Getting baptised for the dead?

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socperkins

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#1
I was reading today and 1 Corinthians 15:29 caught my eye.

"Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?"

In this section Paul is talking about the resurrection of the dead. He begins the section by explaining that there is a resurrection. If there wasn't then our faith would be in vain because Christ wouldn't have been able to come back from the dead. When he brings up being baptized for the dead, he doesn't act like he's against it. He just says "If the dead are not coming back, why are people being baptized for them?"

Basically my questions are - what does it mean to be baptized for the dead, and what does it accomplish? Do you think Paul is for it? I'm just confused on this passage.
 
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Definition_Christ

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#2
1 Corinthians 15
20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.
24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.
25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet.
26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
27 For “He has put all things under His feet.”But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted.
28 Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.
29 Otherwise, what will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for the dead?
30 And why do we stand in jeopardy every hour?
31 I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
32 If, in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me? If the dead do not rise, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”
33 Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”
34 Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.
35 But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?”
36 Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies.
37 And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain.
38 But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.
39 All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds.
40 There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
41 There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption.
43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.
44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.
47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.
48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly.
49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.


I think what Paul is saying here is.. Christ is alive.. He is resurrected
Revelation 1:18
I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.

If Christ was dead.. We would be baptized INTO the dead (Christ).. But Christ is not dead so we are not baptized into the dead. Then he goes onto explain what time of body Christ has, and what type of body we will have when we are in heaven.

Galations 3:27
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Interesting question though, I'm curious what others have to say. This was just the first thing that came to mind.
 
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Peacefulcrusader

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#3
Interesting question, yes. My thoughts are generally what Defintion has mentioned already. I believe that the Mormons use this small verse for all that it's "worth", making a big theology out of it. In Mormon temples people actually baptize themselves on behalf of former - now diseased - relatives. That's a reason why Mormons often are very focused and learned on geneology... But as I said, I put more trust in the contextual explanation given by Definition.
 
Jan 8, 2009
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#4
The word baptise in this context doesn't mean water baptism or anything to do with it, unless it's a vague play on words by Paul to allude to their present suffering. There's many different views about this one but I think baptised for the dead is an expression that they suffer such trials that they feel like they are 'baptised for the dead'. Or even "baptised for the dead one" (ie baptised and died for Christ's sake). He's basically saying "guys, if there's no resurrection, then all those people who have been immersed (aka baptised) into death, through persecution or suffering for Christ's sake, have absolutely no hope and died in vain. He's basically telling them that he firmly believes in the resurrection and that he and many other christians are and were willing to die holding onto that belief - so how dare some say there is no resurrection!
 
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Slepsog4

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#5
One should notice that Paul talks of THOSE who baptize for the dead in the third person. He never says YOU (2nd person) or WE (1st person).

He is not endorsing it. Nor is he a practitioner. He points to it illustratively.
 
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Peacefulcrusader

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#6
Yes, the ressurection is the important point in it. :)
 
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