Conversion(s)

How many times can one Christian be baptized?

Of course, John 3:5 talks of being born of both the water and the spirit, and so many Christian denominations that practice the charismatic aspects of the faith (including Catholics) talk about baptism in water as distinct from baptism in the spirit, though it's possible both may happen at the same time.

For that matter, some denominations don't recognize each others' baptisms in water, so a given Christian's journey may involve more than one baptism by water. (As mentioned in another blog/chapter, it turns out that the Catholic Church recognizes my Presbyterian baptism, so I only got water-baptized once.)

And, while ceremonies such as Catholic confirmation are meant to include baptism in the spirit, it is not often that the gifts of the spirit listed in I Corinthians 12 and 13 are manifested at that time, so it is often left for other events such as "Life in the Spirit" seminars for people to be prayed for and have such an experience - thus at least allowing for the manifestation of baptism in the Spirit on more than one occasion in one's life.

Then how about conversion? Now the question gets really open.

In my own life, with Protestant missionary parents, it was felt strongly that I should choose as a person of the age of reason when I had converted. So when, at the age of 4, after a conversation about my faith with my parents I chose to explicitly accept the Christian faith with a prayer, my parents didn't seem fully convinced that it counted yet. Consequently, nearly a decade later when Billy Graham was in town and I answered the altar call, at least one of my parents decided that was when to reckon the date of my conversion.

Yet, in the book of Acts, we see that baptism is an essential part of conversion, and I wasn't baptized with water until I was nearly done high school.

And then, as my fourth year of university drew to a close, I was confirmed into the Catholic Church on Easter weekend, 1986, so some might count that as a conversion.

However, I never renounced Protestant Christiantiy (nor was I ever asked or encouraged by anyone to do so), treating my joining the Catholic Church as another step forward on an ongoing journey of faith, not a rejecting of the past. So it's hard to see that as a real conversion - nor, for that matter, is any time I attend a Protestant Church service a reversion.

So how many times have I been baptized, and how many times have I converted? It's a mystery :-)

(Copyright (c) 2011, Reg Harbeck, all rights reserved)