If there is a hell, baptism isn't going to do squat for you.

I received another phone call today asking for me to do a baptism for a few children who's parents have no interest in being a part of the church and aren't interested in the Christian faith what-so-ever. While I thought this type of thinking died long ago, it seems to me that baptism is still seen as fire insurance (i.e., if our child dies, if they're not baptized they're going to hell) or as a rite of passage, like a child's first birthday or high school graduation.

I have to tell you, I just don't get it. Seeing baptism as a rite of passage when there is no faith commitment is just like a couple looking to get married in the church because they've always dreamed of a white wedding in a church, but don't want God or Jesus mentioned in the ceremony at all because they don't believe in God (yes, I've had that conversation). This makes the church and the Christian faith little more than window dressing or a scenic backdrop and belittles what our faith is actually about.

Seeing baptism as "fire insurance" is more troubling. To think that God would send anyone to hell (especially children) because we haven't performed the qualifying ritual makes God out to be rather random, arbitrary, and cruel. Baptism then becomes like the early Christians who wanted to continue to practice Jewish circumcision (who Paul addressed in Galatians), rather than a symbol of God's grace and love.

We believe that God's love is continually reaching out to all of us--that Jesus Christ makes it possible for us to be in a loving relationship with God and our neighbor--and that nothing can defeat the power of that love . . . not even death. The Christian faith is about ongoing, loving relationship and the power of God's love to make that relationship possible and flourish.

To boil eternity and the power of this relationship down to the ritual of baptism is like saying as long as you take a multivitamin, you can eat McDonalds for every meal and your physical health will be just fine.

I put so much hope and trust in God's love for us that I pray that no one is ever left out, no matter how long God must strive to reach them--even to the ends of eternity (that's why the title says, "If there is a hell." There's more in Scripture against me than for me on that point because God will never force himself on us if we want to turn away eternally, but I also see the relentlessness of God's love as an overall theme throughout the Scriptures.

Either way, let's give up the hocus pocus , the superstitious, cultic tendencies that we cling to and pretend are Christian. They cheapen the power of the Gospel and God's grace. Let's instead cling to the love and grace of Jesus Christ that will never stop pursuing us or those we love.