Samuel Torvend: Flowing Water, Uncommon Birth

Flowing Water, Uncommon Birth: Christian Baptism in a post-Christian Culture

Although the publication date is later, I'll review Samuel Torvend's notebook on baptismal practices and baptismal theology before I say a little about his companion book about the other dominical sacrament, the eucharist. With fewer than 100 pages, physically this indeed is a "slim volume," yet Torvend has gathered much of the interpretive and practical riches of Christians world wide over the centuries. Flowing Water, Uncommon Birth will help you remember all the various images, symbolisms, and scripture passages (both Hebrew Bible and New Covenant scriptures) related to the baptismal event, and nudge you mightily regarding the nature and demand of God's call to live out our baptism in the world around and about us. As the author emphasizes, although we don't have group baptisms in the sense of herding dozens of candidates into the font and then pouring water over them, but rather baptize each person individually, the baptismal reality is a communal we, us, our, and ours. There's an excellent but short bibliography at the end.

my amazon review: about baptism