Dana Owens

The importance and ritualistic significance of baptism arose from Jesus. Cleansing of one’s wrongdoing with water had been an ancient practice by Israelites as it is written in Leviticus. There are two significant differences between cleaning with water in the Old Testament and baptism in Gospels.

The truth about Jesus is that we do not know when he was born, where he lived, or what he actually taught. We have the Four Gospels, which are perhaps the best record of what might have happened as his disciples remembered it. Therefore, what is amazing and inspiring about Jesus is not who he was or when he lived, but what he believed and taught, and how he lived.

The Gospel of Matthew proudly begins with the statement, “An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” The obvious and simple problem with this account is that Jesus was not biologically connected to Joseph, who was the descendant of David.

I was filled with amazement and fear when I met Roiy for the first time. I was amazed at the beauty of the little being who was full of life and innocence. Just being in his presence was inspiring and fulfilling. Yet, as much as I was amazed, I was filled with a deep fear because I had no idea how to be a good father to him.

Reading the Bible through the lens of Emanuel Swedenborg, I believed I was beginning to understand the book for the first time. After many years, I suddenly felt that my life-long thirst for seeking truth about life, and my life in particular, had disappeared. My mind was at peace for the first time and with a degree of understanding about life, the world, and myself.