Thought you'd be interested in this response, Rowland.

Ron

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Hi, A good thought. I have long considered baptism and communion to be prophetic actions of the type we see in the OT prophets. These actions in some way "made" the meaning of the act come into the experience of those who witnessed the act. Paul indicates this is so when talking of communion "you proclaim the Lord's death till he comes". In some way through baptism and communion we make the past event of Christ's passion new and alive to us today. It was in this way the Jews brought (and bring) national identity to their children even though they lived scattered for 2000 years. Every year they "retold the story" at passover. Every Jew knew where they came from for every Jew had come out of Egypt through the Passover - even if he was born in 1990. We Protestants have so long reacted to the Catholic idea of the Mass that we have reduced the communion and baptism to a mere symbol devoid of reality and meaning. It is good to see some attempt to beef it up again. JohnBrough