What's funny about this is that your contortions lead you near the Catholic point of view... which is elegant in its simplicity and powerful in its humility. Your essay makes a confusion out of what is already known in an attempt to find any other answer but the one taught by the Church. When you peal back the confusion you will find that Baptism saves because Baptism is the rebirth (being born again [John 3:3-5]) into God's Family. It's that simple... It's that powerful.
My Contortions? I am not contorting anything, to my knowledge. I do not believe in any form of Baptismal regeneration. My essay is an attempt to understand what Peter meant when he said “Baptism now saves...” . People are tripping over Peter, not me, and they seem to be so insecure about their own salvation, they can;t seem to get over the title, which as you know is a quote from Peter. I am not a roman catholic, although my evangelicalism is “catholic” ie the universal faith! Thanks though, for your comments .