ArticleCritique:
“TheRole of Ordinances in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-daySaints” by Robert J. Matthews
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CONTENTS
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………..1
BriefSummary…………………………………………………………………………………………………….1
CriticalInteraction with Author’sWork………………………………………………………………….2
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..4
Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………………………………5
ARTICLECRITIQUE: “THE ROLE OF ORDINANCES IN THE CHURCH” BY ROBERT J.MATTHEWS
Thispaper establishes a critique for the article concerning, TheRole of Ordinances in the Church.It establishes that the article has the potential of causingcontroversy in the larger Christian community of today. Even thoughthe article contains a number of references to the Bible, this paperfinds that it hardly appeals to other Christians of otherdenominations, non- Christians, and people who seek to learn aboutthe norms and practices of the religion. Special focus will be givento the discussion about the ordinance of baptism, as a practice ofthe church, and as outlined by the author. Overall, Matthews fails toexplain the true purposes of the ordinances of baptism, and laying ofhands from an intrinsic perspective as a Christian rather, hefocuses on scriptural provisions about the ordinances, maintainingthat they form necessary aspects of establishing a connection withGod.
BRIEFSUMMARY
Inthe article, the author posits that ordinances are part of the“Lord’s plan of salvation for the human family.”1Even so, he focuses on what the Lord says and not the role thatChristians, or church members have to play in building andmaintaining a good relationship with God and achieve salvation.Indeed, he is adamant and bold about the need for Christians tofollow the Word of God as expressed in the Bible. Even so, he doesnot elaborate on how the ordinances serve to make one a betterChristian, principally in the context of popular culture, and howthey serve to curb the darker side of human beings. It is wellunderstood by members of the general population that religionfunctions to make people live better lives. What the article missesthe mark is the manner in which these rituals of baptism serve thementioned purpose of religion.
CRITICALINTERACTION WITH AUTHOR’S WORK
Theinformation articulated in the article is of Systematic Theology, asignificant Christian theology discipline. Despite that, the articledoes not offer any comprehensive information about the history of thepractice of baptism as an ordinance of the Church. Without any doubt,the people of Israel were familiar with the practice of baptism evenbefore Jesus started his ministry. This is observed clearly in theactions of John the Baptist. Indeed, the people questioned theidentity of John the Baptist, but not his activities of baptizingpeople. One wonders why the article fails to mention the story ofNoah, (the situation where water covered the whole earth) as arepresentation of the ordinance of baptism. As such, Matthews failsto mention how the practice of baptism came into being, and anordinance of the church. Nevertheless, the author is keen to indicatethat baptism serves the purpose of cleansing people of sin makingthem pure in the eyes of the Lord, a rational point.
Thenagain, Matthews mentions, “The ordinances are paramount to usbecause the greatest benefits of Christ’s Atonement areadministered to us onlythrough those ordinances, and ordinances lead the participant to knowGod.”2He also states, “God and His magnificent power and kindness. Theonly way to truly know these things is by participating worthily inthe ordinance of baptism itself.”3From this perspective, one can infer that the Lord has revealedHimself to some people, who were not baptized. A good example, inthis case, is Paul, who was converted to Christianity after having avision of Jesus Christ. Before his conversion, Saul did not believein Jesus he did not partake of any Christian ordinances for thatmatter. This paper finds that people can very well establish aconnection with, and know God even in the absence of churchordinances.
Matthewsalso writes, “It is a basic doctrine of the Church that all humanbeings are literal children of God the Father.”4For this reason, it is at this moment established that it would bebetter if he focused more on explaining how ordinances influence thelives of people of all religious backgrounds. Such would serve anevangelical purpose of appealing to nonbelievers to come to church.Another point worth mentioning is that Matthews observes the subjectmatter of church ordinances from the perspective of other religiousfigures over and above information that is specified in the Bible. Assuch, the article implies that church ordinances are subject tomodification owing to the thoughts and opinions of modern-dayreligious leaders- a point with potential of bringing aboutcontroversy among members of the Christian religion. It would bebetter if the author focused on quoting the Bible only and not thewritings of Smith as well, for purposes of appealing to otherChristians and nonbelievers as well.
Matthews,however, seems rational by indicating, “Ceremonial ordinances aredidactic and tend to maintain unity and a standard of conformity inbelief and practice.”5One cannot decline to note that church ordinances, such as baptism,offer Christians a sense of identity and or belonging. By making somequotations of Bible verses, Matthews seems to propagate aspects ofthe Doctrineof Revelation.From another perspective, Matthews indicates that baptism requiresone to be immersed in water, to symbolize a situation where anindividual dies, doing away with the old person and the establishmentof a new person. For this reason, he ought to have talked about thoseChristians that conduct baptism by pouring some water on a person’shead. Again, there is the issue of those who baptize infants. Onewould be easily compelled to think why young children requirelikeness of death considering they are not guilty of any wrongdoingsor sin so far.
CONCLUSION
Inconclusion, baptism refers to church ordinances of immersing peoplein the water for purposes of purification of their spirits andconnecting them with God. This is done in the name of the Father, theSon, and the Holy Spirit.6This paper finds that the work of Matthews does little to explain thepurpose of this ordinance to people outside the Christian faith.Moreover, the author focuses on the work of Joseph Smith, acontroversial religious leader of the 19thCentury, too much, even as he claims to address the issues of “TheChurch.” A keen look also shows that baptism, according to theauthor, implies resurrection and new life. For this reason, theauthor hardly explains the situation of baptism for very youngchildren that have not engaged in sinful acts.
Bibliography
Hospodár,Michal. "Baptism and its Consequences for our Life."E-Theologos 3, no. 2 2012. 174,n/a, [Journal on-line]http://search.proquest.com/docview/1328616006.
MatthewsJ. Robert. “The Role of Ordinances in The Church of Jesus Christ ofLatter-day Saints.” In Salvationin Christ: Comparative Christian Views,ed. Roger R. Keller and Robert L. Millet. Provo, UT: ReligiousStudies Center, Brigham Young University. 2005. [Journal on-line]https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/salvation-christ-comparative-christian-views/7-role-ordinances-church-jesus-christ-latter
1 Matthews J. Robert. “The Role of Ordinances in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” In Salvation in Christ: Comparative Christian Views, ed. Roger R. Keller and Robert L. Millet (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2005), 125–140. 2005. [Journal on-line] https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/salvation-christ-comparative-christian-views/7-role-ordinances-church-jesus-christ-latter Internet accessed 12 June 2016.
2 Ibid.,
3 Ibid.,
4 Ibid.,
5 Ibid.,
6 Hospodár, Michal. "Baptism and its Consequences for our Life." E-Theologos 3, no. 2 2012. 174,n/a, [Journal on-line] http://search.proquest.com/docview/1328616006 Internet accessed 12 June 2016.