Fw: Baptising the Dead (was Re: Fw: Aborting in rape or incest)

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CREA
I agree that the ultimate concern addressed in 1 Corinthians 15:29 is
that of whether or not the dead will rise, but that still leaves me asking
why, in almost the same breath, does "Paul" mention (without disapproval)
the practice of proxy baptism for the dead unless there is some connection
between the two?  After all, if the folks were baptising their livestock,
"Paul" would, no doubt, have condemned this profanation of the rite of
baptism as an exercise in pure futility.  If, as the "standard"
soteriological texts assure us, the only opportunity for salvation is
offered in this life and no where else, then what conceivable benefit does
proxy baptism confer on the dead?  Is it not equally an exercise in
futility?  And if it isn't, why doesn't the Church practise it today?

RON
  Paul doesn't condone the practice of baptism for the dead, merely 
cites it as an example from their own experience to make his point. The 
book of Maccabees (removed from the Protestant canon) speaks of prayers 
offered for the dead. The scriptural basis for the Catholic concept of 
purgatory is partly derived from 1 Corinthians 3:10-15. It comes from 
the notion that venial (not mortal) sins can be purged after death (1 
John 5:16-17). 

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