How flexible are Protestants on the Baptismal formula?
Upvote:1
I think the best way to say it as a lifelong Lutheran is this:
If a person is very worried that whether the priest or minister used "I" or "We" when they were baptized, that person is thinking of Christianity as a superstition where things that are unconnected are linked without reason. Such as, "Step on a crack - break your mother's back." Nothing in Christianity should be treated as superstition because it is extremely consistent and elegantly connected across time and space. Supernatural, sure, but not superstitious.
Don't sweat the small stuff. God doesn't care (you can tell Him I said that). And if it turns out that He really does care, then God isn't the being we've been told He is and isn't worthy of our worship. Our love for God should never be pursuant to being told to love God, or because we fear that one misstep will send us to Hell. If that was true, we wouldn't need faith or free-will, we could just do what we were told. Protestants believe these things have been granted to all of mankind by God's love and grace, and while we can willingly reject them or deny that they exist, we can't possibly remove them from the picture by speaking the wrong word in a ceremony. Only God can do that, and by the death and resurrection of Jesus, he has promised that He won't by giving us the keys to the Kingdom.
Q.E.D. God doesn't care if the priest said "I" or "We" and neither should anyone else.
Upvote:2
Protestants as a group are extremely diversified - including everything from strict fundamentalists to very liberal theologians. Personally, I find the story about the Priest silly. God doesn't care about us saying things perfectly or making an honest mistake. He cares what is in people's hearts first and foremost.
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