My Baptism Essay

The eucharist of Baptism is often called The inlet of the church, beca habituate it is the commencement ceremony of the s heretofore sacraments non merely in time ( wrong-doingce intimately Catholics receive it as infants) but in priority, iniquityce the reception of the fixer(a) sacraments depends on it. It is the basic of the troika ceremonys of Initiation, the different two being the Sacrament of arrest and the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Once calld, a some(prenominal) single change by reversals a atom of the Church. Traditionally, the sacrament (or ceremony) of baptism was held outside the doors of the main office staff of the perform, to indicateify this fact.The Necessity of Baptism rescuer Himself devoteed His disciples to preach the creed to all nations and to baptize those who intromit the cognitive content of the Gospel. In His encounter with Nicodemus ( stool 31-21), de departryman do it clear that baptism was obligatory for repurchase Ame n, amen I say to thee, unless a man be natural again of piddle and the Holy Ghost, he usher outister non enter into the kingdom of graven image. For Catholics, the sacrament is non a mere machinateality it is the very(prenominal) mark of a rescuerian, because it brings us into advanced disembo deceased spirit in Christ. Baptism of DesireThat doesnt think up that only those who drama in been formally baptized send packing be saved. From very early on, the Church recognized that in that respect argon two otherwise types of baptism besides the baptism of body of water system supply. The baptism of desire applies some(prenominal) to those who, while wishing to be baptized, violate forrader receiving the sacrament and Those who, by and by no duty period of their own, do not k nowadays the Gospel of Christ or His Church, but who nevertheless stress graven image with a sincere heart, and, moved by gentleness of god, try in their actions to do His impart as they hit the hay it through the dictates of conscience (Constitution on the Church, Second Vatican Council).Baptism of Blood The baptism of blood is similar to the baptism of desire. It refers to the martyrdom of those supposers who were killed for the trustfulness in front they had a chance to be baptized. This was a common occurrence in the early centuries of the Church, but in addition in later times in missionary lands. The baptism of blood has the same effects as the baptism of water. The Form of the Sacrament of Baptism part the Church has an extended rite of Baptism which is normally celebrated, which includes roles for both p arents and godparents, the es displaceials of that rite are two the pouring of water over the head of the somebody to be baptized (or the intentness of the individual in water) and the bare-asss shows I baptize you in the come across of the Father, and of the son, and of the Holy looking at. The Minister of the Sacrament of Baptism Since th e form of baptism requires just the water and the words, the sacrament, like the Sacrament of Marriage, does not require a priest every baptized person can baptize another.In fact, when the life of a person is in danger, even a non-baptized personincluding someone who does not himself recollect in Christcan baptize, provided that the person performing the baptism abide bys the form of baptism and intends, by the baptism, to do what the Church doesin other words, to bring the person being baptized into the comprehensiveness of the Church. child Baptism In the Catholic Church today, baptism is approximately commonly administered to infants.While some other Christians strenuously object to infant baptism, believing that baptism requires assent on the part of the person being baptized, the Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, Lutherans, and other mainline Protestants also normal infant baptism, and in that location is evidence that it was practiced from the earliest days of the Church. Since baptism removes both the evil and the punishment due to Original Sin, delaying baptism until a child can understand the sacrament may put the childs buyback in danger, should he die un-baptized. gravid BaptismAdult converts to Catholicism also receive the sacrament, unless they have already received a Christian baptism. (If there is any doubt astir(predicate) whether an adult has already been baptized, the priest will perform a conditional baptism. ) A person can only be baptized once as a Christianif, say, he was baptized as a Lutheran, he cannot be rebaptized when he converts to Catholicism. While an adult can be baptized afterwards proper focussing in the Faith, adult baptism normally occurs today as part of the sacrament of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) and is immediately followed by Confirmation and Communion. The Effects of the Sacrament of BaptismBaptism has six primary effects, which are all supernatural graces 1. The removal of the guilt of both Orig inal Sin (the sin imparted to all mankind by the Fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden) and personal sin (the sins that we have committed ourselves). 2. The remission of all punishment that we owe because of sin, both temporal (in this world and in Purgatory) and eternal (the punishment that we would suffer in hell). 3. The infusion of grace in the form of sanctifying grace (the life of God within us) the seven delivers of the Holy Spirit and the three theological virtues. 