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 | Significance:
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| Age:
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All four possible variations of baptism have been taught by the early Christian church or by present-day denominations:
|
Denominations |
Age for baptism |
Regenerative power? |
Significance of baptism |
|
Early Christian movement |
Adult |
Yes |
Forgiveness of past sins. Causes indwelling of the Holy Spirit |
|
Conservative Protestant |
Youth, adult |
No |
Public affirmation of having previously been "saved" |
|
Mainline, liberal Protestant |
Infant to adult |
No |
Welcomes infant into the congregation |
|
Roman Catholic |
Infant to adult |
Yes |
Total forgiveness of past sins. |
There are some exceptions:
| A few denominations do not baptize at all. |
| At least one denomination, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) baptizes individuals by proxy after their death. |
Some baptize by full immersion in water; others sprinkle or daub water over the face of the person to be baptized.
Baptism, as practiced by the primitive Christian church:
Baptism was performed by totally immersing the convert, in water -- typically in a stream, river or lake. Baptism of a new Christian was a major watershed in their life. Many individuals are described in the Christian Scriptures (New Testament) who heard the Gospel, were immediately converted and quickly baptized.
There are dozens of passages in the Christian Scriptures that mention baptism. Although some verses appear conflict with others, a general picture emerges:
| Infants and children were probably not baptized. There are references to families being baptized together; however it is not clear whether this applied to children as well. Baptisms appear to have been performed only on youths or adults -- individuals who had reached the age of accountability -- who had already converted to Christianity, and accepted Jesus as Lord. |
| Baptisms were generally done in the name of Jesus only, not in the names of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. |
| Early Christians believed that people could be possessed by spirits, including both demons and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was believed to enter and dwell within each person after baptism, (assuming that He was not already in place before the ritual). |
| Baptism was regenerative. That is, the person's sins were wiped clean by the ritual itself. |
| In biblical passages that describe baptism, the author often implied that the ritual was necessary in order for a person to be saved and enter Heaven after death. But elsewhere in the Christian Scriptures, other criteria for salvation are implied that do not include baptism -- such as good works, belief in Jesus as the Son of God, belief in Jesus' Resurrection, etc. |
Although Jesus' disciples frequently baptized converts, it is not clear whether Jesus himself performed baptisms. The Bible is ambiguous on this point.
The early Christian movement was composed of many different faith groups: Three of the largest were Jewish Christianity, Pauline Christianity, and Gnostic Christianity.
| Baptism among Gnostics: They taught secret
knowledge that they believed was needed to understand Jesus' message and, after
death, to reach heaven. They were a major competitor to Pauline
Christianity in the first few centuries CE. Among
their more startling beliefs is that Jehovah is a defective, inferior
Creator-God, also known as the Demiurge. He created the earth
and its life forms, and is viewed by the Gnostics as fundamentally
evil, jealous, rigid, lacking in compassion and prone to genocide.
Jesus was a revealer or liberator, rather than a savior or judge. His
purpose was to spread knowledge which would free individuals from the
Demiurge's control and allow them to return to their spiritual home
with the Supreme Father God at death. There are many references to the Gnostics in the Christian Scriptures. Simon, described in Acts 8:9-24 may have bee one. There are also dozens of references to false witnesses, false prophets, false apostles and deceitful workers. Jude, Verses 4 to 9 apparently condemns Gnostics as "...certain men" who " have secretly slipped in among you,". Although various Gnostic leaders had diverse beliefs, a common teaching was that converts would be saved through knowledge. They cannot be reborn or regenerated through water baptism. 1 One of the most respected of the Church Fathers, Irenaeus (circa 130? - circa 200? CE), condemned the Gnostics as heretics. He wrote: |
"And when we come to refute them, we shall show in its fitting-place, that this class of men have been instigated by Satan to a denial of that baptism which is regeneration to God, and thus to a renunciation of the whole [Christian] faith...For the baptism instituted by the visible Jesus was for the remission of sins" 2
Some Gnostic beliefs about baptism live on today among Evangelical and other conservative Protestant faith groups. They teach that baptism is a public acknowledgement of having been earlier saved and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The rite of baptism has no saving, regenerative power by itself.
The Gnostics were oppressed and almost exterminated by the church in Rome and by the Roman Empire. Gnostic Christianity is currently undergoing a rebirth and is rapidly expanding in numbers.
| By Pauline Christians: This was the movement founded by Paul
who established a network of churches around the Mediterranean Sea. In order to
become a Christian, an individual passed through the following
sequence:
The early 1st and 2nd century church's belief
that baptism ritual washed away the Christian's sins was based on a
number of biblical passages: Acts 2:38, Acts
22:16, Titus 3:5, 1 Peter 3:21, and others. The belief
that baptism led to salvation and an indwelling of the Holy Spirit was
based on John 3:5, Acts 2:38, Galatians
3:26-28, Titus 3:5, 1 Peter 3:21 and other verses. These beliefs
of the early church were confirmed by the direct teachings of the
Apostles, or by individuals like Polycarp of Smyrna (~69 - ~155 CE)
who had been directly taught by one or more apostles, or by
individuals like Ireneaus (~130 - ~200 CE), a pupil of Polycarp. Many
theologians feel that the 2nd century church continued with
reasonable accuracy the beliefs and practices of primitive Pauline
Christianity of the 1st century.
Pauline Christianity eventually became the main Christian church, centered in Rome. |
References
- D.W. Bercot, "Will the real heretics please stand up: A new look at today's Evangelical Church in the light of early Christianity," Scroll Publ., (1989) Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store
- Irenaeus, "Against Heresies," Book 1, Chapter 21, at: http://ccel.wheaton.edu/
- Justin Martyr, "Trypho," Chapter 44.
- Irenaeus, "Fragments from lost writings," #34
- Cyprian, "To Donatus," Sec. 3
- "Baptism: Initiation and Regeneration," at: http://www.catholicapologetics.org/
- Dan Corner, "Scriptural study refuting baptismal regeneration," at: http://www.voicenet.com/~gospel/baptism.htm
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Home > Christianity > History, beliefs, practices > Practices > Baptism > here |
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Copyright © 2000 to 2008 by Ontario Consultants on Religious
Tolerance
Originally written: 2000-MAR-21
Latest update: 2008-MAR-08
Author: B.A. Robinson
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