Baptism & identity : Pauline directives for Christian ethics

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Baptism has been an important aspect of the Christian community and faith since its very beginnings.This study investigates Paul's reference to baptism since the Pauline epistles are the oldest writtenrecords that we have on the topic of baptism and because of the foundational role the Pauline gospelstill has for the identity of contemporary Christianity. In his various letters, Paul often mentions oralludes to baptism, but Paul never writes a passage that could be titled 'On Baptism', where he presentshis theology of baptism. Neither does he describe the act of baptism nor how it is administered. Instead,in the texts where he mentions baptism he is actually discussing something else. This leads to thequestions: Why did Paul deem it necessary to refer to the baptism in the various contexts of his letters?What does baptism mean for Paul, as can be concluded from these texts? How did he use the baptism inhis arguments and what conclusions did he draw from his references to baptism? This study aims toanswer these questions through exegetical analysis of the separate texts 1 Cor 6:11, 12:12-13; Gal 3:27and Rom 6:3 in their various contexts in an attempt to arrive at Paul's understanding of baptism, how itserves as basis for the early Christian self-definition and group identity, and which kind of ethos ispromoted on the basis of the ethical implication of baptism as an integrating ritual in PaulineChristianity.It becomes evident that for Paul the baptism is very important and central to the Christian faith andcommunity, therefore he utilises the common participation and meaning of baptism as a foundation forother aspects of his theology: righteousness, new life in the Spirit, Christology, soteriology,ecclesiology, pneumatology and eschatology. By referring to their baptism Paul reminds believers ofwhat they experienced at that point in time and what that now implies for their lives here and now, aswell as for their future expectation and hope. The strength of Paul's argument and the consequencesthereof is rooted in the actual experience and event of the believers' baptism. It is clear that Pauladvocates a total and radical change of identity where the believer completely and utterly identifieswith Christ in and through the baptism and he uses different metaphors to describe this identificationwith Christ. When Paul writes that they are one in Christ it has ecclesiological relevance grounded inChrist's passion and resurrection. However, Paul also closely associates the baptism with the Spirit.The baptism is where the Spirit is received and the baptism occurs in/through the Spirit, but everythingthat occurs at the baptism occurs on God's initiative.The baptism serves as a cornerstone for Pauline ethics because by accepting God's salvation throughfaith and the baptism, believers are transformed to live a new life in the sight of God and being guidedby the Spirit leads to a new ethos for the individual and the community of faith.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University