Being Baptized: Bodies and Abortion
Frederick CHristian Bauerschmidt
Abortion and Perplexity. The issue of what it means to be human is at the heart of the abortion debate. In a liberal democracy, the definition of what is human is left to the individual, leading to an unsolvable issue. Until there is a common definition of what it is to be human, there will be no resolution to the abortion issue
Bodies and Their Virtues. We are our bodies. How that plays out in theology and politics must be taken seriously. The act of baptism historically was as much about the body as it was about the spirit. The body is a contested area over which "spirits" contest to instill their particular virtues or vices. Social bodies as much as individual bodies are subjected to these forces.
Building a Temple for the Spirit.
- Teaching and Claiming. In the Catholic rite of baptism, an infant is claimed for God and the Church. This involves touching. The challenge is to not let humans exercise that claim, but to ensure that the claim is exercised in Godly ways.
- Story. Baptism is incorporation in the narrative of Christ.
- Petition and epiclesis. The prayers that follow are indicative of the neediness of both the baptized and the community. In the traditional rite, there is an exorcism. While that seems archaic, it makes sense in that the body is being claimed for Christ. Then the water is blessed and its symbolism is well understood.
- Turning. This is followed by renouncing Satan and professing faith. There is no neutral spot between the two. The infant is not assumed to have fait as a result. It is more like a planting a seed in soil, or a child in the womb.
- Washing and anointing. The candidates is then immersed three times (or sprinkled I suppose for infants) [in the name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit). In some ancient traditions, the candidate is immersed after reciting each section of the Apostles' Creed.
- Clothing in Glory. Then the baptized is clothed in white and the parents given a candle lit from the Easter candle. This is symbolic of the transforming of the body.
- Eating. This is followed ideally by the Eucharist.
Baptized Bodies in the Midst of the Nations: Beyond the Minimally Decent Samaritan.