The Arizona senator, who was raised an Episcopalian, has attended North Phoenix for nearly two decades, but is not a member because he has not been baptized into the church.
On Wednesday, he told reporters that he had been baptized in Panama, where he was born, and talked about a photo in his memoirs of himself as a baby in a baptismal gown, with his father and grandfather.
"It’s like a dress," he chuckled.
But he was more guarded about his current plans with regard to baptism, calling them "a private thing."
"I’ve been in discussions with Pastor Yeary, and we’ll continue those discussions," he said. "It’s a personal thing, it’s a very personal thing concerning my faith and I am proud of my faith, I am proud of my belief and the sustenance and the redemption that I have received.
"And my faith was tested in extraordinary fashion and it was my faith that got me through not the next day, or the next hour but the next minute."
I remember reading media reports before saying he was not baptized which seemed doubtful to me considering that he was raised Episcopalian. I do find it ironic how wrong Baptists get baptism though. That they don’t baptize infants and that many Baptists rebaptize. So much for one faith, one baptism, etc. But I guess if you believe that baptism is just a token of salvation and a testimony of faith then rebaptisms comes as no surprise. But it sounds suspiciously to me like St. Paul asking "were you baptized in the name of Paul" when you try to make denominations differences in regards to baptism.
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I’ve found it a bit confusing, “baptism is just a symbolic action – it means absolutely nothing. nothing happens. but… if you weren’t baptized by us, then your (meaningless) baptism is invalid.” A doesn’t follow from B. If it really means nothing and nothing happens, then why the big deal about form and matter?
For all their talk of “sola fide, sola gratia,” many Protestants seem to regard baptism as something they do, rather than as an unmerited gift from God.
Yes. They definitely have issues with authority and primacy. They’ll have their baptism (small ‘b’ intended) their way… thank you very much. Who needs 2000 of history’s greatest theological minds, anyhow?
It sounds like he’s struggling (whether he knows it or not) with his desire to do what his Baptist congregation wants and get re-baptized, vs the desire not to spit on the graces God gave him through his original Christian baptism. Especially since those graces did help save his life and faith before.
We should pray for him to hold to the truth on this matter. God made him stubborn for a reason!
This is somewhat hearsay (http://titusonenine.classicalanglican.net/?p=7001) but apparently the episcopal “bishop(ess)” of Utah never received Christian baptism (or, alternatively expressed, apparently TEC accepts the validity of Mormon baptism). Seems that open baptism and open communion are part of the ‘new things’ going on in TEC.
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