Christian Baptism as the Gender-Inclusive Covenant Sign

https://www.usccb.org/news/2023/doctrinal-dicastery-says-transsexuals-can-be-baptized

Doctrinal dicastery says transsexuals can be baptized https://www.usccb.org/news/2023/doctrinal-dicastery-says-transsexuals-can-be-baptized

Can People Who Are Confused about Gender be Baptized? https://dwightlongenecker.com/can-people-who-are-confused-about-gender-be-baptized/

Christian Baptism as the Gender-Inclusive Covenant Sign #prison

#prisoners #gender #trans

https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/christian-baptism-as-the-gender-inclusive-covenant-sign/

Baptism as the Gender-Inclusive New Covenant Sign

Christian baptism has replaced circumcision as the sign of the new covenant.46 When the Christian is baptized, he or she invokes the name of Christ, receives forgiveness of sins, is given new life, and is baptized in and sealed by the Holy Spirit.47 By baptism believers become partakers of Christ’s death (Rom 6:3–4) and are united with him so that they receive his blessings (Gal 3:27).48 Baptism is a sign of regeneration by the Holy Spirit through the death and resurrection of Christ, and thus represents the person’s connection to Christ and his covenant of grace.49

Calvin argued that Christ is the foundation of both circumcision and baptism. On the basis of Col 2:11–12, he avers that circumcision and baptism are both signs of the same reality.50 When a person is baptized, she or he becomes part of the body of Christ through Christ’s already-completed work of redemption.51 Baptism is “a sacred and serious act of incorporation into the visible community of faith.”52 It is “the initiation rite into the Christian church.”53 Baptism is thus analogous to circumcision in its function as a mark of inclusion in the covenant people.

A significant difference, however, is that women as well as men are baptized as a mark of membership of the covenant community. Unlike circumcision, baptism is a gender-inclusive sign. This is evidenced in various biblical passages and by the theology of at least one church father.

First, passages about baptism are inclusive of females and males. Whole households were baptized. The Gentile household of Cornelius believed the gospel preached by Peter and were all baptized (Acts 10:44–48). The Philippian jailer and his household were baptized by Paul and Silas (Acts 16:33). In Corinth, Crispus and his household believed in Christ and were baptized (Acts 18:8). Paul baptized the household of Stephanus (1 Cor 1:16). A household most likely contained at least one woman. Some passages are explicit about women being baptized. Philip preached the gospel in Samaria and his converts were “baptized, both men and women” (Acts 8:12 NRSV). Lydia was evangelised by Paul in Philippi and “she and her household were baptized” (Acts 16:15 NRSV).

Further biblical passages demonstrate that women could become believers in Christ independent of their fathers or husbands. In the Roman colony of Philippi, Paul looked for a place of prayer near a river outside the city (Acts 16:12–13). In the absence of a synagogue in Philippi,54 Paul spoke only to the women gathered there. One in particular, Lydia, was converted and took Paul and his companions to her house (Acts 16:13–15). Lydia was not subject to questions of whether her husband (if she had one) approved of her conversion. Her status as a believer was her own decision.55

Paul’s discussion of marriage in 1 Cor 7 is another plain indication that women can be part of the new covenant community without being under the authority of father or husband. Women can serve God without being married (1 Cor 7:8–9). A Christian woman may be married to an unbelieving spouse, yet her faith sanctifies both her husband and the children of the union (1 Cor 7:12–14). Even if it were not unusual for Greek women to practice a religion different from that of their husbands,56 this passage makes it clear that the Christian woman was not dependent on her husband for her status as a believer.

Women in the ancient world were, for all practical purposes, under the authority of men. That did not prevent women from becoming Christians contrary to the dictates of their husbands. 1 Peter 3:1 addressed the situation of a Christian woman married to a non-Christian husband. Peter advised women to uphold the normal patterns of society such as obedience to husbands. This may not have been the Christian ideal in marriage but it was necessary as a witness to Christ in a society hostile to the gospel.57

The church father Cyprian—as part of his efforts to demonstrate the superiority of the Christian faith over Judaism—also observed the gender-inclusive nature of baptism as the rite of inclusion into the Christian community of faith. He observed, “That sign [circumcision] does not profit women, but everyone is signed with the sign of the Lord.”58 Effectively his argument was “that Christian signs of communal inclusion—be they faith, baptism, circumcision of the heart, or a combination of all three—are superior to Jewish circumcision, since they include women as well as men.”59

The biblical passages above and the theology of Cyprian provide positive indication that a woman can be a Christian without reference to a man. Unlike the Jewish women in the OT, who were not circumcised and thus part of the covenant vicariously through father or husband, the Christian woman is baptized into Christ without reference to any man. This is a radical difference between old covenant and new covenant.

