# 1 Corinthians 15:29 & the Mormons



## Greg (Mar 17, 2009)

"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?" -1 Corinthians 15:29

What exactly does Paul mean here?


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## Craig (Mar 17, 2009)

I forget if I read this in a commentary...but I remember someone suggested that this was not a practice Paul was condoning, rather, he was demonstrating the absurdity of denying the resurrection and yet being baptized on behalf of the dead.

After all: Why would some do this if they deny the resurrection? On its face, it's preposterous. Paul mocks them for this practice and recommends a more consistent approach rather than being baptized for the dead: eat, drink, for tomorrow we die!


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## Marrow Man (Mar 17, 2009)

Ha! We have essentially cross-posted! I posed a similar question here.

Calvin's commentary essentially looks to baptism = "death" (per Mark 10:38-39). Essentially this is along the lines of Craig's comments --> why would anyone get baptized and enter the church and face the prospect of death if there is no resurrection of the dead. This fits in line with Paul's comments afterward (I always like his reference to fighting the wild beasts in Ephesus!).


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## steven-nemes (Mar 17, 2009)

I understand it as such: there were people baptizing others for the dead, while at the same time were denying there is a resurrection of the dead; Paul doesn't condone it, he notes the inconsistency and absurdity even in that.


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## py3ak (Mar 17, 2009)

Candlish takes it that they are baptized, so to speak, in the room of those who died. Who would join a martyr cause if there were no resurrection? I found a better explanation once, as I've noted previously, but I forgot what it was.


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