{"id":1460,"date":"2018-04-09T16:19:14","date_gmt":"2018-04-09T20:19:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/candlerdmin\/?p=1460"},"modified":"2019-05-02T09:34:15","modified_gmt":"2019-05-02T13:34:15","slug":"just-as-i-am","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/candlerdmin\/2018\/04\/09\/just-as-i-am\/","title":{"rendered":"Just As I Am: Believer’s Baptism and Intellectual Disability"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/h3>\n

I have a friend named Billy. Billy has been a part of my worshiping community at First Baptist Church, Winchester, Virginia for about six years. He sits toward the back of the sanctuary with his parents and wears headphones during the service in order to block out the loud noise of the organ. But with or without headphones, Billy is always listening and learning. As an adopted 23 year old with autism and intellectual disabilities, Billy\u2019s life has been marked by very particular and personal struggles. In the midst of those struggles, First Baptist has become another adopted family of sorts, one whose job it is to join his parents in the nurture and affirmation of his faith.<\/p>\n

Because of Billy\u2019s presence, I have come to recognize how some of First Baptist\u2019s congregational rituals and practices, while defining and expressing the identity of our church body, also create restrictions to membership and full participation for those who do not communicate or function in what society or what the church might imagine to be typical ways. Of particular concern for this project is the practice of believer\u2019s baptism. In the free church tradition, baptism occurs only when an individual responds to God\u2019s grace by personally claiming and testifying to his or her faith. Questions of readiness, understanding, and belief all play important roles in determining how, when, and who to baptize. Is believer\u2019s baptism an option for those with intellectual disabilities like Billy?<\/p>\n

Believer\u2019s Baptism and Baptist Theology<\/h3>\n

Which Believers?<\/em><\/h4>\n

To answer that question, I first had to learn more about what Baptists mean when they say \u201cbeliever.\u201d Anthony R. Cross, in his book Baptism and the Baptists: Theology and Practice in Twentieth-Century Britain<\/em> notes that Baptists have variously understood baptism as the door to the church; a profession of faith; a symbol of death, burial, and resurrection; union with Christ; an act of obedience; and a proclamation of the gospel.[1]<\/sup><\/a> The common thread connecting these understandings, however, is the belief that baptism signifies an inward shift or conversion on the part of an individual.[2]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Yet the issue remains: what are the guidelines by which one measures conversion, faith, or belief? As Wayne Stacy notes in A Baptist Theology<\/em>, the notion that one can fully understand faith is fundamentally flawed. He writes,<\/p>\n

\u201cIf one has to ‘understand’ before one can appropriately submit to baptism, then would somebody please identify for me that absolute, non-negotiable ‘something’ that must be understood?\u00a0 And even if we could establish such a thing, who among us will decide when it is properly understood?”[3]<\/sup><\/a><\/a> <\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is the crux of the issue as Baptists begin to negotiate how their theology shapes their practice\u2014and vice versa\u2014in light of intellectual disability.<\/p>\n

Rethinking Personhood<\/em><\/h4>\n

Baptists are not the only Christians who struggle with these notions of belief and understanding in the journey of faith. In fact, the most prevalent and common understanding of theological anthropology in Western theology locates the imago Dei<\/em> within a human\u2019s capacity to reason or act. The telos<\/em> of being human is, in this definition, the refining of and utilization of those capabilities.[4]<\/sup><\/a> If this is the case, then those who do not share those capacities of reason or will cannot participate in the full experience or purpose of human life nor can their lives be regarded as inherently good.[5]<\/sup><\/a> John Swinton writes, \u201cBehind these types of debates about personhood lurks a particular view of what human beings are and should be and what desirable human living should look like. In other words, they are morally biased and deeply value-laden even if they hide behind the mask of logical rationality.\u201d[6]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Offering an important corrective, disability theologians situate identity within relationships rather than agency or reason.\u00a0\u00a0 Thomas E. Reynolds argues that \u201cself-definition and social definition are internally related, symbiotic.\u201d[7]<\/sup><\/a> Focusing on individual autonomy as the sole basis for human worth is reductive and, ultimately, dangerous. For Reynolds, theologians must reject what he terms the \u201ccult of normalcy\u201d\u2014the notion that there are two categories of humans: normal and abnormal, disabled and non-disabled.[8]<\/sup><\/a> He argues, \u201cDisability is not something less than normal, an inferior or broken nature\u2026All people are linked indissolubly, sharing a fundamental condition: vulnerable personhood.\u201d[9]<\/sup><\/a> This universal vulnerability and reliance on one another not only constructs a fuller sense of identity but also pushes one to embrace a richer understanding of human solidarity.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Friendship with Billy<\/p><\/div>\n