The change from a male-only covenant sign in the OT to a gender-inclusive covenant sign in the NT prompts the question of whether God was sexist under the old covenant. If so, he was within his rights as the sovereign Lord of Creation (cf. Rom 9:19–21). However, it is possible that God’s apparent sexism in the OT functions in a similar way to the exclusivity of Israel as God’s people in the OT compared to the openness of the gospel to Gentiles in the NT (Eph 3:6; Col 1:27). The former makes the latter all the more wonderful. If this is the case, the radical shift is even more significant because the NT denotes an expansion of status and roles for women which must be taken seriously.

Implications of Baptism as the Gender-Inclusive Rite

The implications of baptism as the gender-inclusive rite, compared to circumcision as a male-only rite of entrance to the covenant community, are not spelled out explicitly in the NT. Nonetheless, if a woman’s inclusion in Christ is symbolised by baptism, which is equally administered to males and females, then we would expect a change in the status of women in the NT over against the OT. A theology of gender-inclusiveness may be built based on the existing general passages and hints found regarding the leadership of women in the early church.

Female status before God is always because of Christ (Gal 3:28; cf. Col 3:11), and the observance of baptism is a way of signifying this. Being in Christ makes a person what they are in the church. It is not a matter of gender. Aside from the clearly stated distinction in marriage (Eph 5:25–33) and a couple of much-debated passages (1 Tim 2:11–15; 1 Cor 14:34–35), the NT does not differentiate between men and women. Rather, the overwhelming majority of passages are addressed to both men and women without distinction.

There is reason to believe that the status of women under the new covenant, through the new inclusive sacrament of baptism, means that both women and men can take on leadership roles. Before considering concrete examples of female leaders in the NT, some theological pointers to female leadership will be considered.

Women as well as men are baptized in the Holy Spirit. In Acts, all Christian women are filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:17).60 One result of the baptism in the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:13) is the Holy Spirit’s distribution of gifts to the church, a distribution which Paul never ties to gender (1 Cor 12:7–11) but only to the confession of Christ as Lord (1 Cor 12:3). This being the case, we would expect that leadership gifts could be provided to women as well as men, the most obvious being that of prophet (Acts 2:17; see also Acts 21:9).61

As concerns accountability, Craig Keener observes, “In Luke’s view women and men are equally morally responsible (Acts 5:1–11).”62 In addition, Luke makes explicit that both men and women are included among those who are persecuted for the faith (Acts 8:3, 9:2, 22:4).63 If women are able to suffer and die for the faith,62 it is reasonable to suppose that Christian women have the same level of accountability before God for defending the faith as do Christian men.

The NT mentions women in leadership roles in several places. Several women are designated as patrons. Tabitha supported widows (Acts 9:36), and Mary was the patron of a Jerusalem house church (Acts 12:12). Lydia acted as a patron to Paul and those with him (Acts 16:15)65 and was the leader of the first church in Philippi (Acts 16:12–15, 40).66

In Judaism, teaching the Torah was almost exclusively a male role. However, in Acts, Priscilla and Aquila worked together and ministered together. In particular, they both taught Apollos (Acts 18:26).67 Priscilla’s name appears before her husband’s (Acts 18:18; see also Acts 18:26; Rom 16:3; 2 Tim 4:19), possibly suggesting that she had a more powerful and influential ministry than did he. Clearly, Priscilla’s teaching enabled Apollos to make a great contribution to the kingdom of God (Acts 18:27–28).68 Both Priscilla and Aquila were called synergous (“coworkers,” CEB, NIV) by Paul, and they risked their lives for him (Rom 16:3–4). Paul designated seven women as his co-labourers (Rom 16:3, 6, 7, 12; Phil 4:2–3):69 Priscilla, Euodia and Syntyche (Phil 4:2–3), Phoebe, Tryphaena and Tryphosa (Rom 16:12), and Junia (Rom 16:7).70 Phoebe was likely the courier who brought the letter to the Romans from Paul and thus explained it to them (Rom 16:1–2). She is called a “deacon [diakonos] of the church at Cenchreae” (NRSV). In Pauline usage, diakonos generally applies to someone who ministers the word of God. She is also called “patron of many” (NRSV) and consequently would have been honoured as the one whose house was the meeting place for the church.71

The qualifications for an apostle72 were fulfilled by certain female disciples (Luke 8:1–3, 23:49, 55–56, 24:1–10).73 A female apostle was mentioned by Paul: “Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives who were in prison with me; they are prominent among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was” (Rom 16:7 NRSV). There are no existing examples of a corresponding masculine name, “Junias.” Thus, Junia was a woman. “Prominent among the apostles” is a better translation than “outstanding in the eyes of the apostles.”74

The theological passages above and the narrative passages regarding women leaders stand in unity. As persons who carry the new covenant sign of baptism, Christian women can take on leadership positions in the church.

