Tuesday, September 29, 2009

BBQ and Baptism

I just drove by a local barbecue place called Sticky Lips, and was chagrined to see that their marquee reads "BBQ and Baptism -- Congrats (so-and-so)!". I would have tried to take a picture, but I didn't want to crash my car. heh...

So that was groan-worthy, but on the way back to work I was pondering exactly why it bothers me. I mean, we should all coexist, right? They aren't directing anything at me, they are just very publicly congratulating a friend on getting baptized, which is just some thing that they do. Why should that effect me? How would I like it if people took offense to my hobbies?

And then I figured it out: It's because the implication is that baptism is necessary for salvation. So while it sounds innocent enough -- "Congratulations!" -- the subtext is "All of you unbaptized heathens are going to burn!"

I suppose it's possible they don't actually think that, but then that raises the question, why baptize in the first place? If you show me someone who really just thinks baptism is a fun thing to do in their spare time, and doesn't believe I will suffer any ill effects from avoiding it, then I guess that's just fine. But until then, I'm gonna keep being offended by signs about "BBQ and baptism".

2 comments:

  1. BBQ and baptism - feast on yummy hell-roasted heathens as you make your commitment to God!

    That would make an excellent theme party.

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  2. "BBQ and Baptism" ??? That's backwards. You need to wash the brat before you BBQ it, not afterward.

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