Dying to sin, and being crucified with Christ as a result, are conscious decisions. Did we have any consciousness 2000 years ago?
Please do me a favour, posthuman. Where else in the Bible does it say that immersion was literal participation in the death of Christ. I know the NT is replete with words such as "buried with him" and "died with him." I thought that our immersion was symbolic. Symbolic, because we did not feel the pain (except the pain of hurting God). We were not shamed. Our blood was not shed. Yes, when we came out of the waters, our spirits were renewed by His power. Our bodies and minds and sinful natures were still intact (that that's how we will be till we see his glory when he returns). What was different was that when we came out of the immersion waters, we made a pledge never to play with sin again, and to always to live for Christ. Our new resolve was strengthened by the Holy Spirit given to us.
If my memory serves me right, RobertH believes that Christ died, but he does not believe Christ died for the sins we had committed. Robert believes that Christ did not take our punishment, because a righteous person cannot be punished instead of a sinner, according to THE LAW.
Brothers, if i'm wrong, I would be more than happy to stand corrected. I know we have Christ in common, but we tend to converse at different wavelengths, since our understanding of the extent of His grace differs.