In one fleeting sentence, Paul says people are “being baptized for those who are dead,” (1 Corinthians 15:29 NLT). No one today seems to know why. One guess: relatives getting baptized for a family member who converted but never got the chance to declare their faith by getting baptized in public. Think: Dad picking up the high school diploma for a son who died. 100 Tough Questions About God and the Bible, p. 116.
About Stephen M. Miller
STEPHEN M. MILLER is an award winning bestselling Christian author of easy-reading books about the Bible and Christianity and author of the Casual English Bible® paraphrase. His books have sold over two million copies and include The Complete Guide to the Bible and Who’s and Where’s Where in the Bible.
What translation are you getting this from? It doesn’t read like this in any I have checked. From the NRSV, “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.”
Thanks, Tom, for catching the typo. Here’s the correct reference: 1 Corinthians 15:29. With 1 Corinthians 15:20, I was one key off on the keyboard. Sorry.
For what it’s worth, Mormons still baptize dead people. Maybe there’s a key in their whys and hows.
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/16/explainer-how-and-why-do-mormons-baptize-the-dead/