One of my roles is that of a pastor at Westwood Church, and part of a church leader's life occasionally involves coming alongside other people's spiritual experiences for guidance, support and sometimes even to help interpret life events.
For many followers of God, one of the big spiritual events is baptism. Despite its original simplicity, baptism has unfortunately become complex over the centuries, in terms of meaning and purpose. Within Christianity, there is an incredibly wide range of belief and practice of baptism.
In general, there are two main views of baptism: some Christian traditions see baptism as a sacrament, others see it as an ordinance. For our purposes today, I will focus on one particular faith tradition - that of the Anabaptists (originating in the 16th century), who believe that baptism is an ordinance.
Let me illustrate a basic view of baptism by using a modern analogy - laser tag. I remember my first experience playing laser tag - it seemed like all of my friends had played for years, and I was the last one to join the party.
I remember the anticipation of playing the game, and the excitement of being handed my first laser gun (unfortunately, there were no light sabres available).
The central part of playing laser tag, of course, is to put on the special vest that has targets to hit and a laser to use. No vest means no laser tag. I could talk about laser tag all I wanted to, I could say whose team I wanted to be on, and I could even get dressed in all black clothes so that no one could see me.
But until I put on the vest and stepped into the dark room filled with passageways and hiding spots, I was not actually playing laser tag, and I certainly wasn't an active part of any laser tag team.
Being baptized is a lot like putting on the vest and playing on the team. It is way of telling other people that you or I are all in. Every analogy breaks down at some point, but just as the vest identifies me with the game of laser tag, baptism similarly identifies a person with Jesus.
Additionally, baptism identifies a person with a specific faith community (i.e., the "team" that a person is a part of).
In essence, baptism is a physical act (immersing oneself in water and then coming up again) through which a person tells others about a previous spiritual act (accepting Jesus as their lord and saviour).
In this way, the Anabaptists believed and practiced baptism as an ordinance - a symbolic action that physically expresses an already existing spiritual reality.
In terms of your own spirituality, what events have been powerful for you? Have you ever been part of a physical action that had spiritual significance?
Questions or Comments? Each week, this column will explore issues and questions about religion and spirituality in Prince George and around the world. Please send your questions, comments, or ideas to @wessner on Twitter or pgspirituality@wessner.ca by email.
Mark Wessner, PhD
Lead Pastor at Westwood Church
Continuing Studies Instructor at UNBC
