SHERMAN 'Getting in and Staying in' 119
give a consistent confessional or denominational framework, for they will
always give only part of the picture. E.P. Sanders focuses with clarity on
how such ways of reading do justice neither to Paul nor to Palestinian
Judaism, even though his rehabilitation of the latter and re-expression of
the former has not explained the radical difference between Judaism and
Pauline Christianity.
Baptism is often and rightly presented as an evangelizing sacrament: as
the candidates bear witness to their faith in baptism others are drawn into
the experience of Christ at its heart. 'Getting in and staying in' thereafter
go together in consequence of the candidate's transferred allegiance to the
ultimate lordship of Christ, which is worked out in every sphere of life.
But baptism by immersion in some Baptist churches is no longer a living
symbol and so the 'quite obviously' of believer's baptism as part of a clear
and meaningful Christian pilgrimage is not fully clear.
'Staying in' is too static an image for Christian participation. That is
why the development and discovery of other themes which emerge from
imagery related to baptism is so vital—otherwise we will simply continue
to tick off boxes on the examination paper of faith, just like doing those
'works of the law', which, according to Sanders, Paul perceived as bring-
ing status within the covenant and thus inconsequential in the business of
God's mission of bringing salvation in Christ.
The imagery around baptism includes incorporation into the body of
Christ, but also evokes the crossing of the Red Sea in the wilderness wan-
derings. The first speaks of community, home, fellowship, safety; the latter
of journeying into risk, danger, and unknown territory. Baptism is a sign
of cleansing for the forgiveness of sins, but also of immersion into the
materiality of the world and God's creative action within it, which causes
Christians to ask questions about sin and specifics. Some of the sharpest of
these questions today centre on changed and changing insights into what it
is to be human in our genetic and sexual make-up. Our baptism involves
us with God and the world: 'getting in and staying in' has a much deeper
aspect than many of us were aware of when we 'joined the church'
through baptism. By drawing out his findings in terms of membership and
status, and of 'transfer from one lordship to another', Sanders also prompts
questions about whether 'what really is' in much current Christian practice
and perception, is actually closer to Paul's view of Judaism than his experi-
ence of Christ.