RESURRECTION AND BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD

"First Corinthians, Chapter 15, introduce Paul's testimony of the resurrection, including an important listing of some appearances of Jesus after his resurrection. Verses one thru three imply that Christ's death and resurrection are the heart of the gospel. In verse seven we learn that Jesus appeared to his younger half-brother James and then James knew and understood. (Later James became an Apostle himself.)

How could some say there is no resurrection? Not only did the Sadducees deny the reality of the resurrection, (that's why they're sad you see) but some of those espousing Greek mythology and philosophy believed that the body was evil, that though there might be eternal life for the spirit, there certainly was none for the body. Paul's response is that the doctrine of the resurrection is pivotal in importance and that all other truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ depend on it. In effect, Paul says the following:

If there's no resurrection, then Christ is dead; then we're wasting our time and our faith is a terrible joke; then (apostolic preachers) are liars; (if there's no resurrection) then there's no spiritual redemption and no redemption from physical death; and why then perform baptism for the dead?...

What a miserable excuse for religious belief we would have if life ended with this mortal sphere? ... There is evidence outside the Bible that the ordinance of baptism for the dead was taught and practiced by early Christians. Even the Roman Catholic Jerome Biblical Commentary admits that it seems as though Christians at Corinth:
'would undergo baptism in the name of their deceased non-Christian relatives and friends, hoping that this vicarious baptism might assure them a share in the redemption of Christ.' Nevertheless, the Commentary regards the passage as obscure and the practice strange.' (Brown, Jerome Biblical Commentary 2:273)

The following is a reconstruction of an interview between Dr. Edgar J. Goodspeed, a renowned Bible translator and scholar and the late Dr. Paul R. Cheesman, professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University. The interview took place on the campus of UCLA in the summer of 1945…

Cheesman: Is the scripture found in 1 Corinthians 15:29 translated properly as found in the King James Translation?
Goodspeed: Basically, yes.
Cheesman: Do you believe that baptism for the dead was practiced in Paul's time?
Goodspeed: Definitely, yes.
Cheesman: Does the church to which you belong practice it today?
Goodspeed: No.
Cheesman: Do you think it should be practiced today?
Goodspeed: This is the reason why we do not practice it today. We do not know enough about it. If we did, we would practice it.
Cheesman: May I quote you as a result of this interview?
Goodspeed: Yes."
(Verse By Verse, Acts to Revelation, Ogden & Skinner, pgs. 144-146)