Baptism and the New Life: A Study of Roman 6, 1-14

Baptism is an important part of Christian ritual, and St Paul's writings firmly enshrined its strong association with purification and salvation. This book investigates where Paul drew his inspiration from, discussing the uses of baptism in Hellenistic mystery religions, in Judaism and in the Early Christian Church. The author also engages in a detailed reading of the original Greek text in order to fully understand how Paul himself would have understood the ritual, and the degree to which he regarded it as miraculous as opposed to merely symbolic.