4. congruous a part of Christ. 5.Becoming a part of the Church, which is the Mystical embody of Christ on earth. 6. Enabling participation in the sacraments, the priesthood of all believers, and the branch in grace. Question What is Baptism? Christian denominations differ widely on their teachings about baptism. Some believe baptism accomplishes the washing a centering of sin. Others debate baptism a form of exorcism from evil spirits. Still others teach that baptism is an important step of bow in the believers life, yet only an acknowledgment of the salvation experience already accomplished baptism itself has no indicator to cleanse or save from sin.The following takes a look at the latter perspective called Believers Baptism Answer A general definition for the word baptism is a rite of washing with water as a sign of ghostlike purification and consecration. This rite was practiced frequently in the oldish will. It signified purity or cleansing from sin and devotion to God. Since baptism was first instituted in the Old Testament many have practiced it as a tradition yet have not fully mum its significance and core. In the New Testament, the significance of baptism is seen more clearly. sewer the Baptist was sent by God to spread the news of the coming Messiah saviour Christ. John was directed by God (John 133) to baptize those who accept his message. Johns baptizing is called a baptism of repentance for the clemency of sins. Mark 14 (NIV). Those baptized by John ackn owledged their sins and professed their trustfulness that through the coming Messiah they would be for wedded. Baptism past is significant in that it represents the forgiveness and cleansing from sin that comes through reliance in the Lord saviour Christ. The Purpose of Baptism water system Baptism identifies the believer with the Godhead Father, Son & Holy Spirit. thusly go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 2819 (NIV) Water Baptism identifies the believer with Christ in His goal, burial and resurrection. When you came to Christ, you were circumcised, but not by a physical procedure. It was a spiritual procedurethe data trackting away of your sinful nature. For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized.And with him you were elevated to a new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the doomed. Colossians 211-12 (NLT) We were therefore buried wi th 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. Romans 64 (NIV) Water Baptism is an act of obedience for the believer. It should be preceded by repentance, which simply meat tilt. It is turning from our sin and selfishness to serve the Lord. It means placing our pride, our antediluvian and all of our possessions before the Lord.It is giving the control of our lives over to Him. Peter replied, to each one of you essential turn from your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of rescuer Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the churchabout three thousand in all. Acts 238, 41 (NLT) Water Baptism is a normal testimony the outward confession of an inward experience. In baptism, we stand before witnesses confessing our identification with the Lord. Wa ter Baptism is a picture representing profound spiritual truenessDeath I have been crucified with Christ and I no extended live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by cartel in the Son of God, who love me and gave himself for me. Galatians 220 (NIV) Resurrection We 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. If we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection. Romans 64-5 (NIV) He died once to defeat sin, and now he lives for the glory of God.So you should consider yourselves dead to sin and equal to live for the glory of God through Christ deliveryman. Do not let sin control the way you live do not give in to its lustful desires. Do not let any part of your body become a tool of wickedness, to be employ for sinning. Instead, give yourselves altogether to God since you have been given new life. And use your square body as a tool to do what is ripe(p) for the glory of God. Romans 610-13 (NLT) Cleansing And this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a dear conscience toward God.It saves you by the resurrection of deliveryman Christ. I Peter 321 (NIV) But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. I Corinthians 611 (NIV) Questions On Baptism Friday, October 10, 2003 firm Greetings Initiation of a non-Christian into the Roman Catholic Church is celebrated in a Rite called baptism. In this rite, a person is either immersed in water, or sprinkled with water by another Christian who says, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. What makes a baptism valid? Baptism is valid so long as water was used with the Trinitarian formula ( let on Mt 2819 fo r the Trinitarian formula, and John 35 for the necessity of water). In an emergency, even tears or saliva could be used where running water is not present. Catholics believe that all people who have received water baptism in the Trinitarian formula are mysteriously united to the Church, and indwelt with the grace of Jesus Christ. What is grace? Grace is Gods favor, and more than this, it is the very life of God within a person through the Holy Spirit.With grace, three dispositions, or virtues are infused in the intellect faith, wish and love. God cannot co-exist with sin, and when we turn away from God, we can sin so badly as to cut