Mommy Book Report

For Orthodox Christians the significance of the sacrament of baptism is in the entry into the church as members of body of Christ. It is the ‘new birth ‘by which we die to the world, and are raised with Christ to external life. It is through baptism

Baptism has many inextricable ties to the beliefs that are held so very tightly by the Christian church and its adherents. It is one of the many traditions of the faith that seeks to express aspects of the religion that are essential to its practice. Baptism is linked to beliefs about: spiritual rebirth through Christ who seeks to cleanse and purify each individual from their sins, admission into the Christian Church and its mission, faith in the Holy Trinity, particularly in the power of the Holy Spirit which seeks to bring knowledge of God to the world as well as the need for salvation from eternal damnation as emphasised in Lewis Sperry Chafer’s book Major Bible Themes which states that: “...baptism when practiced can be no more than an expression of faith and the hope...that the child will ultimately be saved.” Baptism also highlights the Christian beliefs based on faith and repentance-reconciling with God and accepting one’s role as His son/daughter, participation in the life, death and resurrection of Christ by being able to partake in celebrating His sacrifice for mankind, and finally the forgiveness of sins- turning towards a life filled with God’s guidance and righteous presence.

Often held as a rite of passage and entrance into the Christian church, baptism is much more than just symbolic ritual. Baptism was commanded by Jesus Christ in the Great Commission recounted in the book of Matthew. Even though we are simplistically called to be obedient by being baptized the Christian church has long debated the aspects of this ordinance. Denominations are divided on the basic meaning, types and modes of baptism even two thousand years after the founding of the Christian church. Just as the other ordinance, the Lord’s Supper, congregations find themselves at odd with tradition, biblical interpretation and even individual understanding. However, the simple message of this awe inspiring act can be explained out of the

While infant baptism occurs in Catholicism and these denominations, the pressure on these denominations is very different from that of their catholic counterpart. The Eastern Orthodox Church, Assyrian Church of the East and the Oriental Orthodoxy all believe baptism isn’t merely a symbol of Christ, but that the act actually conveys grace in itself. In addition to three Eastern churches, Lutherans and Methodists also practice baptism. Lutherans believe it is Christians’ duty to baptize children, as the bible states in Matthew 28:19 that Christians must go forth and baptize those around the world. Methodists are similar to Catholics in that they believe baptism is symbolic, rather than actually denoting and giving grace itself, yet differ in that they don’t think it cleanses humans of original

In a contemporary Christian environment one of the most prominent practices to have a significant contribution to Christianity as a living religious tradition is Baptism. Baptism is of utmost importance for most Christian denominations. It has profound significance for the individual who is baptised and is also important for the Christian community as a whole. As a sacrament of initiation, Baptism calls its adherents to become missionary Disciples of Christ. It is through baptism that one’s faith journey begins and Christians are called to follow and live their lives in the light of Christ.

Baptism is the sacramental rite that admits an adherent into the Christian Church community. It has origins with of John the Baptist as described in the Gospels, available through the recounts from Paul.

Baptism is a sacred rite that admits a candidate into the Christian community. Baptism is used by most Christian variants to signify the person’s initiation into the beliefs and practices of the Christian community. Baptism is a purifying ritual generally involving water, and welcomes one into the Christian community. Most Christian variants recognise baptism as necessary for redemption of the soul. Baptism is a ceremonial act undertaken after a person accepts Jesus Christ as his or her Lord and saviour. This is usually done in the presence of the church body as a public proclamation of one’s faith.

Baptism tells us of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus and our very own death, burial and resurrection.

“Baptism is the gate which puts the converted Christian on the straight and narrow path which leads to eternal life. To gain the promised inheritance in the celestial world it is necessary to travel the length

In conjunction with water being a sign of initiation into the church so are the symbolic acts of the priest during the sacrament. “The symbolic act of laying hands by the priest, parents and godparents during the anointing of the initiate with chrism emphasizes the sacrament’s communal character.” (Mueller 139) As all of the parties involved are members of the church, baptism is the first act of initiation of us into our own Christ filled community known as the church. Involving various active member of the church brings together the church of past, present and future alike. The priest acts as Christ, who through his own

All Christians know about the Great Commission, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20, English Standard Version). In that command, Jesus tells us to baptize in the name of the Trinity. What does the word “baptism” mean? Baptimsa and sometimes baptismos, the Greek word origin of “baptism”, can translate to “immersion” or “bathing” without any religious implications (McGowan, 2014). Nearly every Christian church practices baptism with a religious implication; however, they do not agree on God’s activity in, the qualifications for admitting a person to, and methods of administering baptism. For instance, many churches do not baptize people until they become adults and make a profession of faith, while others encourage baptizing an infant soon after they are born. The practices and philosophy for baptism changed throughout its use in the New Testament, the Early Church, and the Medieval era.

Firstly, I will start by defining the word Baptism as it is key to this work.

Principally, All Christians experience baptism through Jesus Christ, and are eternally in Christ, to be one with Him. Through

Baptism is one of the very first and foremost sacrament. Baptism ritual usually start when the recipient say he believe in Jesus Christ as His savior and then the priest will dip the recipient’s head or sometimes dip the whole body unto the holy water while the priest said that he baptized the recipient in the name of The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. The purpose of baptism is an explicit way to say that the recipient accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior which will lead to divine grace. According to Catholic Church, one is not catholic until he is baptized, because another purpose of baptism is cleansing one’s soul from the original sin, which is an innate sin that men inherited from Adam. Even Jesus Himself said in Mark 16:16 “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” In short, a person will go to hell if he’s not baptized, no

In the Catholic Church, it’s customary for infants to be baptized in order to ensure their passage to heaven. Baptisms usually take place on Sundays during Mass. Typically, Children are baptized with Holy water and oils on the head and not fully submerged. Those being baptized traditionally wear white clothing to symbolize their faith and the renewing power of the ceremony itself. Godparents are also a tradition that the Catholic Church upholds. The baptized child or person will have a godparent of each gender, often times members of the extended family or close friends of the parents. The original role of the godparent was to take care of the child if it was orphaned, but now the role is primarily to set a good Christian role model for the new member.