Politics and Religion are usually good topics to stay away from. I think I usually avoid those subjects for the most part, and when I do discuss them I’m only expressing an opinion…. not trying to influence anyone else’s opinions or thoughts.
This past weekend at church, the homily/sermon was about John the Baptist. My mother was a Baptist, my father was a Methodist and I was confused. When I was growing up, religion was always a troubling subject with me. Not that I was an accomplished analyst at 6 or 7 or 8 years of age, but all the things I was hearing just didn’t make sense to me — logically or otherwise. I spent a lot of time in various religious classes and courses over the years trying to make some sense of it.
Anyhow, what prompted me to write about this today, was the mention of John the Baptist. It reminded me of a story when I was young — my mother told me that she was a Baptist because John the Baptist was a Baptist. Now even though I was probably only 7 or 8 years old, I knew that wasn’t true. I remember that during the discussion, she admitted that really she was a Baptist because my granddad and grandmother were Baptists. I’m not sure why I remember that conversation, but I usually think of it when John the Baptist is mentioned.
So — with that background, let’s talk about John the Baptist. John was the son of Zachariah and Elizabeth. His birth was foretold by the angel Gabriel to Zachariah. He was born about six months before his cousin, Jesus of Nazareth. John lived as a hermit in the desert of Judea. After a period of solitude in the desert, he started his ministry preaching repentance on the banks of the Jordan River converting and baptizing people. (He wasn’t baptizing them into any religion (i.e., Baptists) — he was baptizing them into repentance for the coming of Jesus.) Just to prove I was paying attention in church this weekend — a lot of people flocked to hear John the Baptist and Jesus joined this group…. John recognized Him as the Messiah and baptized him saying that “It is I who need baptism from You.”
The “power” of John the Baptist increased and he was placed under arrest by Herod who had him imprisoned in chains in a facility on the banks of the Dead Sea. John the Baptist had preached against (and condemned) Herod because he had divorced his first wife and married someone who had formerly been married to his brother. Salome was the daughter of Herod’s second wife and Herod promised her any reward she chose in exchange for her dancing. Salome demanded that the head of John the Baptist be brought to her on a platter. So that was the cause of John the Baptist’s death — beheaded.
John the Baptist was not a Baptist — one large group split from the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century and insisted that adults be baptized by immersion in order to join the church. This original group fractured — the more conservative elements eventually became the Mennonites and Amish. The more liberal became the various Baptist organizations. Some people argue that Baptist is the only religion mentioned in the Bible, but today’s Baptist religion didn’t get its name until the 16th century.
There you have it — a lesson in religion according to Jimmy….
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