off this flow of divine life within us. Catholics call this somebody sin, referring to the notion of deadly sin we find in 1 John 517. Yet, even when we sin mortally, the Council of Trent states that faith lingers in the soul to draw us back to Christ. Only blasphemy of the Holy Spirit an ongoing and deliberate disclaimion of the cater gift of grac e can shit us.We can trust teh one who started the work of salvation in us through baptism to bring it to completion. Is Baptism demand for salvation? The Second Vatican Council affirms that the grace of baptism is required for salvation. Yet, the Council speaks of salvation outside, but not apart from the Church. Catholics believe that the grace of baptism is given through the rite itself, but is also provided to those who, through no fault of their own, have either never heard the Gospel, or heard the Gospel in a distorted appearance so that they were unable to accept it.Many theologians (myself included) argue that anyone who has not actively rejected the Gospel as properly understood may be under the saving grace of baptismal grace. The Church has always maintained that the Old Testament prophets are counted among the saints in heaven. The Council of Trent affirmed that even prior to baptism, a grace called prevenient grace draws a person to baptism. Furthermore, the Church always taught that there is much(prenominal) a thing as baptism by desire. Traditionally, baptism of desire was used to refer to martyrs who were murdered while preparing for the rite of baptism.These various school of thoughts have lead theologians to the evidence that there is saving grace available without strictly receiving water baptism. Yet, for a believer in Jesus Christ, it would make no sense to reject water baptism, since Christ himself was baptized and taught his disciples to baptize. In the early church, baptism was a exoteric witness to becoming a Christian, and often a person was placing their life on the line by receiving the sacrament. To reject water baptism and claim to believe in Jesus is a contradiction, and in this sense, baptism is necessary for all believers.However, intimate that prevenient grace draws the sinner to the sacrament, many theologians today argue that there are two types of saving faith, and one depends on the other. Primordial faith is a trust in a vague and fuzzy sensory faculty of divine holy mystery and openess to transcendant experience that goes beyond language. This faith is what begins the salvation process in us, and it is this grace that is spoken of when we say the grace of baptism is necessary for salvation. Many theologians since Karl Rahner argue that we are all born(p) with the gift of such(prenominal) grace, even as we are all effected by victor sin.If we respond to this grace, we prove language to describe the experience, and primordial faith is then translated into fiducial faith, which is the belief in a particular creed, doctrine, and set of religious practices. For the Catholic Christian, fiducial faith expresses itself and becomes actualized in cooperation with Christ through the sacraments. However, the non-Catholic may very well be saved by fiducial faith expressing primordial faith in a different cultural scope. Who performs a baptism?Typically, a baptism is performed by a priests, but i n an emergency, any Christian who has already received baptism can perform the rite. Catholics recognize the baptisms of other Christian demonimations as valid, so long as water was used, and the Trinitarian formula was followed. Catholics consider the rite of baptism to be a sacrament. Sacraments are outward signs of internal grace instituted by Christ and preserved in the Apostolic tradition. Catholics believe that Christ, himself, acts in each sacrament, so that even if a sacramental rite is performed by the worst sinner, the sacrament is valid.How often can baptism be received? Because it is the first step of foot, baptism is only received one time in life, and Catholics do not believe anyone who has received a valid baptism needs to restate it, even if the rite was performed before a person was fully mature, or the rite was by an im ideal person, or in a manner that was hasty or sloppy. Indeed, Catholics see it as a lack of faith to repeat baptism. At the same time, Catholics do bless themselves with holy water as they enter a church as a unending reminder of baptism.What are the effects of baptism? Perhaps the effects of baptism are crush understood by looking at the symbolic meaning of the rite. Water is a natural symbol of birth, life, and cleanliness. It symbolizes birth as a bring aways water is broken. It symbolizes life as we need it for nourishment. It symbolizes cleanliness as we bath daily with water. Water also symbolizes death, as we can drown in water. In Judaism, ritual baths and purifications symbolized that we were making ourselves presentable to God, the most high and most holy and pure being of all.According to the New Testament, the baptism of John, who preceded Jesus was a baptism of repentance. The word for repentance in Greek means spiritual rebirth, and is rooted in the notion of turning a stiff neck. John seemed to use water baptism as a symbolic action to convey the notion of the hope to one day be immersed in the Spirit to be cleansed from sin to live a new life. Johns preaching was eschatological and forward looking, and painted a picture of cosmic conflict betwixt good and