Here is his letter:

• Robert Arthur <thechurchoflivinggod5@gmail.com>

  To:wayne oconner

  Wed, Apr 12 at 2:42 PM

  Is baptism for the dead biblical? Did the Apostle Paul endorse such practices. 1 Cor 15:29?

  Sent from my iPhone
• My reply:

  wayne oconner <enyawrennoco@yahoo.com>

  To:Robert Arthur

  Sun, Apr 16 at 9:10 AM

  I have pondered that verse before.  I’m not sure what it means for certain. What I am certain about is the Christ was sinless, was crucified, and because He was the Son of God, that I am redeemed.  That said, Robert, the Corinthians were a strange group, and even some of the converts dragged into their fellowship the strange and unholy customs of the matriarchal Diana cult.  For example, as noted before, most of them were matriarchal and made females superior to males both in the church and in the home. They tended to dress scantily and were accustomed to wanton behaviors as their temple rites included castration of certain males and sexual “purification” rituals – temple prostitution.  When Paul mentioned baptism for the dead he may have been playing with words – using rhetorical speech or sarcasm.  He may also have been addressing some strange custom of the Corinthian fellowship.    Since we do not have access to the letters or personal discussions, he may have had with them on the subject we may be missing important contextual information, and therefore cannot make sense of this verse as it seems to contradict other Bible verses. Peter himself mentioned that Paul was sometimes hard to understand – maybe this verse was one of the reasons Peter thought Paul’s letters or talks could be confusing.

  End of Letter

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  For better context here is the chapter that Paul gives us.  For the most part, this seems to be a very straight forward letter to the Corinthians without symbolism or metaphors. That is to say this section of the Bible seems to be meant to be interpreted plainly and literally.  The one line about praying for the dead seems out of place in that context.

  The Resurrection of Christ

  1 st Corinthians chapter 15:

  Now I would remind you, brothers,^[a] of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, ² and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

  ³ For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. ⁶ Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. ⁸ Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. ⁹ For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. ¹¹ Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

  The Resurrection of the Dead

  ¹² Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. ¹⁵ We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹ If in Christ we have hope^[b] in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

  ²⁰ But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹ For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. ²² For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. ²³ But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. ²⁴ Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. ²⁵ For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. ²⁶ The last enemy to be destroyed is death. ²⁷ For “God^[c] has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. ²⁸ When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.

  ²⁹ Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? ³⁰ Why are we in danger every hour? ³¹ I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! ³² What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” ³³ Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”^[d] 34 Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

  Conclusion of Chapter 15

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  Here is the web link to Jon Zens’ book about Paul and what was happening in the Corinthian church:

  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8528692-what-s-with-paul-and-women

  Click the icon link on the left to see Jon’s photo.

   

   

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  Thanks for reading today’s blog post!

  Be blessed in Jesus Name!

  From the desk of Wayne O’Conner