John. You said, “John's speech, joining repentance (a turning around --
which is something other than the problematic defilement) to immersion was
unique.” Can you give a reference or something so I can go and read what this
person might have said because coming from my perspective, this does not appear
to be true. The use of the mikveh/baptism pool was to raise a person’s kedushah
(level of holiness) in order to perform a duty, be it a special calling or what
have you. By performing a mikveh after repentance, this allows the person to
perform a duty… walking humbly before your God.
-- slade
-----Original
Message-----
From:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Thursday, August 05, 2004
2:09 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: [TruthTalk] Jewish
baptism
One did not join the Jewish people. One was born a Jew. [Gentile
conversion is another matter for the sake of this response]
Levitical uncleanness is one thing and water baptism was used in that
circumstance as a ceremonial cleansing of defilement. But
John's speech, joining repentance (a turning around -- which is
something other than the problematic defilement) to immersion was unique.
This was, for the first time. a baptism of repentance for the people of God
indicating that they, themselves, were as much excluded as the Gentiles without
this baptism of repentance.
John
In a message dated 8/4/2004 6:38:05 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
John,
Would you kindly explain your statement in
blue?
I have to strongly disagree with it. The act of
immersion symbolizing ritual cleanliness is rooted within the Torah.
According to Rabbi Dosick, "Tevilah (Hebrew, meaning the act of
immersion) was required in order to put or keep a person in a state of
ritual purity for the purpose of performing a mitzvot (commandment)."
The water is not used for physical
cleanliness, instead it serves as a symbolic rebirth, an emergence from the
cleansing waters of new beginnings. While the Torah commands that this be
in living,flowing water, a stream, river, or lake for example, this cannot
always be accomplished because of weather conditions. The Mikveh was
created to serve the purpose in these instances. It had to be large enough for
complete immersion and filled with "Living water" (Mayim Hayim, the
water of life), simmilar to todays baptismals.
When Yochanan the Immerser appeared on the scene he
was not trying to convert Gentiles, he was calling on Jews to purify themselves
by the ritual of rebirth we know today as baptism. Birthright was not even
an issue.
Jeff
I have believed for some time, now, that John the Baptist's "baptism for
the remission of sins" and the same phrase used by Peter in Acts
2:38 were for the benefit of the Jewish assembly. Immersion
was used, even back then, in Gentile conversion. A Jew was never to receive this rite because he was born a
child of God. I just think that
as a Jew stood and listened to the Baptist give that command, he was probably
blown away by its implications. It meant that birthright no longer
mattered !!! Baptism "for the remission of sins" is an
illustration for the Jewish community especially.
John