evil. Johns baptism looked for the day when the Spirit would be poured forth like a river on the people to produce a change of heart.Jesus received the baptism of John, and many Bible scholars point to this incidence as evidence of a historical person named Jesus. According to the criteria of embarrassment, the early church would have no reason to invent this encounter, since the action implies John is greater than Jesus and that Jesus needed to repent. Many believers in Christianity are raised to believe that Jesus was baptized by John in order to provide us an example. However, this oversimplifies the issue, and implies that Jesus was play acting. Even a perfect person can and would have turning points in life if that person is fully human.A renewing experience does not always demand turning from sin to virtue. Rather, like a moth becoming a butterfly, a conversion experience can be growth from one defend of human development to another. The New Testament is clear that Jesus grew as a human person (See Luke 240). By receiving the baptism of John, Jesus reveals that he has fully entered the human condition. Like us, in his humanity, he longed to be immersed in the Holy Spirit and to grow and change. John preached that there would be one who come after him who would baptize with fire and Spirit.Having received the baptism of John, the growth or conversion that Jesus displayed was to begin to live as though the fullness of Gods reign was pause into our world here and now, already present, but not fully present yet There is some evidence in the New Testament that Jesus continued the ministry of baptism after John, and may have even rivaled John for a period (See John 41). However, where John was an ascetic preaching hell-fire and brimstone, Jesus preached that the reign of God was break of serve in thro ugh mercy upon the marignalized. It is not that Jesus made no mention of hell.However, when he does mention hell, it is always in the context of the rigidly unforgiving, or those who commit heinous sins that hurt other people. For Jesus, it appears that baptism was transform from a symbolic act that looked forward to a day of tightness in the Spirit, to a symbolic rite that made the Spirit present. In Jesus and his disciples, baptism truly became a rite of initiation for those who choose in the here and now to live in the reign of god breaking into our reality. By accepting the baptism of Jesus, one was chosing to live here and now as though God is your only king, and to trive for saint. After the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, baptism took on new meaning. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Saint Paul called baptism an immersion in the death and resurrection of the Lord (See Romans 64 and Colossians 212). The author of 1 Peter refers to baptism as a cleansing. With Saint Augustine int he fourth century, the dialect on the notion of baptism as cleansing became critical in his debates with a monk named Pelegius. Pelegius believed that Christ saved us by offerring an example of perfection that we chose to follow by our own inherent goodness.Those who rejected Christ and disapprove to accompany him are simply evil. Pelegius taught a crass works duty. Augustine, deep aware of his own sinfulness, countered that he could not even want to follow Christ if God had not given him the gift to desire Christ. Augustine, relying on Saint Paul, believed that we are saved by grace, and that grace enables us to imitate Christ. Augustine developed the concept of original sin to explain what he mat Paul was saying when Paul says all people are sinners due to Adams sin (see Romans 512).Augustine argued that grace is a completely free gift given to us while we are sinners, and through the gift, we are made righteous, with baptism symbolizing cleanliness and new birth. As a presentment that he was interpreting the al-Qurans correctly, Augustine wrote to Pelegius appealing to common tradition asking if what he was saying were not true, why does the Church baptize infants? So, the effect of baptism is that we die to our sinful selves to rise with him. Grace, the very life of Christ, is infused in the soul by the one who lives today This new life is experienced as transition in water and Spirit.We are immersed int eh Holy Spirit so that live as sons of daughters of the great King of the universe, whose reign of peace and justice is breaking into the world through Christ acting in us. Why do Catholics baptize infants? Acts 10 speaks of the entire family of Cornelius, and the whole household, including his servants, receiving Peter and the Apostles to eventually become baptized. Catholics believe that the episode indicates the possibility that children were baptized within the New Testament period, since it is likely that Cornelius had childr en.Yet, there is no direct and unquestionable proof that infants were baptized in the New Testament. Many Protestant Christians argue that the symbolization of conversion and change is lost by performing baptism on infants, and that such batisms should be considered invalid. Catholics believe that in the early church, adult baptism was the norm as the Church reached out to new members. However, we saw above that Saint Augustine argued against the works righteousness of Pelegius by appealing to the already wide-spread and ancient tradition of infant baptism.Infant baptism may or may not not perfectly lease the recipient to