Thursday, January 6

Huh?

iconI was reading this article, and although I'm not a "super-lutheran" I took exception to this part:

We have quoted Luther’s small catechism (followed by every Lutheran group today, including the Missouri Synod): "Holy Baptism is the only means whereby infants...can ordinarily be regenerated...it works forgiveness of sins...delivers from death and the devil [and] gives eternal salvation...." Calvin said, "God in baptism promises remission of sins...regenerating us...makes us his by adoption...let us therefore embrace it in faith."


The first thing that caught my attention is all the ellipses. So I give you the entire section of Baptism from Luther's Small Catechism:

The Sacrament of Holy Baptism


As the head of the family should teach it in a simple way to his household
FIRST
What is Baptism?
Baptism is not just plain water, but it is the water included in God's command and combined with God's word.

What is that word of God?
Christ our Lord says in the last chapter of Matthew: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit." [Matt. 28:19]

SECOND
What benefits does Baptism give?
It works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare.

Which are these words and promises of God?
Christ our Lord says in the last chapter of Mark: "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." [Mark 16:16]

THIRD
How can water do such great things?
Certainly not just water, but the word of God in and with the water does these things, along with the faith which trusts this word of God in the water. For without God's word the water is plain water and no Baptism. But with the word of God it is a Baptism, that is, a life-giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of the new birth in the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul says in Titus, chapter three: "He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying." [Titus 3:5-8]

FOURTH
What does such baptizing with water indicate?
It indicates that the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.

Where is this written?
St. Paul writes in Romans chapter six: "We were therefore buried with Him through baptism in to 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." [Rom. 6:4]


You might have missed (as I did) where exactly it says:
Holy Baptism is the only means whereby infants...can ordinarily be regenerated


in fact in the explanation, question 251 it says:
Is it possible for an unbaptized person to be saved?
It is only unbelief that condemns...

going on to quote Mark 16:16 "Whoever does not believe will be condemned. And in 246 it says that babies also are able to have faith, basing that on Matthew 18:6 "If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." and Luke 1:15, 41-44 which is about John the Baptist being filled with the holy spirit as a baby and even before birth.

Maybe now that I got that out of my system I will go back and read the whole article :-)

I've read some more, and was tempted many times to respond before I got to this little bit of rhetoric:

He neither meant physical bread nor physical death nor physical eating. He was communicating eternal spiritual truth. So it must be also when He said, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world" (6:51), "Living bread" is clearly a metaphor, as is His statement that this "living bread" is His "flesh." Clearly, the "eating" is symbolic of believing that "Jesus Christ is come [once and for all] in the flesh" (1 Jn 4:2,3). He is both God and man in genuine human flesh. That much should be clear.
Yet when Christ goes on in the same breath to say, "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you" (Jn 6:53), Rome insists that He means literally eating and drinking His physical body and blood!


The specific part that caught my attention was "in the same breath..." I want to give this guy some slack, but this seems to be an outright lie. When I saw "in the same breath" and noticed that he had previously quoted John 6:51, but this time quoted 6:53, I naturally wanted to know what 52 said:
51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."
52
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
53
So Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.

Oops... forgot that one little thing. There really does seem to be a difference between Jesus saying "I am the door" or "I am the true vine" and responding to the direct question: "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" with "Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood you have no life in you"(paraphrase). If you want to write about the bible, and you come to a difficult verse, you shouldn't sweep it under the rug, you should mention it and respond to the difficulties it raises.