Baptism
Religion & Life Assessment Notes 2017
Baptism means literally “immersion” or “plunge,” some prefer “dipping.” In cases where the word takes on metaphorical significance, these lexicons explain baptism by various means. Lexicons such as Arndt and Gingrich determine that baptism figuratively refers to Israel’s passage through the Red Sea, martyrdom, and being overwhelmed by something. Thayer adds that it can imply following Moses (1 Cor 10:2), uniting all believers to one body (1 Cor 12:13), bringing them into fellowship with Christ (Gal 3:28), imbuing them richly with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5), and overwhelming unbelievers with fire in the day of judgment (Mat 3:11). There are, ultimately, hundreds of interpretations for the word, but the baptism ceremony John the Baptist used is the definition this article shall use: The spiritual and individual case of making a covenant with God.
The origins of Baptism might be found in the book of Leviticus (chpt.16 specifically), where Levite priests were commanded to do a symbolic cleansing in water before and after commencing with their priestly duties (Tevilah). The difference was that tevilah could be done many times, whilst baptism is typically only done once. Ceremonial purification, pouring out of the Holy Spirit on individuals and circumcision may by regarded as Old Testament accounts of baptism also.
Whether circumcision should be viewed as a form of baptism is a theological choice dictated by whether one believes in infant baptism or not. Those in favour argue that, just as circumcision marked a child in the Old Testament as being part of the covenant of Abraham (a Jew), likewise infant baptism marks a child as being part of the new covenant of Jesus Christ.
John Calvin comments:
“We have, therefore, a spiritual promise given to the fathers in circumcision, similar to that which is given to us in baptism, since it figured to them both the forgiveness of sins and the mortification of the flesh… Hence we may conclude, that everything applicable to circumcision applies also to baptism, excepting always the difference in the visible ceremony.”
John the Baptist was the first evangelist in the history of Christianity, who preached the coming of Christ. He had drawn thousands of people from around the countryside of Judah with his message of repentance and salvation in Jesus. John baptised many people as they accepted faith in Christ. John’s baptism, in the New Testament, was typically practised by full immersion in the Jordan River, and was defined as “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” His baptism attracted even the attention of Jewish historian, Josephus, 50 years later:
"2. Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod’s army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called the Baptist: for Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God, and so to come to baptism; for that the washing [with water] would be acceptable to him, if they made use of it, not in order to the putting away [or the remission] of some sins [only], but for the purification of the body; supposing still that the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness..."
(Josephus, "Jewish Antiquities", Book 18, Chapter 5)
John’s baptism played an important role in beginning the ministry of Jesus on Earth. Jesus, without sin, was baptised in the Jordan River, and all three persons of the Trinity became present – Christ as man, the voice of the Father, and the Holy Spirit like a dove. John, without going into detail, determines that baptisms in the future will be different from Johns – John’s baptism by water, Christ’s by fire.
Why Jesus, sinless, needed to be baptised at all has been a long-lasting mystery among theologians. Thomas Aquinas suggests two reasons:
“… first, it was necessary for Christ to be baptised by John, in order that He might sanctify baptism...Secondly, that Christ might be manifested. Whence John himself says (John 1:31): “That He,” i.e. Christ, “may be made manifest in Israel, therefore am I come baptising with water.” For he announced Christ to the crowds that gathered around him; which was thus done much more easily than if he had gone in search of each individual..."
(Aquinas, “Summa Theologica”)
The Bible doesn’t provide a specific definition of baptism, so we can only make interpretations based on the various verses that mention the sacrament.
Constantine is sometimes referred to as the “saviour of Christianity,” because prior to his conversion, Christianity was a persecuted religion in the Roman Empire. With the conversion of Constantine in 312 A.D., Christianity became not only respectable, but also ascendant. In the same year, Constantine marched on Rome, in an attempt to take over control of the Western Empire. Against him were the forces of Maxentius, four times as strong. Ecclesiastical Historian Eusebius describes Constantine’s battlefield conversion:
“HOW, WHILE HE WAS PRAYING, GOD SENT HIM A VISION OF A CROSS OF LIGHT IN THE HEAVENS AT MID-DAY, WITH AN INSCRIPTION ADMONISHING HIM TO CONQUER BY THAT. ACCORDINGLY he called on him with earnest prayer and supplications that he would reveal to him who he was, and stretch forth his right hand to help him in his present difficulties. And while he was thus praying with fervent entreaty, a most marvelous sign appeared to him from heaven, the account of which it might have been hard to believe had it been related by any other person...He said that about noon, when the day was already beginning to decline, he saw with his own eyes the trophy of a cross of light in the heavens, above the sun, and bearing the inscription, CONQUER BY THIS. At this sight he himself was struck with amazement, and his whole army also, which followed him on this expedition, and witnessed the miracle.”
