NEWS STORY: Methodists Consider Theological Roots of Baptism

c. 2000 Religion News Service CLEVELAND _ For nearly 2,000 years, Christians have initiated new believers in the sacrament of baptism _ the pouring on of water to symbolize the entrance into the family of God. For United Methodists, at least, the theological significance behind baptism may be taking on a new, deeper meeting. The […]

c. 2000 Religion News Service

CLEVELAND _ For nearly 2,000 years, Christians have initiated new believers in the sacrament of baptism _ the pouring on of water to symbolize the entrance into the family of God. For United Methodists, at least, the theological significance behind baptism may be taking on a new, deeper meeting.

The United Methodist Church _ the nation’s second-largest Protestant body with 8.4 million members _ is meeting here this week for its quadrennial meeting to set policy and doctrine.


On Wednesday (May 10), delegates to the church’s General Conference approved a report that called on Mormon converts to receive a new baptism, saying that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) admittedly “is not a part of the historic, apostolic tradition of Christian faith.”

Methodists will also be considering what baptism means _ or should mean _ in a theological sense for the church. The denomination is trying to square a 1992 statement on baptism with the church’s Book of Discipline, with ramifications for how baptism affects church membership.

The Mormon report, which was approved without a vote, was the result of difficulties faced by Methodist pastors in Mormon-heavy western states. Pastors were unsure whether a Mormon baptism could count as baptism in the Methodist church. The report responded with a strong but cautious no.

In the Mormon church, adult baptism by immersion is a necessary step towards entering an eternal “celestial kingdom.” Mormons are urged to undergo baptisms “by proxy” for ancestors who were not baptized so that they might also enjoy an eternal kingdom. Those who are not baptized “shall be damned,” according to the Mormon scriptures. The United Methodist Church, like most other Christian churches, does not embrace such theology.

Because of major doctrinal differences with the Mormon church, the report recommended that Mormon converts receive a new baptism in the United Methodist Church. In addition, the report called for a period of “catechesis” _ a time of “intensive exploration and instruction in the Christian faith,” and for converts to officially sever their ties to the Mormon church.

“What that is actually saying is that Mormon baptism is not Christian baptism” in the Methodist tradition, said Gayle Felton, a consultant with the Methodists’ General Board of Discipleship. “What it’s saying, bottom line, is that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not a Christian faith.”

Within the United Methodist Church, a simmering debate on how baptism affects church membership may have to wait another four years before the church’s statements on baptism agree with each other.


The church is trying to bridge differences between “By Water and the Spirit,” a 1992 statement on baptism, and the church’s Book of Discipline, which prescribes the criteria for church membership. In the 1992 statement, a distinction is made between “baptized members” _ which includes baptized infants _ and “professing members” _ which includes baptized adults who have been confirmed as members and made a public profession of faith.

The Book of Discipline only makes a distinction between “preparatory” members (baptized infants who have not been confirmed) and “full members” who are baptized adults. Felton, who has been working on the language for more than 10 years, said “baptized” and “professing” have clearer theological meanings.

“It’s a theological change to express how we relate to God and how God relates to us,” through baptism, Felton said. “It describes the significance of baptism in the life of the United Methodist Church.”

DEA END ECKSTROM

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