[mdmathis6]

"Paul says flatly that "as many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ." "Putting on Christ" sounds pretty momentous to me. I'd say that's a better starting point for a theology of baptism than any supposition that baptism is merely a public announcement that someone now considers himself a Christian."

What do you think Baptism is, but the symbolic putting off of the old man and the raising up of the new. What is this new man..but "the Putting on of Christ". And what is this Christ,but the very Resurrected son of God! We put off death and we put on the resurrection. I didn't say the baptism was for mere public show, it was the first obedient steps of faith that new Christians were to take, it is a "momentous solid thing", meant to be done publically, or at least in front of witnesses. Christ himself was Baptized openly! It is not a showy bragging sort of thing to be done, but rather it is an open break from the former things in order to take up a new resurrected life

[Campion]

What do you think Baptism is, but the symbolic putting off of the old man and the raising up of the new.

Nothing in Scripture says that baptism is merely symbolic.