(May 17, 2014 at 1:12 am)Brakeman Wrote: Wow you are really grasping at straws here. John's baptism was "certified" as correct because the Gospel accounts here:
Luke 1
76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,
78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. <foretold by his father with the "holy spirit!">
And of course by the fact that jesus felt it was a complete act of righteousness to be baptized by john.
If john had any error in his theology he would would have been rebuked by Jesus and others. John only baptized believers, a non-believer would hardly have stood for the farce, do you think he swam up behind people and dunked them? Furthermore his calling card was to preach repentance to god, who (spoiler alert!) is also jesus!
There is no basis to claim that the ghostless disciples were not believers in the right god. They simply hadn't had the right "mumbo jumbo magic words" spoken while they were dunked in water.
Now as to why I zero in on the whole "holy ghost" "speaking to god" angle.
Christians today have a problem in that they never get confirmation that they are really saved or that anyone heard their prayer of salvation. Because christians don't hear from god in any real way, they are forced to either invent the conversations, or rationalize away the need. The claim that jesus loves you, but won't talk to you, despite talking to millions of others in the past according to the scriptures, is very hard to explain, except with the obvious "you're wrong about his existence answer."
Why would god not communicate with his children whom he supposedly loves? Wouldn't you communicate with those you love if you could?
Does it really make any sense that god talks to neitherthe believer nor the unbeliever today, but bellowed to everyone passing in the biblical examples?
John's baptism was not in error, but it was incomplete. Those being baptized were not acknowledging that God had come in the flesh. They were repenting for their sins and acknowledging that a messiah was coming. God didn't talk to millions of people in the old testament; just certain individuals who were specially involved in his plan to bring the messiah to the world. You're putting words in my mouth about God not communicating with me. He does communicate with me; but not in spoken words. You think if he is real he must speak to us directly in English or whatever language we speak, but that's not the way it is. That's just the way you've decided it should be.
