Religious Glossary - common terms used related to Religion
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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