I didn’t grow up a Lutheran, so I don’t have the Baptismal sponsors or the Baptism anniversaries that lifelong Lutherans generally do. But not too long ago, I discovered my Baptismal certificate. It happened on April 10, 1960. You non-Lutherans will appreciate that it was not an infant baptism. I was 9. It was a believer’s baptism. I remember the fervency of my faith, though I suspect I did not have all that much more theological understanding than an infant. It was by immersion. I remember it vividly and it was a true religious experience for me at that young age. I remember the exultation I felt, the sense of being clean, the sense of being Christ’s. Such feelings, of course, aren’t necessary, but it’s nice to be able to actually “remember my baptism.”
Why are traditions that don’t put all that much emphasis on Baptism actually doing anything such sticklers about its mode? When I became a Lutheran, my having been baptized in this way was considered quite valid.
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