In Christianity, baptism (from Greek baptizo : "immersing", "performing ablutions", i.e., "washing") is the ritual act, with the use of water, by which one is admitted to membership of the Christian Church and, in the view of some, as a member of the particular Church in which the baptism is administered.
The usual form of baptism among the earliest Christians was for the candidate (or "baptizand") to be immersed totally or partially. While John the Baptist's use of a deep river for his baptism suggests immersion, pictorial and archaeological evidence of Christian baptism from the 3rd century onwards indicates that the normal form was to have the candidate stand in water while water was poured over the upper body. Other common forms of baptism now in use include pouring water three times on the forehead.
Baptism was seen as in some sense necessary for salvation, until Huldrych Zwingli in the sixteenth century denied its necessity. Martyrdom was identified early in church history as baptism by blood , enabling martyrs who had not been baptized by water to be saved. Later, the Catholic Church identified a baptism of desire, by which those preparing for baptism who die before actually receiving the sacrament are considered saved.
Some Christians, particularly Quakers and the Salvation Army, do not see baptism as necessary. Among those that do, differences can be found in the manner and mode of baptizing and in the understanding of the significance of the rite. Most Christians baptize "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (following the Great Commission), but some baptize in Jesus' name only. Most Christians baptize infants, many others do not. Some insist on submersion or at least partial immersion of the person who is baptized, others consider that any form of washing by water is sufficient.
The English word "baptism" has been used in reference to any ceremony, trial, or experience by which one is initiated, purified, or given a name. See Other initiation ceremonies below.
Meaning of the word in the New Testament
As Christians of different traditions dispute whether total immersion (submersion) is necessary for baptism, the precise meaning of the Greek word has become important for exegesis.
The Greek-English Lexicon of Liddell and Scott gives the primary meaning of the word βαπτίζω (transliterated as "baptizô"), from which the English word baptism is derived, as dip, plunge , but indicates, giving Luke 11:38 as an example, that another meaning is perform ablutions .
Usual meaning of the verb βαπτίζω
Although the Greek word βαπτίζω does not exclusively mean dip, plunge or immerse, lexical sources note that this is the usual meaning of the word in both the Septuagint and the New Testament. A related word βαπτω , also used in the New Testament, is used only with the sense 'dip' or 'dye'. It is used, for instance, of the partial dipping of a morsel of bread in wine.
Alleged deviations from the usual meaning
Two passages in the New Testament have been claimed to indicate that the word βαπτίζω, when applied to a person, did not always indicate submersion. The first is Luke 11:38 which tells how a Pharisee, at whose house Jesus ate, "was astonished to see that he did not first wash ( ἐβαπτίσθη , aorist passive of βαπτίζω —literally, "be baptized") before dinner." This is the passage that Liddell and Scott cites as an instance of the use of βαπτίζω to mean perform ablutions . Jesus' omission of this action is similar to that of his disciples: "Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash ( νίπτω ) not their hands when they eat bread." The other New Testament passage pointed to: "The Pharisees…do not eat unless they wash ( νίπτω , the ordinary word for washing) their hands thoroughly, observing the tradition of the elders; and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they wash themselves (literally, "baptize themselves"— βαπτίσωνται , passive or middle voice of βαπτίζω )".
Scholars of various denominations claim that these two passages show that invited guests, or people returning from market, would not be expected to immerse themselves ("baptize themselves") totally in water but only to practise the partial immersion of dipping their hands in water or to pour water over them, as is the only form admitted by present Jewish custom.
The lexicographical works of Zodhiates and Balz & Schneider also say that in the second of these two cases, Mark 7:4 , the word βαπτίζω means that, after coming from the market, the Pharisees only immersed their hands in collected water, and so did not immerse themselves totally. They understand the meaning of βαπτίζω to be the same as βάπτω, to dip or immerse, a word used of the partial dipping of a morsel held in the hand into wine or of a finger into spilled blood.
Meanings of the derived nouns
Two other related words used in the New Testament are βαπτισμός and βάπτισμα. Βαπτισμός referred to purification or washing by dipping or immersion, and was used of both Jewish and Christian practices. Ιn the New Testament it is used of a range of Jewish washings, and perhaps also of baptism. Βάπτισμα is found only in writings by Christians, indicates the result of the act, not the act itself, and in the New Testament is not used of Jewish ceremonial or ritual washings. In the New Testament, only βαπτισμός is associated with these rituals, not βάπτισμα. In the New Testament βάπτισμα appears 13 times with regard to the dipping (partial or complete) practised by John the Baptist.
In the New Testament, βάπτισμα appears at least 21 times and βαπτισμός 4 times. In Colossians 2:12, while inferior manuscripts have βάπτισμα, the best have βαπτισμός, and this is the reading given in modern critical editions of the New Testament. This is the only New Testament instance in which βαπτισμός is clearly used of Christian baptism, rather than of a generic washing as in the other four appearances of the word in this form (except Hebrews 6:2 , where the interpretation as a reference to baptism is possible). All instances in the New Testament of the other word refer to the baptism of John, Christian baptism or baptism in a metaphorical sense.
History
Baptism has been part of Christianity from the start, as shown by the many mentions in the Acts of the Apostles and the Pauline epistles. Christians consider Jesus to have instituted the sacrament of baptism. How explicit Jesus' intentions were and whether he envisioned a continuing, organized Church is a matter of dispute among scholars.
Background in Jewish ritual
Main article: MikvahAlthough the term "baptism" is not used to describe the Jewish rituals, the purification rites (or mikvah - ritual immersion) in Jewish laws and tradition have some similarity to baptism, and the two have been linked In the Jewish Bible and other Jewish texts, immersion in water for ritual purification was established for restoration to a condition of "ritual purity" in specific circumstances. For example, Jews who (according to the Law of Moses) became ritually defiled by contact with a corpse had to use the mikvah before being allowed to participate in the Holy Temple. Immersion is required for converts to Judaism as part of their conversion. Immersion in the mikvah represents a change in status in regards to purification, restoration, and qualification for full religious participation in the life of the community, ensuring that the cleansed person will not impose uncleanness on property or its owners Num. 19 and Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Chagigah , p. 12). This change of status by the mikvah could be obtained repeatedly, while Christian baptism is, like circumcision, unique and not repeatable.
John the Baptist adopted baptismal immersion as the central sacrament in his messianic movement.
Baptism of Jesus
Main article: Baptism of JesusJohn the Baptist was a 1st-century mission preacher on the banks of the Jordan. According to Christian theology, he was selected by God to proclaim the first coming of the Christ. He baptized Jews for repentance in the River Jordan.
At the start of his ministry, Jesus was
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