As life is recognized as a gift from God, the desire to live autonomous or independent lives is challenged. As Swinton notes, \u201cwe need one another to be who we are. Recognition and identity formation are the tasks of the human community.\u201d[10]<\/sup><\/a> The work of the church then becomes to embody the same gifts of friendship that each human has received from God. The goal is not simply the inclusion of those who are different or who challenge the common theological anthropology based on reason or agency, but instead a \u201creshaping of the Christian imagination such that those with disabilities are no longer seen as other.\u201d[11]<\/sup><\/a> Within the body of Christ, diversity is celebrated and welcomed. The church becomes the locus of hospitality, a place where individuals come close to one another, learn how to trust one another, and, ultimately, recognize their deep need not only for God but also for each other. Personhood, therefore, is not defined by reason or agency but instead by relationships rooted in mutual vulnerability.<\/p>\n

Recovering the Three-Fold Nature of Baptism<\/em><\/h4>\n
\"An<\/a>

Baptism at First Baptist Church, Winchester, VA<\/p><\/div>\n

This shift in theological anthropology allows Baptists to reclaim a deeper understanding of baptism as well. In this more robust theology of baptism, the response of the individual is important but it is no more important than the work of God or the work of the church. In this way, James McClendon speaks of baptism as a \u201ctriply enacted sign, a deed in which God<\/em> and candidate<\/em> and (through its designated minister) church<\/em> all act to effect a turn in one life-story (the candidate\u2019s) on the basis of Jesus\u2019 crucified and risen life. Baptism brings those two lives together in the ongoing \u2018life-story\u2019 of the people of God.\u201d[12]<\/sup><\/a> Baptism, within this understanding, is part of a larger journey of faith. It marks neither the beginning point nor the end point of an individual\u2019s faith. Instead, it marks a response to God\u2019s preceding work as well as acknowledging the continued work of God in the life of the individual as he or she joins the larger work of the church. The journey of faith for each individual is folded into the common life of the church so that there are both individual and corporate elements.[13]<\/sup><\/a> The church, therefore, becomes a witness to the ways that God acts to form and transform the lives of individuals and communities with baptism acting as one marker along the journey of faith. It becomes the job of the practicing community to navigate together what it means to believe, to baptize, and to incorporate each new member into the larger story of God\u2019s work and their shared faith.<\/p>\n

The Bible Study<\/h3>\n

Recognizing this important shift in theological anthropology and the way that it could impact the baptismal imagination of a church, I created an eight-week Bible study for my congregation. The aims of the Bible study were to reclaim a three-fold nature of baptism, both in the practices and in the theology of the congregation. I believed that by decentering the role of the individual, the congregation would be able to reimagine baptismal practices that would create room for those who understood or articulated faith differently.<\/p>\n

