Baptism. Why are there so many views on it? Is it the literal immersion concept?

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   Ericdierkerposted 6 years ago

   Baptism. Why are there so many views on it? Is it the literal immersion concept? Or living water.
   
   If you look into this with and open mind it is fascinating how different traditions of man have been made manifest. Catholics have called it The First Sacrament of Initiation for more than a millennium. Some folks say you can do it to a baby. Others insist on getting dunked all the way. Some think it is just a precursor to the Baptism of Fire. And all of these and all come from the Bible as adopted by the Council of Nicea.
   And don't be shy here go ahead and do what is trending to call rebuke and correct. And it is fine to say that you are right because the Holy Spirit told you so. Let's learn

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   The0NatureBoyposted 6 years ago

   Spiritual Baptism is the immersion of people in the knowledge that "We Are That We Are" and neither of the multitude of judgmental adjectives we use to describe everything. 
   
   Literal water without the "s" in scripture usually represent knowledge, the baptism John did for the Christ was only symbolic of his verbal baptism. Two of his examples are the Samaritan "girl (woman) at the well" who he din not judge although he told her what she had done and the "girl (woman) accused of adultery" where he stooped and wrote on the ground and every accusers left and he only said "go your way and 'miss the mark' no more."  He baptized them in knowledge and understanding of why they had done what they did. Understanding man's plight allows one to discuss their actions without judging which give them confidence to change themselves. 
   
   Remember Psalm 1:1 "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful" and what the rest of it say about anyone doing it? That is an example of spiritual baptism. The use of literal water is exactly what is often said ab out it, "if one isn't 'spiritually born' they go under a dry 'missed of the mark' and comes up a wet one."  Nothing had changed except they were dry and b became wet and will dry off again. 
   
   As for "why there are so many views on it" is because what I just explained few people comprehend it enough to say it.

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      Ericdierkerposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Nicely done Elijah.

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   clivewilliamsposted 6 years ago

   Only God knows the answer to that. Baptized to me in the Christian religion means to wash away your sins, transgressions and to begin a new. A life of pureness, helpfulness, truthfulness and all the things Christians say Jesus was.

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      Ericdierkerposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks Clive, that sure sounds right to me.

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      The0NatureBoyposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      CW,
      God is within us (Luke 17:21) and is willing to teach us if we are "drawn from religions' teachers and weaned religious doctrine" (Isaiah 28:9-11) and will teach us how to know that and all truths.

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   Oztinatoposted 6 years ago

   During the actual time JC was physically alive people were fully immersed. However after He was crucified people were afraid of being crucified so they conducted secret symbolic baptisms using only a small sprinkle of water.
   There is no difference because it is merely a symbolic gesture of re birth into a new life. The symbolism relates to the water of physical birth.
   Those who can't see these basic things are more concerned with individual dogmas of various religions.
   The truth is it's the inner meaning that matters and not external practices.

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      Ericdierkerposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Marvelous answer. And it is good to hear from you friend.

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   ericjperryposted 6 years ago

   I love this question. It goes straight into the heart of religion. After reading your question, 3 instances came up in my mind from the Bible. John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the Jordan River (Mt 3:15), which is moving water. Phillip baptized the Ethiopian Eunuch in "some water" along side the desert road, which may or may not have been moving, but considering the location and the description in the verse it would have been a small body of water such as an oasis or maybe even a puddle or small stream (Acts 8:38). The third instance, is with Peter and Cornelius. Peter and the other Jews witnessed Cornelius and everyone in the house be baptized by the Holy Spirit before they had been water baptized (Acts 10:44). Then they were water baptized, and scripture does not mention how. My take away from these three examples are that water baptism is not required to be baptized by the Holy Spirit. That was the point of Acts 10, because the Jews believed that until then. Everyone baptized was an adult (or of age). That doesn't mean water baptism as an infant is wrong or shouldn't be done, but as from the first point, the water is more symbolic. It doesn't matter when or what you do if you don't have the Holy Spirit. Final point, the Bible references immersion the most, but it gives examples of different ways, and I believe that is to keep us from focusing on the work of baptism and focus on the meaning of why we are doing it. A sprinkle with the right motive will get you further than an immersion with the wrong. All in all, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is what we should be after. Great question, look forward to other replies. God Bless you all and your family.

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      Ericdierkerposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for this well laid way to look at it. I was just reading a Church Religion text on it and I think we should also consider that it is "sacrament"that involves community. The pledge to support.

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      The0NatureBoyposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Mat. 28:19 Go ye, teach nations, baptizing them in the name relative to god & 2 messiahs, I AM THAT I AM. Simply means overcome judging, ensure everyone recognize everything for what they are is the spirit of immersing or baptizing.

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