The Baptism

I'm two thirds of the way through this episode and it's bloody awful. I'm a Christian but even i felt i was being screamed at and preached to through my tv screen by the Rev. Ezekiel L. Henshaw and paused the video to come here and down vote this horrible episode. These Waltons and Prairie were good shows from the 70's but no, episodes like this don't belong on a tv screen where one might wonder if the producers were trying to get their messages/faith across to the public through tv.

A famous revival preacher (John Karlen) is coming to town, and Esther and Olivia hope that John and Ben will be converted and baptized. John is almost struck by lightning during a storm, which some see as an omen. A peacock wanders onto the home place and is adopted by Jim-Bob who nicknames him "Rover"

John Walton made an important comment at the end of this episode: he did not see what being screamed at and dunked in water was going to do for him...Without accepting Jesus as your personal savior, it does not good!!! Since they are Baptist, I can say these things...I've been baptist my whole life, and I'll assure you that we do not believe being "dunked" in water sends you to Heaven. We also believe that being a good person will not get you into Heaven. Based on the Bible, we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." I did NOT like this reverend's method of saving souls. He screamed at people and pointed people out. I believe Mary Ellen's salvation experience may have been real, but Ben did it out of pure guilt and then just to please his mother. John may very well be a Christian. He believed in God and admitted to worshiping Him in his own way. He was a God-fearing man and raised his family as such...Olivia makes me so MAD at times insisting her family get baptized so she knows their souls are saved.

Like John said, it's just being dunked into water...Baptism is meant as a public confession of your faith...nothing more!

John Boy's comments at the end of the movie indicated "his father was never baptized but was recognized to be the most Godly man in Walton's Mountain". While it is true that one does not have to be baptized to receive salvation, baptism does follow the example set by Christ himself and in the Great Commission we are told to "go forth to all nations to make disciples and baptize ....". While preaching fire and brimstone is not the approach we appreciate today warning people about the cost of sin (eternal damnation) is very serious. How did Christ react when encountering wrongful acts (money changers) in the Temple? We (including father Walton) all want teachers who make us feel good (laugh, entertain, etc.) but let one convict us by teaching the Word and we are "not comfortable". The episode portrays father Walton as a "good man" and therefore "Godly" but scripture is clear that being a good man will not get anyone into heaven. If father Walton was a man of faith he should have set the example of following Christ's example in all things to include baptism? He had the opportunity to follow Christ's example to his family and community and to set the example but he failed to do so because of his feelings. It is tough to put our feelings aside and do what is right. Christ struggled with His feelings in the Garden of Gethsemane but out of love for us He denied His feelings and paid the price for our sin.

As a traditional Christian I can't relate to a revival meeting. Still, this movie raises some good points about what's important. Really this episode fits in with the 70s, when religion was being dismissed. It's good to have the family discuss their beliefs. These discussions are needed today. The back story about the peacock ties in well. The acting is good. The performance by the actor playing the Reverend is memorable. The scene in the tavern lends some comic relief. It's a reminder when Reverend Fordwick came to the mountain he was fire and brimstone, too. Grandma provides good commentary. And Corabeth comes across well for a change.

Overall, I thought the series as a whole was one of the best on at the time. And most of the episodes still hold up pretty well decades over.

That is why I'm going to cut this one some slack, believing the parts were better than the whole. The religious Liv, worried about the spiritual state of her family, was convincing. John's insistence on individual decision made a nice counterpoint. Even Jim-Bob and the peacock made for a nice side story.

About all one say about the evangelist is that the writer was trying to capture the temper of the times. The US was going through a revival movement throughout the 20s and the 30s. It's when AA was formed and attributed alcoholism to moral defects which only a god could remedy. Some believed the Great Depression was Divine punishment, and the characterization of the traveling preacher, although over the top, did reflect those of the times. Watch early films of Oral Roberts, who was later, and you'll see that same attempt at "charisma".