(Eusebius, “The Life of the Blessed Emperor Constantine”, p. 665/66)
Constantine goes on to defeat Maxentius, to assume total control of the Western Empire. He became a strong supporter and learned student of Christianity. It is not until near his death, in 377 AD, that Constantine agreed to be baptized. These “deathbed conversions” were common in the 4th century. When followers were baptized in the early church, they were expected to live pure and chaste lives from that point on. There was a temptation to hold off on Christian baptism, with its demands for purity, until one was old, or even nearing death, to avoid a lifetime requirement of right living.
Out of the battle between two schismatic groups and the Catholic Church were to arise Augustinian tenets regarding baptism, still followed by the Roman Catholic Church today:
• Baptisms are conferred by Christ, not by the priest or bishop doing the baptism. Therefore, baptisms conferred by impure or schismatic bishops could be accepted as “official.”
• Baptisms are necessary for salvation.
• Children are tainted with the “original sin” of Adam and Eve. Therefore, not only are infant baptisms allowable, but are necessary, in case of an untimely death.
“And as the baptised person, if he depart from the unity of the Church, does not thereby lose the sacrament of baptism, so also he who is ordained, if he depart from the unity of the Church, does not lose the sacrament of conferring baptism.”
(Augustine, p. 756)
Pelagius was a British monk who was horrified by the seeming lack of piety and purity practiced by Christians in Rome c. 380 A.D. He and his followers denied predestination, original sin, and the doctrine of Grace, maintaining the humans are not tainted by the sin of Adam and Eve, and that babies are born pure. As a result, humans have the free will to choose to live sinless lives. (In his somewhat confused theology, Pelagius still maintained that babies needed to be baptised.)
Augustine wrote at least thirteen works and letters against Pelagius, and firmly entrenched in Catholic theology the doctrines of:
• Salvation through Grace
• Original Sin
• The necessity of baptism for salvation
• The damnation of unbaptised infants
Original sin is an Augustine Christian doctrine that says that everyone is born sinful. This means that they are born with a built-in urge to do bad things and to disobey God. Original sin is not just this inherited spiritual disease or defect in human nature; it's also the 'condemnation' that goes with that fault. Some Christians believe that original sin explains why there is so much wrong in a world created by a perfect God, and why people need to have their souls 'saved' by God.
Original sin is a condition, not something that people do: It's the normal spiritual and psychological condition of human beings, not their bad thoughts and actions. Even a newborn baby who hasn't done anything at all is damaged by original sin. Original sin affects individuals by separating them from God, and bringing dissatisfaction and guilt into their lives. Original sin is part of the Doctrine of the Fall, which is the belief that when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they 'fell' from perfection and brought evil into a perfect world. The fall is inseparable from redemption - the act by which human souls are washed clean of the stain of original sin.
Some Christians believe that human beings can't cure themselves of original sin. The only way they can be saved from its consequences is by the grace of God. The only way people can receive God's grace is by accepting his love and forgiveness, believing that Jesus Christ died on the cross to redeem their sins, and getting baptised.
“Hence men are on the one hand born in the flesh liable to sin and death from the first Adam, and on the other hand are born again in baptism associated with the righteousness and eternal life of the second Adam...”
(Augustine, p. 160)
"For who would dare to say that Christ is not the Saviour and Redeemer of infants? But from what does He save them, if there is no malady of original sin within them? From what does He redeem them, if through their origin from the first man they are not sold under sin? Let there be then no eternal salvation promised to infants out of our own opinion, without Christ’s baptism; for none is promised in that Holy Scripture which is to be preferred to all human authority and opinion."
(Augustine, p. 171)
“If, therefore, as so many and such divine witnesses agree, neither salvation nor eternal life can be hoped for by any man without baptism and the Lord’s body and blood, it is vain to promise these blessings to infants without them.”
(Augustine, p. 172)
“It may therefore be correctly affirmed, that such infants as quit the body without being baptised will be involved in the mildest condemnation of all.”
(Augustine, p. 159)
“Baptism is no human trifle, but instituted by God Himself, moreover, that it is most solemnly and strictly commanded that we must be baptised or we cannot be saved, lest anyone regard it as a trifling matter, like putting on a new red coat.”
(Martin Luther, “Large Catechism”, 1528, p. 100/111)
John Calvin, one of the founders of the Reformed Church, agreed with the Augustinian views on baptism in several areas, including the idea that people should only be baptised once, and that the purity of the person conferring the baptism was irrelevant. He also agreed that the form of baptism was not of consequence – both sprinkling and immersion are acceptable. However, Calvin did not believe that baptism was either the cause of salvation, nor was it necessary to salvation.
"Peter also says that “baptism also doth now save us” (1 Peter 3:21). For he did not mean to intimate that our ablution and salvation are perfected by water, or that water possesses in itself the virtue of purifying, regenerating, and renewing; nor does he mean that it is the cause of salvation, but only that the knowledge and certainty of such gifts are perceived in this sacrament."
