them: gods, spirits, ancestors, and so on.

We would do well to remind ourselves of the formulations of Jonathan Z. Smith and Willi Braun, already noted earlier: “There is no data for religion. Religion is solely the creation of the scholar’s study. It is created for the scholar’s analytic purposes by his imaginative acts of comparison and generalization. Religion has no independent existence apart from the academy”, Smith (1982), p. xi. Or as Willi Braun puts it: “We must regard religion as a concept, in the technical sense, and not as a substance that floats ‘out there’ ... Concepts are ideas used to allocate the stuff of the real world into a class of objects so as to position these objects for thought that is aimed toward explanation of their causes, functions, attractiveness to individuals and societies, relationships to other concepts”, in Braun ( 2000 ), pp. 8–9.

Especially important here, in connection with the map–territory metaphor, is the collection of essays of Smith ( 1978 ), notably the essays “Map is not Territory” (pp. 289–309), “The Wobbling Pivot” (pp. 88–103), “The Influence of Symbols on Social Change: A Place on Which to Stand” (pp. 129–146), “Wisdom and Apocalyptic” (pp. 67–78), “Birth Upside Down or Right Side Up?” (pp. 147–171), “The Temple and the Magician” (pp. 172–189), and “Good News is No News: Aretalogy and Gospel” (pp. 190–207); also Smith ( 1982 ) and Smith ( 1987 ). A very good overview of Smith’s theory of religion and his approach to the study of religion is found in Gill ( 2000 ), pp. 451–462, Gill ( 1998a ), pp. 298–313 but especially Gill ( 1998b ), pp. 283–312.

Spickard ( 2013 ), p. 342; Stausberg and Engler ( 2013 ).

van den Heever ( 2014 ), http://greco-romanreligion.blogspot.com/2014/12/redescribing-cult-formation-in-early.html .

A point recently made by Russell McCutcheon in a Culture on the Edge blog post, McCutcheon ( 2016 ), http://edge.ua.edu/russell-mccutcheon/s-o-b/ .

Spatializing practices here indicate the manner in which we relate through discourse to others and the world around us, that is, creating a positionality on the basis of which we construct identity, social formation, morals and world views.

In this regard Bruce Lincoln’s by now famous essay on the method of religious studies has achieved paradigmatic importance: Lincoln ( 2005 ), pp. 8–10, now republished in Lincoln ( 2012 ), pp. 1–3. See also Lincoln, “How to Read a Religious Text”, in Lincoln ( 2012 ), pp. 5–15.

Roberts ( 2006 ).

Murphy ( 2000 ), pp. 183–192.

Again, I use the term “real” in order to locate the interaction in the real world, but the interaction itself is, of course, shaped by imagined positionalities and self-representations which may stand in a broad and varied spectrum of relations to “real conditions”. But even here, “real conditions” are always to some (or greater) extent imagined: material conditions do not exist outside of the way in which they are conceived and represented.

The phrase “languages spoken in the context of other languages” derives from the essay by Murphy ( 2000 ).

Fabiani ( 2010 ). I cite the translation from the text in Little ( 2010 ), http://understandingsociety.blogspot.com/2010/10/french-philosophy.html .

I have recently made a similar point with regard to the study of hermeneutics as the philosophical analytics of the decoding of literary texts, van den Heever ( 2015 ), pp. 187–218: “Reading-reception is a process of interaction with physical objects that still bear the marks of the industry that produced them” (207).

As I have intimated all along, I am deeply suspicious of a principled contrast between primary data and secondary order interpretation of the data. Such a contrast assumes that it is possible to have unmediated religious expressions and practices. Reality is the opposite: all religious practices and expressions are mediated through meaning frameworks and interpretive matrices – as any exegesis of religious texts, traditions and rituals will show.

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Gerhard van den Heever

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Jordan Kynes

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Philipp Öhlmann

Department of Socio-Cultural Diversity, Max-Planck-Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, Göttingen, Lower-Saxony, Germany

Vanessa Rau

Rosa Coco Schinagl

Institute for European Ethnology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Adela Taleb

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van den Heever, G. (2020). Beyond the Insider—Outsider Perspective: The Study of Religion as a Study of Discourse Construction. In: Hensold, J., Kynes, J., Öhlmann, P., Rau, V., Schinagl, R., Taleb, A. (eds) Religion in Motion. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41388-0_9

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