Introduction
1 Getting Our Feet Wet
The antecedents of Christian baptism outside the New Testament
2 John’s Baptism--Totally Immersed in His Work
Pre-Christian initiations in the New Testament and pre-sacramental texts
3 Parting the Waters
The beginnings of water baptism as a Christian rite--Acts
4 Trial by Water Ordeal
Paul and burial with Christ
5 Breaking the Waters of Birth
Water baptism in the Johannine literature?
6 Down in the Flood
Baptism in Hebrews and I Peter
7 A Rite of Passage
A theology of water baptism in the New Testament
8 Postscript--Coming Up for Air
Where do we go from here?