Jesus on the Mound. Baptismal Questions. Death of a Father. Moses or Adam?
by Pastor Walter Snyder

Q: Where in the Bible would I find Jesus on the Mound? I watched the Larry King Show
on Easter Sunday when he had several guests of different religious faiths. Jesus on the
Mound was mentioned and I would like to read it.

A: I'm not familiar with that term. Perhaps they spoke of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. It covers
such things as the Beatitudes (Blessings), the giving of the Our Father or Lord's Prayer, and a
number of other topics. St. Luke summarizes a bit of it, but St. Matthew reports the entire
discourse in chapters 5-7.

Q: My husband and I have not regularly attended church and do not belong to one in our
area. We have a child and would like to find a church to start attending. In the meantime,
we have a two-month-old child and we would like to have him christened.

Besides not belonging to a church, there is the family issue. There are two clusters. His
family lives in this area and my family is about 15 hours drive away. We would like to
share this occasion with both sides. Is there any suggestion? The main priority is to have
our son christened soon. However, we can't find a solution that makes sense.

A: I'm happy that you want Baptism for your son. I encourage and applaud parents who bring
their children to Him through these washing waters. You don't say what is your religious
background, so I'll work from what I know and practice as a Lutheran pastor. Normally, we have
sponsors or godparents who are of the same beliefs who promise to continue the child's religious
education should the parents die. If all the sponsors cannot attend the baptism, we'll often have
others act as proxies.

Since a major part of your problem seems to be how to include both families, perhaps a small
ceremony outside the regular church services could be used. Then have a recognition of this
baptism during worship at a time when both families can attend.

More important, please become established in a congregation that teaches and preaches God's
Word fully and purely. The patterns of worship and a life of faith are set early in life and the
benefits of regular exposure to God's Word in corporate worship begin in infancy, even before the
young can rationally consider their relationships with Christ.

Q: My Dad just died of syphilis and I wonder what his destiny will be.

A: I'm sorry to hear this. Since you're asking in this manner, it seems that you think that the
behavior that led to the disease was sinful and contrary to God's will. Normally, syphilis is
contracted through illicit (and sinful) sexual behavior. However, the actions that led to the
infection are no more wrong than other sinful thoughts, words, or deeds. So while we cannot look
into either the mind of God or another person, we know that God is a loving, forgiving God and if
your father confessed his sins and trusted in God's forgiveness for Christ's sake, then he died as a
Christian and awaits with all the departed saints the resurrection to everlasting life.

Q: A friend asked, "If Moses and Adam were standing together, how would you tell them
apart?" How would you answer such a question? I would appreciate your opinion.

A: I would probably answer with a smart comment, since Scripture doesn't give much information
about our resurrection bodies. However, I guess we could do a few different things. You could
call out their names to see who responds or just ask one, "Who are you?" Of course this would
mean being able to speak Hebrew (for Moses) and whatever language Adam spoke---unless God
gives the gift of each of us understanding all others in heaven.

The easiest thing to do is to check which one has a navel. Since Adam was made by God, it seems
unlikely that he'd have a navel since he didn't come from the womb and thus didn't need an
umbilical cord. Similarly, Eve would also lack such a feature. No person who lived since would
bear this distinction.

Ask the Pastor, © 2003 by Walter P. Snyder. It may be reproduced in totality, including this
disclaimer, by anyone, provided that no profit is generated by said republication and
redistribution. Translations into other languages should similarly note the United States
and any appropriate international copyrights, as well as God's Scriptural injunctions
concerning the property of others.

Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of
the book "What Do Lutherans Believe."