The real and better sense of Baptism is not 1) a mere ritual sprinkling of water that magically saves the spirit; nor 2) a mere symbol of a deeper spiritual change in our hearts; but is 3) an early form of washing. Which literally saves lives, when properly understood in a medical context.

But this is overlooking, say, the very real, physical efficacy of washing and hand-washing. Say 1) before surgery; 2) after dealing with disease-ridden bodies; and 3) as part of food preparation. All occasions for “ritual” – and real – cleansing, in Hebrew and all other aware societies. All moments where washing is extremely, materially useful – no matter what your attitude or inner faith or spirit may be. Moments that save us literally, from disease and death. Just as God promised following his commands would do.

So that I submit this, not spirituality, was the real meaning behind baptism, and related washing/cleansing rituals for priests and others.

Contemporary Christianity, from Gregory etc., concentrates far too narrowly then, on the mere spiritual, symbolic meaning only. Asserting a good bath or hand-washing, doesn’t do anything at all for us … unless or until we take the spirit of it in, and change our minds or spirits. If we take this moment as a marker of the moment we adopt into ourselves the spirit of Christ, and are reborn into a different life, then, and only to that extent, the author suggests, this moment is good.

No doubt to be sure, the moment we decide to be good and change our spirits, is indeed important, and good. But it by far is not the only good that comes from washing and cleanliness. Indeed, antisepsis is the basis of ancient and more modern medicine; and this has physically saved millions of lives from disease and death. Exactly as God promised to those who truly understand and follow him.

Indeed I submit, the more physical sense of this, not the “spiritual” one, is closer to what God was really getting at.

The spiritual sense is in contrast, part of the Hellenistic incursion into Jusaism that formed Christianity; though maybe less from Aristotle, than Plato and Philo.

The problem for thinkers in this era, was with one aspect of Plato: that Plato (not the Jews) put ideal Forms/Gods, not always all around us, but in heaven. But how then did these Gods come down to earth? How could immaterial/spiritual forms, that have no matter in them, interface with, effect, push, physical things? How could a God or ideal form in heaven influence human beings, for better or for worse? Or why would he even concern himself with physical things at all?

Plato’s theories, in sort, were dualistic: we have a spiritual ideal Form … over a material and allegedly evil earth. But no way to explain how one related to the other. Just as we once had (before psychotropic drugs) no real way to deal with the apparent disconnect, a huge conceptual and practical gap, between mind and matter, thoughts and brain.

To solve this problem with Platonism – to solve dualism – by the way, Philo (the slightly older contemporary of Jesus; who lived in Alexandria Egypt; where Jesus could have lived as a youth in the Flight to Egypt) proposed that there were some intermediaries between God in heaven, and life in the flesh and on earth. Philo had many names for this. Among others though, Philo chose to personify or symbolize those intermediaries, in part, as “The Son of God.” Thus Philo popularized the idea of, an image of, a “son of God” just before Jesus appeared. NO doubt creating an expectation and a buzz, in the Jewish community.

Other related ways of dealing with mind/matter, heaven-earth, God/man dualism though, would include say, the new naturalistic interpretations of miracles or “spiritual” moments. Like our explication, here, of the very, very material functionality, the material good, of Baptism and ritual priestly cleansing rituals. A moment which is commonly asserted to be only spiritual; but which has after all, properly understood and performed, a very, very, very physical utility.

Good enough to, say, save the whole world from pandemics?

If only the people understand at last, the true meaning of Baptism and cleansing.

Thus a kind of modified naturalistic Christianity, solves a lot of loose ends. And is better than “spiritual” Christianity.