[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Baptism: Sprinkled or dunked? (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 1/25/2005 6:32:46 AM EDT
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Are you truly baptised in water if you are sprinkled? Or if you are dunked? Which is it? |
So if it is symbolic, the is it even necessary? My church believed that it was. |
In the spirit of ARFCOM I did both! I was sprinkled when I was baptised as a baby and dunked when I was baptised as an adult. Confusing huh, yes it's a long story I don't want to get into now... I believe I was truly baptised when I was dunked because I did knowingly and willingly. |
If you're waiting because he's Catholic... we have immersion Baptism as well. In general, it seems babies get water poured on their heads but a lot of Catholic Churches are doing adult Baptisms in pools in the Church. When my wife converted, my Church had a black garden pool that was put on the altar. She stood in it and the Priest poured pitchers of water over her. She got pretty soaked. ETA - but the form is not what's important... there are stories of battlefield baptisms by chaplains where they had barely enough water to wet their thumbs. I know an EMT who gave a newborn baby in a car crash an emergency baptism with a splash of water from a water bottle. I'm pretty sure Jesus understands. |
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THere is no prescription, nor clear description in the Scriptures of how exactly to do it. What is important is Water and the Word of God. Together they make the Sacrament of Baptism. The Church, since the earliest times, used whatever water was at Her disposal to give the Sacrament to Christians. Those who insist on one form over all the others are innovators, making up new rules on a thing that rightly is purely a gift of life, salvation, and forgiveness. That's the other ironic thing about the subject. Those who insist on a particular form are most likely to see Baptism as merely a sign, whereas those who don't insist on one form or another tend to see the Sacrament as it is described in Acts 2, the work of God in giving the gift of forgiveness of sin and the Holy Spirit. So, to answer the question, if you were immersed, sprinkled or a combination of the two, as long as the Word of God (the Trinitarian formula given by Jesus in the Gospel of St. Matthew) is with the water, you are Baptized. Fwiw Scott |
Not exactly... Jesus (if you believe in Him) gave all the example of how and why. Matthew 3:40-46 40 Thus came John, preaching and baptizing in the river of Jordan; bearing record that he who was coming after him had power to baptize with the Holy Ghost and fire. 41 And then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan, unto John, to be baptized of him; 42 But John refused him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and why comest thou to me? 43 And Jesus, answering, said unto him, Suffer me to be baptized of thee, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him. 44 And John went down into the water and baptized him. 45 And Jesus when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water; and John saw, and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon Jesus. 46 And lo, he heard a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him. |
The very act of being baptized is the moment of your salvation. Mark 16 15He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. Romans 6 1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. Read 2 Kings 5 about the story of Naman. He had to do exaclty what the servant of God told him to be cured. The presence of water was entirely necessary even though Naman thought it wasnt that important. The nature of God does not change. |
The first thing that the man who baptised me talked about was the symbolism of baptism....religion is full of symbolism I got dunked |
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Greek for the word ‘baptizo’ means to immerse, plunge, dip, or bury in water. The very Greek word itself excludes it from meaning “sprinkling.” The definition above is from www.bebaptized.org It has some good points on baptism. |
Same here! Baptized by spinkling as a Roman Catholic at one month. Baptized by immersion as an adult. Well, at age 12, so as much of an adult as any 12 year old. But think, by age 9 I was already a Reagan Republican! I was a very precocious child! Eric The(DiedInTheWater)Hun 
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As is the case with much in the Bible, it's all in the translation. There is a real difference between the words "immerse," "plunge," "dip," and "bury." But since it's a symbolic act (ie the purpose is not to physically clean dirt off of you) then the volume of water is immaterial. |
I am pretty sure he understands that babies do not need to be baptised either. They are completly free from sin and therfore require no remission of sin or to be born again. Dunking at a later age like 8 makes more sense as you are able to know between right and wrong. |
yea if your sprinkled in the name of Jesus it doesn’t do anything because it takes both the spirit of God and a full immersion to cleanse your soul.  |
Show me where It says sprinkling is no good. |
Along this line of logic you'd need to baptised in the Jordan or another river in Gallilee becasue I can't find an instance of baptism in the Potomac in the bible. |
Well, other than Jesus' example, I'll offer His words: John 3:3-6 3Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. "Born of the water." Doesn't sound like sprinkling to me. You can sprinkle if you wish, but I see no scriptural justification for it. Roll the dice and take your chances if that's your choice. |
I didn't make the unsustainable assertion, you did. You have to show me. Coming up out of the water does not rule out that He was sprinkled while standing waist deep. The Scriptures do not prescribe a form. Scott |
+1 about the volume Though we are required to have water for water baptism. Kool-Aid wouldn't have the same significance.... |
No, the logic is...baptism comes from the greek word baptismo. It means dunk, immerse, bury in water. That is the definition. Any thing else and you are literally playing with fire. On the battlefield conversion. God is the final judge, but we are talking about what the scripture says. |
So why go into the water, come up "out of the water", and talk about being born of the water, if sprinkling is all that is needed? I've based my assertion on much more evidence than you've been able to provide to the contrary. |
Do you really think that if the guy did not get baptised and died in the act of war God would send him to hell right then and there. I testify that after death God will provide away for those that were not baptised on earth to come unto him. Not everyone is going to get the chance here to be baptised. My mother seems to think not one soul on this earth will be denied the chance to learn of Christ and be baptised before death Ya, sure every kid in the middle east, Asia, etc has or will hear of Christ and have the chance to be baptised. What sense does that make?
