# Baptisms of Pilgrimage. The Reformed position.



## etexas (Jun 30, 2008)

Often I am inspired to ask a question based on other threads or posts, this is such a case. I was Baptized as an infant. While in Israel, I took what some call "A Baptism of Pilgrimage" in the Jordan. It is not to overshadow a prior Baptism. It is more "symbolic" in that one is being immersed where are Blessed Lord and Savior was Baptized. I was just curious, is there a Reformed position on such a matter? Grace and Peace in His Name.


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## etexas (Jun 30, 2008)

This is just sad! There are a lot of smart people here, anyone have anything on this?


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## Contra_Mundum (Jun 30, 2008)

Was he "immersed"?

What is the line between religious tourism and devotion?

Taking an ablution where Jesus may have been, in the vicinity, once, long ago, to inaugurate his kingdom work... if it made you "feel closer" to Jesus or God, then it was probably more akin to will-worship than anything. If it brought some intellectual enlightenment or depth to your understanding (and wasn't just reinforcing errors), perhaps, especially when viewed in the fuller context of a whole educational experience, it may have been useful or helpful.

I think fishing for a definitive answer--commendation or condemnation--from us in the peanut gallery is not going to yield a very satisfying result.


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## etexas (Jul 1, 2008)

Contra_Mundum said:


> Was he "immersed"?
> 
> What is the line between religious tourism and devotion?
> 
> ...


Thank you Bruce. For me it was not Mystical, Religious Tour Novelty Shop, or feel closer to Christ (one hears this often in Evangelical circles I am unsure of what most of them mean). Perhaps it was helpful for me in this sense, as an orthodox believer, I had read of the Baptism of the Messiah many times. As one who believes Scripture is God's revealed word, my "experience" made it more concrete I suppose. That is I already believed but when I was in River Jordan, it struck me full-force that somewhere the Son of God stood in this River. I grasped it as a real space-time event. The Jordan is rather cool at waist deep , oddly this made me reflect on the fact that The Lord was fully human, his skin felt the cool water, the soles of his feet felt the mud. It was more a "learning". With due respect Bruce I shall ignore your question of whether he was immersed or not. Scripture seems clear he was in the water. Odd that you ask it did not pertain to the overall issue. BUT, I do again thank you for your kind input on my query. Blessings.


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## DMcFadden (Jul 1, 2008)

The irony is that since Israel diverted the Jordan for agricultural purposes decades ago, it does not run to the Dead Sea. Since Jesus was baptized by John, probably near the North end of the Dead Sea, the Yardenit tourist venue near the South shore of Lake Tiberius is just that, a way to cater to the expectations of tourists. A "baptism" 100+ miles from where Jesus was baptized somehow loses some of its local charm.

(Plus, if you try to stand in it for more than a few minutes during - say February - you risk feezing off important parts of your anatomy. And it is very slippery. Don't ask me how I know this.)


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## etexas (Jul 1, 2008)

DMcFadden said:


> The irony is that since Israel diverted the Jordan for agricultural purposes decades ago, it does not run to the Dead Sea. Since Jesus was baptized by John, probably near the North end of the Dead Sea, the Yardenit tourist venue near the South shore of Lake Tiberius is just that, a way to cater to the expectations of tourists. A "baptism" 100+ miles from where Jesus was baptized somehow loses some of its local charm.
> 
> (Plus, if you try to stand in it for more than a few minutes during - say February - you risk feezing off important parts of your anatomy. And it is very slippery. Don't ask me how I know this.)


I will not ask! Somehow I can guess! Side note my friend, the guide I had was a Jewish convert born in Israel who, despised the "Touristy" "Disney Holy-Land Scene" we were taken farther away from the usual tourist venues.


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## DMcFadden (Jul 2, 2008)

Good for you! Most of my trips were in the late 80s and early 90s. Seeing it afresh in '06 and '07 was WONDERFUL, particularly the new museums and the dig in the city of David (possibly David's palace).


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## Kevin (Jul 2, 2008)

etexas said:


> Contra_Mundum said:
> 
> 
> > Was he "immersed"?
> ...



No offense, brother... but that sounds fairly "mystical" to me.

Being where Christ was, and feeling the same mud between your toes is not what most of us consider necessary for an "orthodox" bapism!

What if I could "prove" that the river you were "baptised" in was several thousand miles away from the location that John the Baptiser poured water over the head of his cousin Joshua, to inagerate him into his high priestly role?

Would that effect the "warm-fuzzies" you felt on that day?

Just wondering...


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## Pergamum (Jul 2, 2008)

I would like to take a bath there, but to call it "baptism" is to put religious trappings on it. 

If you are anyone around you could mistake it for baptism again, then I would think you would be obligated not to jump into those waters...it would mislead yourself or others. But if you could convince yourself and others that you were merely bathing, then it is certainly okay to bathe wherever and it WOULD be cool (but not religiously meritorious) to bathe where Jesus was baptized.

..maybe if anyone asked what you were doing just tell them you had to wash your butt or something...so that they would not think you were being mystical and all that...(it is hard to be mystical when you're washing your butt after all...)


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