"I call that blind faith, a faith with no accurate indication that there is something really there." Quite rightly.

Faith comes by hearing the words of God. The Bible stories are testimonies from real people living real lives as to what Gog has, and is, doing in their lives. The Bible read is where faith comes from. Both faith and belief are verbs, as you indicated.

Trying to clarify the two baptisms, I have written that the first is following Jesus allegorically into His death, burial , and resurrection - like the Bible says. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is something else entirely and is dynamic, an actual experience, and not an automatic presumption... In fact anything that is performed as an act of obedience without anything actually happening is not what the Bible teaches. It is very similar in nature to the faith without works dynamic _ If it doesn't work, you ain't got it!

As for what the baptisms represent they are ushering an individual into the family of God - where "in the name of" is better translated as "into the name of." So that either way it is done, it means the same thing... There is also this warning about not taking the family name in a useless manner... It's no mystery.

Oh. By the way, dogmatism in any denomination is totally counter-productive. Overly energetic youths like you mentioned are a prime example.

"However, he stresses that spiritual gifts were to be desired, and used to strive to serve the church family of believers, not to prove salvation." I liked that. the gifts also were evidence of having that baptism and as working tools for the Believers, and were meaningless without agape love.

The only issue I have is not with your essay, but with Kierkegaard's philosophical statement. The only dee[ dark abyss I ever stared into wasn't relating to God, Jesus, or the Bible, it bad was on a very, very LSD experience. I looked up and found my salvation in the brightest of bright skies.

Anyways I hope I have added to your understanding.