Baptism For The Dead-Shepherd Of Hermas

[Ron Beron]

I was looking through my Facebook and found this tidbit relating to the baptism for the dead...

15[92]:2 "It was necessary for them," saith he, "to rise up through water, that they might be made alive; for otherwise they could not enter into the kingdom of God, except they had put aside the deadness of their [former] life.

15[92]:3 So these likewise that had fallen asleep received the seal of the Son of God and entered into the kingdom of God. For before a man," saith he, "has borne the name of [the Son of] God, he is dead; but when he has received the seal, he layeth aside his deadness, and resumeth life.

15[92]:4 The seal then is the water: so they go down into the water dead, and they come up alive. "thus to them also this seal was preached, and they availed themselves of it that they might enter into the kingdom of God."

The actual video can be found here.

Any comments?

[boblloyd91]

Wasn't this book part of the early Christian canon? I recall hearing it was highly esteemed by the early Christians

[Ron Beron]

Wasn't this book part of the early Christian canon? I recall hearing it was highly esteemed by the early Christians

In fact, it was part of the first canon.

[Alan]

This passage could be interpreted an number of ways. Baptism for the dead is not conspicuous in my view.

[Garden Girl]

In the introduction of John A. Tvedtnes' 1999 article, "Early Christian and Jewish Rituals Related to Temple Practice," he states:

"Just as an example, let me note that I have, to date, found fifteen early Christian documents that speak of baptism for the dead, along with several Mandaean and Jewish texts. The information will be included in my article "Baptism for the Dead in Early Christianity," scheduled for publication later this year in another FARMS temples volume."

Does anyone have a link to the proposed article? Or how to get a copy? I have a copy of his publication cited above... I'd like to see a list of the additional documents, etc.

GG

[Ron Beron]

In the introduction of John A. Tvedtnes' 1999 article, "Early Christian and Jewish Rituals Related to Temple Practice," he states:

"Just as an example, let me note that I have, to date, found fifteen early Christian documents that speak of baptism for the dead, along with several Mandaean and Jewish texts. The information will be included in my article "Baptism for the Dead in Early Christianity," scheduled for publication later this year in another FARMS temples volume."

Does anyone have a link to the proposed article? Or how to get a copy? I have a copy of his publication cited above... I'd like to see a list of the additional documents, etc.

GG

I found this... http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/jbms/?vol=19&num=2&id=530

and this. http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/books/?bookid=21&chapid=104

[Nevo]

Any comments?

I've never read the Shepherd of Hermas but I notice that Carolyn Osiek's commentary in the Hermeneia series also connects these verses to baptism for the dead (sort of):

Importance of the Seal

■ 16.1–4 [93] The association of passing through water with entering the kingdom of God (v. 2) and receiving the seal (σφρaγίς) is unmistakably a reference to baptism, more explicit than the original allusion in Vis. 3.3.5. The language of death and life is similar to Pauline language but is not exactly the same: here, death is the pre-baptismal state, not the dying process that is symbolically enacted in the course of baptism. This passage is so consciously talking about baptism that it introduces the image of going down into the water dead in order to come up alive (v. 4), even though there is no mention in the parable of stones descending into the water, only being taken out. The absolute necessity of baptism is implicit here, and these verses, without saying so, present a good argument in favor of baptism in the name of the dead, apparently already an act of piety in first-century Corinth. Here, though, it is actually deceased Christian preachers who accomplish this task.

■ 16.5–7 The forty already-baptized who have gone down into the water (v. 5) bring up the rest. This is a version of the tradition of the “harrowing of hell,” usually said to be performed by Christ during the period of his burial. Here, the apostles and teachers are sent to be the agents by which this soteriological mission is accomplished. Through their agency, those who were dead are restored to life, to become part of the foundation of the tower. Thus once again, two elements are necessary to belong to the structure of the tower: being brought up through the water (baptism) and thus bearing the name of the Son of God; and bearing the names of the young women (identification with the life of virtue). Whereas for the living, the problem has been to get the baptized to take on the life of virtue (13.1), here with the pre-Christian dead, the problem is the opposite: they practiced virtue in their lives (v. 7), but had not received baptism. Through the apostles and teachers, this problem is solved.

— Carolyn Osiek, Shepherd of Hermas: A Commentary (Hermeneia; Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1999), 238.

[canard78]

This passage could be interpreted an number of ways. Baptism for the dead is not conspicuous in my view.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought so