Do you then deny the words of Jesus? Or are you just mocking them?
Mark 16:16-18 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
I don't suppose then, that Catholics believe that baptism is necessary for salvation or that praying for people is effective. You want to mock those things as well?
AMEN. You cannot cherry-pick the parts of Scripture that you really like and ignore the rest. He specifically stated the word “SHALL”, not “may” or “should” or “perhaps”. SHALL. Boy would THAT make a great Bible study subject...:)
IF Jesus uttered those words (Mark WROTE them, after all; and he was not around during Jesus’ time), they sound almost allegorical, just as He spoke in parables.
Let’s take a look at Mark’s words:
“Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
Taken literally, that means ANYONE who does not embrace Christianity will be condemned. Think of that: Untold billions of people throughout the ages have not embraced Christianity, and likewise billions likely never even heard of it. And you suggest that God condemns the? I thought God was merciful. It’s not much of a merciful God that condemns on a whim those whom he has created.
“And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
So, by your logic, one must casts out demons, speak in tongues, play with snakes, guzzle poison, and cure the ill simply by touching them in order to be saved. Miss just ONE of those and you cannot be saved. (Your quote said WILL accompany, not MAY accompany or MIGHT accompany; and the quote did not say cast out demons OR speak in tongues, etc., it said AND; thus ALL of the qualifiers must be present before one is saved.)
Thus, if one believes, and is baptized, but does not speak in tongues, AND play with snakes, AND cast out demons, AND drink poison, AND cure any and all disease and infirmity merely by touch, one is NOT saved (because the qualifiers are not met), and thus is condemned? Well, if that’s the case, everyone is condemned, because even the Southern Baptists don’t and can’t do all that.
Ah, but did Mark leave you an out? Mark said these fantastic acts must be done “In my name...” (”my” necessarily implying Jesus). So, even if a “believer” utters the phrase “In Jesus’ name I drink this cyanide,” and DIES, the out is that he wasn’t sincere enough in his beliefs, eh? How convenient to explain away the fable that is taken literally, and not figuratively as all fables and parables are intended.
I believe in prayer. And I believe that praying FOR people CAN be effective (though, of course, not all our prayers are answered, are they?).
As for baptism, it is a symbolic act. Logically, I do not believe it is necessary that one actually be baptized (i.e., dunked in water, or have water poured on them, both to the accompaniment of some words) in order to be saved. The God I believe in would not be so heartless, or so petty, as to condemn the non-baptized.