1 Peter 3:18-22

“For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight people, were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him” (1 Peter 3: 18-22).

Question:

Jesus was water baptized, and if we are Christlike, why don’t you teach it?

Comment:

Your question seems to assume that Unity does not ‘teach’ baptism. That’s incorrect. What is true is that we do not understand baptism in the traditional way, as signifying the washing away of “original sin.” That consent is not biblical in its origin. We do not believe we are branded with original sin simply because we are embodied in human form. Indeed, we believe this embodiment is in service to our divine purpose, which is to use our innate Christ Presence to create a new dimension of consciousness Jesus defines as “the kingdom of heaven.” Baptism is rather a way of formally and lovingly welcoming a unique expression of that Christ Presence into human form, and committing our community of faith to his/her well-being. I see nothing in this passage that contradicts this understanding. Indeed, the author writes that baptism is not to be seen as “a removal of dirt from the body.” Presumably, that is not just physical dirt, but the metaphysical ‘dirt’ represented by a belief in original sin. Blessings! Rev. Ed