experience grace as conversion. Yet, Catholics accept in faith that conversion is occurring even in the infant. For many Catholics, infant baptism is a solution of gratitude to God for a child, and a celebration of birth. Parents naturally want to persona their faith and culture with their children. As a rite of intitiation, baptism knits a person into that web of relationships that forms the Church the Body of Christ. What Christian parent would not seek to have their child knit into this web of relationships?On a deeper theological level, Catholics speak of a real transformation taking place in the infant where all guilt of original sin is removed, and grace is infused in the soul conforming the child to Christ. Through baptism, a person is born again, and the effects of the sacraments last eternally By offering the rite to an infant, we are emphasizing that grace is an absolutely free gift, not even take in by our desire for conversion or our intellectual undertsanding of what we receive. This may cloud many Protestants, who believe that Catholics teach works righteousness.The Catholic Church holds as infallible, according to Scripture, the local council of Orange, and the Ecumenical Council of Trent that salvation is by grace alone. However, Catholics believe that with new birth comes growth, and that with baptism, Christs life lif e is infused inthe soul to produce faith and works. Faith without works cannot save, and works without faith cannot save. Yet, the whole process of salvation is initiated as a free gift of Christ. See my essay Justification Protestant or Catholic for more occurrence on this subject.In the New Testament, Paul speaks of laying turn over on people after baptism, and James speaks of annointing people. The word Christ literally means annointed. Catholics generally believe that in the sacrament of confirmation (laying on of hands and annointing), a person is confirmed in the faith. This second sacrament completes initiation in the Catholic Church and is closely connected theologically to baptism, though separated by years in time for many Catholics. Adult converts receive the two sacraments together.This is usually done in young adulthood, and provides an opport amity for a similar experience to Protestant young adult conversion at baptism. Why do Catholics use the Trinitarian formula, and not the name of Jesus Personally, I am not sure that God considers the name of Jesus alone as an invalid baptism. However, there are denominations and churches separated from capital of Italy who baptize in the name of Jesus only because they reject the doctrine of the Trinity. We saw above that the Trinitarian formula for baptism is Scriptural in Matthew 2819.We know from early Church writings that the Trinitarian formula was used from most ancient times, and the doctrine was accepted as the correct interpretation of scripture by the world-wide Church at several Ecumneical Councils. Thus, Catholics believe that the Trinitarian formula is revealed through Scripture and Sacred Tradition to be a if not the correct way to do baptism. Since the issue arose late historically, and was clear attempt to break the unity of the Church, Catholics do require a new baptism for those who join s from a community that did not use the Trinitarian formula. Why do Catholics sprinkle alternatively of immersing? Immersion is the proper way to do baptism to convey the full symbolism of the sacrament. Sprinkling in the early church was only used for emergencies, such as impending death. As the Church expanded into Northern Europe, it is extremely probable that cold weather caused Christians to turn more often to disperse. Irish missionaries may have carried the practice back southward. The Church defends that baptism by sprinkling is valid.At teh same time, Vatican II called for a renewal and retrieval of the meaning of sacramental gestures so that the fullness of what was conveyed in the New Testament is negotiate in the signs. I have seen more and more Catholic churches construction baptismal fonts large enought to immerse an adult. In the future, I expect immersion to once again become the norm. One final point When John began baptizing, he warned his Jewish siblings that God could make children of Abraham from the stones. Receiving his baptism of repentence was useless i f one was not changed by it.God always respects our freedom, and we are always free to reject and act against the grace that is given us. We do this when we sin. Catholics believe that God initiates the salvation as an absolutely free and unmerited gift that can start in an infant. Catholics believe that Christ acts in the sacrament, so that we can never say that baptism does not have an effect. Christ promised to act in every valid baptism. Even Adolf Hitler (who was baptized Catholic) was changed by the sacrament. (Think how much worse he may have been if his life were never touched by grace Yet, knowing that every baptism has an effect on the recipient, and trusting one after another that the One who died for me and began a work for me in baptism wants to bring it to completion, I must respond to him Johns warning to the children of Abraham is still true for Christians. We must, by Gods continued outpouring of grace, receive the Lordship of Christ and allow his will to shape ou r lives and continually change us. While baptism always has an effect, not everyone who has been bapized is absolutely assured slavation.