Conclusion

The new covenant sign of baptism is more inclusive of women within the covenant community than the old covenant male-only sign of circumcision was. A woman is no longer part of the covenant community only through her husband or father, but can believe in Christ independently of a man. Women, by virtue of being marked by the gender-inclusive covenant sign of baptism, are not lesser than men. This fact should result in rethinking and restructuring the position of women within the church, particularly at the local church level. It is one thing to speak of equality before God and another to actualise this in practical terms.

Notes

P.R. Williamson, “Circumcision,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch, ed. David W. Baker and T. Desmond Alexander (InterVarsity, 2003), 122.
Thomas Thomas Robert Schreiner, “Circumcision: An Entrée Into ‘Newness’ in Pauline Thought” (Ph.D Fuller Theological Seminary, School of Theology, 1983), 18.
Schreiner, “Circumcision,” 21-22.; Williamson, “Circumcision,” 123. Wenham argues that the primary act of remembrance was on the part of the circumcised male rather than on the part of God (Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 16-50, Volume 2, Word Biblical Commentary, (Zondervan, 2000), 23-24.).
Williamson, “Circumcision,” 122-23.
Schreiner, “Circumcision,” 22.
Meredith Kline, cited in B. Witherington, Troubled Waters: The Real New Testament Theology of Baptism (Baylor University Press, 2007) 11–12.
Williamson, “Circumcision,” 123.
Schreiner, “Circumcision,” 52–53, 55.
Williamson, “Circumcision,” 125.
Lawrence A. Hoffman, Covenant of Blood: Circumcision and Gender in Rabbinic Judaism (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996) 10–12.
To be clear, it is not being suggested that any female should be circumcised.
Shaye J.D. Cohen, “Why Aren’t Jewish Women Circumcised?,” Gender & History 9/3 (1997) 560.
M. Adryael Tong, “‘Given as a Sign’: Circumcision and Bodily Discourse in Late Antique Judaism and Christianity” (Fordham University, 2019) 39, 133.
Hoffman, Covenant of Blood, 25–26.
Bill T. Arnold, Genesis, New Cambridge Bible Commentary, (Cambridge University, 2009) 168–73.
J. Sailhamer, Genesis (Zondervan Academic, 2017).
Victor P. Hamilton, The Book of Genesis Chapters 1–17 (Eerdmans, 1990).
David A. Bernat, “Circumcision and ‘Orlah in the Priestly Torah” (Brandeis University, 2002) 108–10.
Bernat, “Circumcision and ‘Orlah in the Priestly Torah,” 110.
John Goldingay, “The Significance of Circumcision,” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 25/88 (2000) 4; Hamilton, The Book of Genesis Chapters 1–17.
John Calvin, Genesis (Crossway, 2001).
S. J. Dille, “Women and Female Imagery,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Prophets, ed. Mark J. Boda and J. Gordon McConville (InterVarsity, 2012) 847.
M. J. Evans, “Women,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch, ed. David W. Baker and T. Desmond Alexander (InterVarsity, 2003) 898.
Evans, “Women,” 899, 900–03.
The sole exception to this rule is Athaliah, queen of Judah after the death of Ahaziah (2 Kgs 11). Some believe she was acting as queen-regent on behalf of Ahaziah’s infant son Joash, but, in line with the biblical account, Josephus plainly states that she was a usurper bent on destroying the Davidic royal line (Ant. 9.140–142) (Joseph Scales and Cat Quine, “Athaliah and Alexandra: Gender and Queenship in Josephus,” Journal of Ancient Judaism 11/2 (2020) 233–50).
Dille, “Women and Female Imagery,” 847.
Evans, “Women,” 899.
Dille, “Women and Female Imagery,” 849–50.
David A. Bernat, “Circumcision and ‘Orlah in the Priestly Torah,” 109.
Evans, “Women,” 898–99.
Evans, “Women,” 899. That women were not required to travel to the sanctuary for the three feasts may have benefited those women whose childbearing and childrearing responsibilities would have hindered such a journey.
Cohen, “Why Aren’t Jewish Women Circumcised?” 572–73.
That is, any commandment that must be performed at a particular time and cannot be done later.
Anat Israeli, “Jewish Women and Positive Time-Bound Commandments: Reconsidering the Rabbinic Texts,” Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary e-Journal 12/1 (2015) 2.
C. C. Kroeger, “Women in Greco-Roman World and Judaism,” in Dictionary of New Testament Background, ed. Craig A. Evans and Stanley E. Porter (InterVarsity, 2000) 1279.
Shaye J. D. Cohen, Why Aren’t Jewish Women Circumcised? Gender and Covenant in Judaism (University of California, 2005) 111.
Evans, “Women,” 903.
Schreiner, “Circumcision.” Abstract.