Pre-Survey<\/em><\/h4>\n
\"A<\/a>

Adults at Bible Study<\/p><\/div>\n

Before beginning the first session of the study, the class was asked to fill out an introductory survey that allowed them to share their understandings of baptism. Each question was open-ended, providing for thoughtful and unique answers from the participants. The survey made clear that the class primarily understood baptism as an individual\u2019s decision to become a Christian. When asked about the appropriate age at which a person should be baptized, 40 percent of the respondents said that a person ought to be \u201cold enough to understand\u201d what baptism signified or meant. When asked what needed to occur prior to baptism, a similar number of respondents named \u201caccepting Jesus\u201d as a requirement. Similarly, most respondents said that \u201cunbelievers\u201d ought not to be baptized, though “unbeliever” was not defined. Though baptism was thought to encompass a large swath of symbolic meanings, most respondents said that it pointed towards faith, an inward change, and new life.<\/p>\n

\"Adults<\/a>

Brainstorming about Baptism<\/p><\/div>\n

The language used to express the role of the community in baptism was much broader than expected as respondents wrote about the congregation\u2019s role in supporting, welcoming, guiding, and affirming the faith of those seeking baptism. Often, respondents would write more than one sentence to describe the role of the congregation in baptism.\u00a0\u00a0 However, participants were disturbingly unable to clearly articulate the role of God in baptism with over 35 percent of the respondents noting that they were unsure of God\u2019s role or simply skipping the question altogether. One respondent wrote, \u201cMay the force be with us. This is too deep for me.\u201d There was much to be done.<\/p>\n

A Church of Water and Fire<\/em><\/h4>\n
\"Sunlight<\/a>

Reflections on Water<\/p><\/div>\n

Because the class predominately understood baptism through the lens of individual belief, it was necessary to begin the course by first broadening and deepening their theological framework for baptism itself. In order to introduce the rich symbolic world of baptism, the class began by meditating on the role of water in Scripture. Water, it was seen, is employed throughout Scripture as a rich metaphor used to depict danger and deliverance, chaos and creation, boundaries from one way of life or identity to the next, and commissioning into new work. Those themes became our guide for the next few weeks of study. During each session, the class was challenged to see how the symbolic significance of water in Scripture provided a framework for more deeply understanding the symbolic value of baptism as well. Rather than focus only on the mode or subjects of baptism, the class was invited to engage more deeply with the theological framework Scripture provides for the practice.<\/p>\n

\"Baptismal<\/a>

Baptismal Candle<\/p><\/div>\n

This interpretive exploration of water in Scripture allowed the class to then move forward to begin exploring how baptism itself was understood and practiced in the early church as well as modern communities of faith today. As noted in the beginning survey, the class struggled to name the ways that God was involved in baptism. This section of the course focused on God\u2019s movement within baptism and within the larger community of faith. Using Robin M. Jensen\u2019s book Baptismal Imagery in Early Christianity: Ritual, Visual, and Theological Dimensions<\/em>, the class explored the wind, fire, and dove images of the Holy Spirit.[14]<\/sup><\/a> Often used to decorate ancient baptismal pools, these images became a gateway by which the class could imagine how the Holy Spirit incorporates an individual into a community. In the depictions of the early church in both Acts and the writings of Paul, baptism becomes the primary identity marker for the new Christian, replacing the other identities of the past.<\/p>\n

Triply Enacted Sign<\/em><\/h4>\n

In order to more deeply understand this new identity as part of a community of faith, the class was invited to consider their own particular baptismal practices. The class was challenged to explain why the church uses white baptismal robes, why candidates are given candles, why salt is placed on their lips, why baptismal hymns are sung. Exploring the liturgy and prayers, the language and symbols of our practice, the class was able to begin imagining the connective work of God\u2019s Spirit within the life of a congregation.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Bible Study Discussion<\/p><\/div>\n

The class also viewed various depictions of baptism in television and film as well, noting how each depiction could inform their own conception of baptism. Using scenes from films and television as diverse as Nacho Libre, All in the Family<\/em>, The Lion King<\/em>, and O, Brother Where Art Thou?<\/em>, the class was challenged to think about the role of the individual, God, and the community in each clip.<\/p>\n