To be born again, we need sacraments
SIR – With the greatest respect, I have to differ quite sharply from Fr Rolheiser’s article on the meaning of being “born again” (The Last Word, July 26). When Our Lord speaks of being born again in the Gospel of St John 3:5 3, he is talking about the sacrament of baptism. This the well-known traditional view, and modern Scripture scholarship can also be quoted to support it. Raymond E Brown’s Introduction to the New Testament clearly states (p341): “Jesus explains that only begetting from above enables one to enter the kingdom of God, i.e.begetting of water and Spirit. The Johannine Jesus speaks of the very life of God acquired only when one is begotten of God (‘from above’), which takes place when one is baptised in water and receives God’s Spirit.”