Although I have read Gal 3:10 in a typical conservative fashion in line with the Magisterial Reformers, the “New Perspective on Paul” would read this verse differently. For example, J. D. G. Dunn sees the issue in Galatians as covenantal nomism rather than works righteousness (James D. G. Dunn, Jesus, Paul, and the Law: Studies in Mark and Galatians (Westminster John Knox, 1990) 242). Regardless of whether one takes a traditional or some version of the New Perspective, circumcision is still not a requisite for inclusion under the new covenant.
Schreiner, “Circumcision,” 139–82.
Schreiner, “Circumcision,” 188–228.
Schreiner, “Circumcision,” 246.
Schreiner, “Circumcision,” 283.
David E Garland, Colossians and Philemon (Zondervan, 1998) 2:6–15.
Thomas R Schreiner, “Baptism in the Epistles: An Initiation Rite for Believers,” ed. Thomas R. Schreiner and Shawn D. Wright, Believer’s Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ (B&H Academic, 2006).
“It is difficult to know when the Jews began to practice proselyte baptism as an initiation rite for Gentile converts to Judaism, so we cannot assume it was a precursor of John’s and Christian baptism” (Andreas J Köstenberger, “Baptism in the Gospels,” in Believer’s Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ [2006] 11).
Francois Bovon, “Baptism in the Ancient Church,” Sewanee Theological Review 42/4 (1999) 435.
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. Ford Lewis Battles, vol. Two (SCM, 1960 [1559]) IV.xv.5–6. The Bible makes strong statements regarding Christian baptism, which should not be vacated. Because of the completed work of Christ, baptism is first a gracious work of God before it is the action of an individual. However, baptismal regeneration is not a doctrine which the Bible teaches. In other words, as significant as Christian baptism is, it does not bring about salvation.
Karl Barth, The Teaching of the Church Regarding Baptism (Wipf and Stock, 2006).
Calvin, Institutes, Two., IV.xvi.3, 11.
Bovon, “Baptism in the Ancient Church,” 436.
Timothy George, “Foreword,” ed. Thomas R. Schreiner and Shawn D. Wright, Believer’s Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ (B&H Academic, 2006).
Thomas R. Schreiner and Shawn D. Wright, “Introduction,” ed. Thomas R. Schreiner and Shawn D. Wright, Believer’s Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ (B&H Academic, 2006).
Chaido Koukouli-Chrysantaki, “Colonia Iulia Augusta Philippensis,” in Philippi at the Time of Paul and after His Death, ed. Charalambos Bakirtzis and Helmut Koester (Wipf and Stock, 2009) 34.
I am not saying that salvation is dependent on the human will over against God’s election. I am merely emphasising the capacity of women to enter the Christian faith independently of a man.
Kroeger, “Women in Greco-Roman World and Judaism,” 1279.
C. S. Keener, “Woman and Man,” in Dictionary of the Later New Testament, ed. Ralph P. Martin and Peter H. Davids (InterVarsity, 1997) 1207–08.
To Quirinus 1.1.8
Tong, “‘Given as a Sign’,” 150.
Keener, “Woman and Man,” 1207.
There is not room to explore what the roles of priest and king look like under the new covenant. However, I contend that in Christ, who is prophet, priest, and king as mediator of the new covenant, women are as fit for these roles as men.
Keener, “Woman and Man,” 1206.
C. C. Kroeger, “Women in the Early Church,” in Dictionary of the Later New Testament, ed. Ralph P. Martin and Peter H. Davids (InterVarsity, 1997), 1216.
Female Jewish martyrs do exist. Second Maccabees mentions the martyrdom of several women. Two women who defied the Greeks and circumcised their sons were killed by being thrown off a wall (2 Maccabees 6:10). Another mother was put to death after each of her seven sons was tortured and killed for refusing to eat pork and after she encouraged them to choose death over disobedience to God (2 Maccabees 7) (Susan Haber, “Living and Dying for the Law: The Mother-Martyrs of 2 Maccabees,” Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary e-Journal 4/1 (2006)).
Keener, “Woman and Man,” 1206.
Kroeger, “Women in the Early Church,” 1217.
Keener, “Woman and Man,” 1207.
Kroeger, “Women in the Early Church,” 1217–18.
Kroeger, “Women in the Early Church,” 1219.
C. G. Kruse, “Ministry,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, ed. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid (InterVarsity, 1993), 603.
C. S. Keener, “Man and Woman,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, ed. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid (InterVarsity, 1993), 589.
An apostle must be someone who was with Jesus during his ministry and who was a witness to his resurrection (Acts 1:21–22).
Kroeger, “Women in the Early Church,” 1216.
James D. G. Dunn, Romans 9–16, Volume 38B (Zondervan Academic, 2018) 16:3–16.

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