One of the passages that some Christians appeal to in order to support baptismal regeneration is John 3:5 which has Jesus saying, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."
Maybe baptismal regeneration is true, but opponents of the doctrine (like myself) explore alternative interpretations. The following links provide some (of many) alternative interpretations that make baptismal regeneration less likely the correct interpretation. They may or may not be consistent with each other.
- Messianic Jew Arnold Fruchtenbaum argued that in Jewish understanding at the time of the first century there were at least 6 ways in which people could be "Born Again"; and that the different ways make it unlikely that baptismal regeneration is the correct interpretation of John 3:5. See his 4th lecture in his Jewish Life of Christ. He begins his comments on baptism and being "Born Again" at 26 minutes and 44 seconds. I've linked to all 21 lectures in my blogpost HERE. A direct link to the 4th lecture can be found and downloaded HERE.
- Michael Heiser suggests that the water mentioned in John 3:5 is an allusion to the Exodus. See his podcast linked BELOW:
https://nakedbiblepodcast.com/podcast/naked-bible-330-the-exodus-and-john-35/