(Calvin, p. 1451)
Calvin viewed that a primary goal of baptism, rather than to confer salvation, was to make a public profession of faith, and to join the Universal Church of believers. While John Calvin was in favour of the practice of infant baptism, he stated that unbaptised infants that die prematurely could still be saved through the doctrine of predestination. If, before the beginning of the world, God had pre-ordained that an infant was to be saved, the lack of baptism in the infant’s temporal life would not be an inhibitor to salvation. As was noted earlier in this work, Augustine also believed in predestination, but did not apply the doctrine to infant baptism. It could be said that John Calvin took the theology of predestination to its logical conclusion with infant baptism.
In all forms of Christian baptism, God claims those being baptised, whatever their age or ability to profess their faith, with divine grace. Clearly an infant can do nothing to save himself or herself, but is totally dependent on God's grace, as we all are -- whatever our age.
Most traditions that practice or recognise as valid the baptism only of believers, not as a means of grace by which God saves and claims us, but rather as a further act of public profession and/or an act of obedience to the command of Christ that his followers be baptised. That is why these "believer's baptism only" traditions generally refer to baptism as an ordinance -- an act ordained or commanded by Christ -- rather than a sacrament. The term sacrament means "an oath" and refers to God's covenant with us and ours in response to God's gracious provision of salvation in Jesus Christ.
Catholics believe that baptism washes away the effects of original sin. By washing away original sin and since babies are too young to commit personal sin, a baby would be guaranteed salvation were he or she to die young. The Church sees no good reason to withhold the graces or to wait. Catholics also believe:
• Baptism is important because it removes the stain of original sin (and because the Bible commands it).
• Infants should be baptised as soon as possible, as their salvation depends on it.
• While baptism guarantees salvation for infants, once the person reaches the age of reason, they must then consciously choose to follow Jesus. Otherwise, they can lose their salvation. (Baptism removes original sin, not personal sin)
• You are never too old or too young to be baptised.
• Similarly to how Protestants added baby dedications, Catholics added confirmation, in which a Catholic young person makes their official profession of faith.
• Baptisms done in other Christian churches are still considered valid (as long as they meet the requirements below). You don’t have to be re-baptised if you convert to Catholicism from another denomination.
Baptists believe:
• Baptism is important because the Bible commands it. (“repent and be baptised”–Acts 2:38)
• Baptism does not forgive original sin. (That happens prior, when a person repents and makes the conscious decision to follow Christ, or as we like to call it “accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Saviour.”)
• The purpose of baptism is to make a public profession of faith (though it doesn’t really have to be public).
• Baptism is a rich symbol, but it’s just a symbol. It doesn’t necessarily “do” anything.
Perhaps the greatest continuing debate regarding baptism in the Universal Church is infant baptism vs. believer’s baptism. Those that believe in believer’s baptism outline the following arguments in favour of their position:
• Infant baptism is not mentioned in the Bible, the sole authority for Christians
• Infant baptism doesn’t show up in the writings of the Early Church Fathers until Irenaeus c. 182/88, over 100 years after the writing of the Gospels
• Christ states in Mark 16:16 that “Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (NIV), indicating that belief must precede baptism
The debate, of course, continues today.
Interesting references:
• Unbaptised believer – Luke 23:43 – Thief on the cross.
• Christians can sin that grace may abound? – Romans 6:2-4 – Christians can't go on wilfully sinning on the fact that we have all died with Christ. Dead men don't sin.
• Take baptism seriously and practice it faithfully.
• Luke 13 – Repent or Die
• Acts 2:38-39
• 1 Peter 3:20-21
• Titus 3:5
• John 3:5
https://www.gotquestions.org/origin-baptism.html
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Hebrew_Roots/The_original_foundation/Baptism
https://bible.org/article/what-primary-meaning-baptism-some-translational-difficulties
http://www.sundayschoolcourses.com/baptism/baptism.pdf
https://amazingbibletimeline.com/blog/history-of-infant-baptism-and-sprinkling/
http://www.desiringgod.org/messages/i-baptize-you-with-water
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_baptism
https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/266-who-was-john-the-baptist
http://www.crivoice.org/johnbaptist.html
http://evidenceforchristianity.org/what-is-the-meaning-of-johns-baptism-were-people-saved-by-it/
http://lavistachurchofchrist.org/LVanswers/2008/03-09.html
http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/2008/august/what-is-pre-christian-history-of-baptismal-ceremony.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/beliefs/originalsin_1.shtml
http://www.utne.com/mind-and-body/st-augustine-and-original-sin-ze0z1505zken
http://equippinggodlywomen.com/faith/infant-baptism-or-believers-baptism-which-is-correct/
http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/whats-the-difference-between-infant-baptism-and-believers-baptism