baptism for the dead

baptism for the dead

noun
the baptism of a living person in the place of and for the sake of one who has died unbaptized: now practiced chiefly by Mormons.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To baptism for the dead
Easton
Bible Dictionary

Baptism for the dead definition


only mentioned in 1 Cor. 15:29. This expression as used by the apostle may be equivalent to saying, "He who goes through a baptism of blood in order to join a glorified church which has no existence [i.e., if the dead rise not] is a fool." Some also regard the statement here as an allusion to the strange practice which began, it is said, to prevail at Corinth, in which a person was baptized in the stead of others who had died before being baptized, to whom it was hoped some of the benefits of that rite would be extended. This they think may have been one of the erroneous customs which Paul went to Corinth to "set in order."

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT