Biblical Problems

- 16 - BIBLICAL PROBLEMS FR PAUL KARIAMADOM "Otherwise, what will those people do who receive baptism on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?"(1 Cor 15:29)

Some readers of Vachanolsavam are puzzled a bout the above mentioned word of God. It is not easy to comprehend its meaning and is one of the most complicated statements in the New Testament. There are several interpretations that have arisen in regard to it. There is no other reference to the baptism of the dead in the New Testament. Neither is there any indication in the letters of the Apostolic Fathers. To comprehend the meaning of this word of God, we need to understand its context and the trends of thought in the early Church.

In the passage 1 Cor 15: 16-32, the apostle is describing the resurrection of the body of those who have received faith in Jesus. At the time this epistle was written, there were some Greek philosophers, and Sadducees among the Jews who denied the resurrection of the body. In refutation of this, St Paul is establishing that the resurrection of Jesus is the basis for the resurrection of the believers (cf 1 Cor 15:20-22). It is when the Apostle proves that the bodily resurrection is possible that he speaks of their baptism. "Otherwise, what will those people do who receive baptism on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptised on their behalf"(1 Cor 15:29). It becomes a useless activity.

Various interpretations
There have been several efforts made to grasp the meaning of this sentence. The following are the chief ones.

1. There are some people who argue that St. Paul is speaking in 15:29 about the custom of believers, who are alive, receiving baptism for the salvation of non-believers who died in unbelief. They believed that the faith of the living was enough to save the dead non-believer. There is no evidence whatsoever that such a custom was prevalent in the early Church. Such a baptism is not in keeping with the line of thought of the Apostle. One is saved only when one individually accepts Jesus and receives baptism with repentance and faith. In Gal 3:26-27 it is clear that individual, personal faith is necessary for salvation. It is not possible to foist one person's faith on another. Baptism does not have any magic power.

St Chrysostom gives evidence that in the second and third century the custom of receiving baptism in the name of the dead was prevalent among some heretics. Even today this observance prevails among the adherents of "Mormonism'.

2. Some hold that the custom of receiving baptism on the top of the tomb of dead martyrs is referred to in 1 Cor 15:29. But the fact that in St Paul's time martyrs and the tombs over their graves were very rare refutes this interpretation.

3. To bridge the gap caused in the community of the Church by the death of believers, some others received baptism and became members of the Church. There are those who believe that 1 Cor 15:29 is referring to this practice.

4. Another strong viewpoint is that 1 Cor 15:19 is a reference to vicarious baptism- the baptism administered for the sake of those catechumens who died without it because of contagious diseases, sickness or accident. There are those who hold that such baptisms were administered in the early Church. 1 Cor 1:14-17 is a reference to those who have not received baptism. According to this opinion, there must have been a period of long preparation before the reception of baptism in the early Church. During this period some surely must have expired.

The interest evinced in those who died without baptism is clearly evident in the referece to the baptism meant for them. Will such people participate in Christ's glory was a question that many asked. A baptism for the dead was, to some extent, a remedy for this problem. There are people who think the baptism for the dead is associated with the idea embodied in 1 Pet 3:18-19 that after his death Christ preached the Gospel to those souls in bondage.

The baptism for the dead was considered as an external sign and a celebration of the participation of the catechumens in the salvific fruits of Christ's death and resurrection . It was to give them also a participation in the divine happiness and resurrection that this ceremony was observed. Romans chapter VI presents baptism as a special renewal of the remembrance of the death and resurrection of Jesus. "Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life"(Rom 6:4). The chief purpose of baptism is to participate in the eschatological resurrection .

Unbaptised people were very rare in the early Church. We see in the Acts of the Apostles that repentant persons were given baptism immediately. Here we see the innate, indivisible link between baptism and conversion. Paul does not accept or abolish the baptism for the catechumens. This must have been an ancient regulation in the early Church.

It can be seen as a sign of the fellowship of the saints(both the living and the dead). It shows that all are united as members of the Mystical Body of Christ. We may consider the baptism for the dead as equivalent to prayers for the dead.

5. Lastly we give here still another acceptable interpretation. There were numerous Christians, fired with zeal but confined to their sick-bed awaiting the moment of death. There were also several among their relatives, friends and dear ones who had not been converted or baptised. Such persons who were not yet converted, were catechised by the bed-ridden people to repent and receive baptism.

After the death of these sick people, they were converted and, inspired by their advice, made a public confession and received baptism. Such people who received baptism in the presence of several witnesses were referred to as those "who received baptism for the sake of the dead" (on behalf of the dead). The original meaning was not 'on behalf of the dead' but 'for the sake of the dead'. Such conversions and baptisms can be witnessed even today.

There was also the expectation that those who received baptism inspired by the example of the dead could meet their near and dear ones at the resurrection of the body through their faith in the resurrection of the body. That it is possible to be united with them in the final resurrection is a strong belief. "Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you through prophecy with the laying on of hands by the council of elders"(1 Tim 4:14).The Apostle says that the belief in the resurrection of the dead is a fundamental belief. "If with merely human hopes I fought with wild animals at Ephesus, what would I have gained by it? If the dead are not raised, 'Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.'"(1 Cor 15:32). It is through the passion, death and resurrection of Christ that a Christian attains victory over sin and death. "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished"(1 Cor 15:17-18).
Also it is necessary for each of us to be individually , personally united with Christ in faith and become a new man, in order to attain the merits of Christ's passion and death. Conversion by proxy is not possible. We do not find such an idea in the Sacred Scriptures. But it is certainly true that another's faith and zeal can lead relatives and friends to religious faith. Jesus says, "In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven"(Mt 5:16)