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Baptism
- The English words "baptize" and "baptism" are
derived from a Greek root: "baptizr," which means
"to immerse," "to dip under," or "to wash." Within
Christianity, it is usually performed by a member
of the clergy in a church setting, thus welcoming
an individual into the church. Denominations disagree
about the method (immersion or sprinkling), the age
at which the ritual is done, and additional consequences
of baptism. Some Christian groups maintain that baptism
is required before a person can be saved; some say
that only those baptized in their denomination or
in a certain way can be saved. Still others consider
baptism to be merely an indication that a person had
been saved in the recent past.
Baptism
is a water purification ritual practiced in certain
religions such as Christianity, Mandaeanism, Sikhism,
and some historic sects of Judaism. The word baptize
derives from the Greek word ßapte (the infinitive;
also listed as the 1st person singular present active
indicative ßapt), which loosely means "to dip, bathe,
or wash". (wikipedia)
The
term baptize is not a Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian,
or Catholic term; it is a Greek term. Baptizo in the
Greek meant to "dunk," "dip," "plunge," "submerge,"
or "immerse." Originally, it had no religious connotation.
Rather, the word baptize was used to describe a ship
that had been sunk in a battle or a piece of cloth
that was dipped in dye. Other times it was used to
refer to someone who had drowned or a cup that was
dipped into a pitcher to drink from. Its use was general
in nature. (cavalry
chapel)
A
sacrament in which water is used to initiate the recipient
into a Christian church, to symbolize purification,
to acknowledge consecration to Christ, etc. (invista)
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