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Yes, it is necessary in the life of a believer. Jesus left very few rituals that we are to observe, but baptism is one of them. (Communion is the other) |
Post from wedge1082 -
Actually, you are the one urging a 'change in the rules', so it is imcumbant upon you to show where 'sprinkling' is good and acceptable! When Philip was preaching the Gospel of Christ to the Ethiopian eunuch, we are specifically told that these two were riding in a chariot in a 'desert place.' The whole story is told here, in Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 8:26-39: And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. Now, why would this worthy man, the Ethiopian eunuch, be traveling in a 'desert place' without any goatskin or jug of water? Yet, when it came time for him to be baptized, it was apparently necessary for the two fellows to actually go down 'both' into the water! Imagine, in a desert place, all that would entail. The muddy flats leading up to the actual pool of water. The muddy flats when leaving the pool! Hardly something that two men would wish to do - unless it was the manner in which it should be done, and had always been done! Why not simply stay in the chariot and allow Philip to sprinkle the eunuch with water from the goatskin or the water jug? Because that simply was NOT the manner in which it was done in the Apostolic Period! It is an intiation rite into the Lord's Church that is symbolic of His Death, Burial, and Resurrection! You are 'buried' with Christ in your baptism when you go under the water! That's is the symbolism that the Early Church understood. Only the Romans later, much later, came up with the idea of 'affusion'! Or 'sprinkling.' And they decided to do it for their infants, as well. Eric The(Immersed)Hun
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So by your interpretation of Scripture, the battlefield conversions or emergency batisms are invalid. Only the folks that get a Minister to hear them say the right words and immerse them in water will be saved. Right? And people criticize the Catholic Church for living on ceremony.... |
Baptism is a sacrament commanded by God. But God is not such a legalist that He will reject someone who has not had time to be baptised. If a person comes to genuine repentance immediately before death, God is not going to cast them out because they weren't dunked in water. Salvation is about being dunked in the blood of Christ, and being born again a new creature. If there is time after our salvation, God expects us to be baptised. It IS a requirement of the Christian life. But it is not a prerequisite for heaven if there is no time for a person to be baptised. |
Amen to that, Brother! Why in the world would you let the 'exception' make the 'rule'? I've always heard such instances where folks would invent situations in which physical baptism by immersion would be impossible! Such as the horribly burned victim who was on their deathbed! 'Immerse the burn victim in water?', the physicians would exclaim! 'Not in this hospital!' This, despite the fact that this hypothetical burn victim likely heard the Word, all his or her life, and refused the Rite or Sacrament of Baptism! If faced with such an unlikely event, I may take an extreme measure, such as holding a cup of water over the burn victim's head, and praying earnestly, "O Heavenly Father, permit this cup of water to be as Baptism for this poor soul, and take him into Your Kingdom!' I am not at all confident what the Lord's Judgment might be, but that would NOT be within my power. It would be much better to be baptized in a 'green season' than wait until you are in extremis in a 'dry season'! See, here is water, what doth hinder me to be baptized? Yes, indeed, what doth hinder you? Eric The(Hydrophobic?)Hun
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