10 Dimensions of Baptism
We might rest content with this meaning of the word and this explana-
tion of the language were it not that it causes problems when we look
more closely at some of the texts in which it occurs. In the text already
quoted in part, Mk 1.11, John the Baptist places two acts in parallel:
'I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy
Spirit'.
The alternative form of the saying in Mt. 3.11 (par. Lk. 3.16) has 'with
the Holy Spirit and with fire'. The saying places in parallelism two acts,
one performed with water, the other with the Spirit. It is reasonable to
suppose that, unless there are indications to the contrary, the verb is being
employed in the same sense in both clauses of the saying. In fact, the two
clauses are constructed so symmetrically that we must assume that the
verb is used in the same sense in both clauses. In the first clause the use is
literal; in the second clause it is metaphorical, but we have the right to
expect that the same basic meaning will be found as in the first clause.
This gives rise to our problem. The second meaning of'baptize' discussed
above ('to carry out a rite of Christian initiation') is here inapplicable. We
cannot expect that John would use a technical term which applies to
Christian initiation in the second clause of the saying to apply to his own
baptism which was not Christian initiation (cf. Acts 19.1-7). And this
problem remains even if it be held that the saying is a later construction
placed on the lips of John; the anonymous author is unlikely to have
committed a blatant anachronism. It is true that the word 'baptism' can be
used of Jewish rites as well as of Christian (Mk 7.4; Heb. 6.2; 9.10), but
this is only the case with water-rites, and the second half of the saying in
question is dealing with Spirit-baptism in contrast with water-baptism.
Furthermore, it is unlikely that 'baptism' could be already a Christian
technical term for a particular initiation ceremony on the lips of John, both
because this would be anachronistic and also because it takes time for a
term to develop a technical usage. Accordingly, we cannot accept the view
that 'baptize' is being used in Mk 1.11 in a technical sense to mean more
than 'dip', 'plunge' or whatever basic meaning we assign to
on Semantic Domains (2 vols.; New York: ABS, 1988) II.§53.49, define the meaning
of the verb in this extended sense as 'to cause someone to have a highly significant
religious experience involving special manifestations of God's power and presence—
"to baptize"'. The literal sense appears to have been left far behind! The definition is a
description of how the word is actually used, at least in some Christian circles, rather
than a prescription for its usage.