2007-05-05 23:31:31 · 5 answers · asked by kate 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Christening is a ceremony to baptize a baby and baptism is a rite of purification.
Mat 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
Mat 3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
Mat 3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
That is baptism in the bible.
jtm
2007-05-05 23:44:02 · answer #1 · answered by Jesus M 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Baptism is referred to in the scriptures as the answer of a good conscience towards God. It is of little wonder that an infant cannot make a personal decision to be baptised and answer that good conscience. It is also interesting that Baptism comes form the greek 'baptiso' which means to 'dip or immerse' Christening is just sprinkling so the two words have different meanings.
Baptism is a commandment in the bible Acts 2:38 'Repent and be baptised everyone of you, for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost'
Christening isn't mentioned at all.
It must also be noted that it is the Holy Spirit that sets people free from sin and cleanses them, not baptism. On the day of pentecost Acts 2:1 they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues as teh sprit gave them utterance, this experience is still happening today. Baptism however must be done as we must do whatever the Lord has commanded us to do.
2007-05-05 23:41:57 · answer #2 · answered by Spiritfilled 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Baptism is a Christian rite (for some) or sacrament (for others). It is commanded in the Bible by Jesus and regularly practiced by His followers as recorded in The Acts of the Apostles, the 5th New Testament book. (An aside - Infants also should be baptized. While Acts never specifically commands this or mentions the baptism of an infant, it doesn't forbid it either. Furthermore, it does mention the baptism of entire households which clearly implies young children or even babies). Christening is a naming ceremony for infants practiced by those who either do not believe in infant baptism or are not practicing Christians.
2007-05-06 00:20:57 · answer #3 · answered by Caesar 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In my background, christening is something done mainly to children as a symbol of the church saying it will help raise this child in that Faith. It involves sprinkling of water over the head. Baptism, depending on your denomination, is generally a dunking of the whole body in water to show that the person has made a decision to identify with Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. Seem to be several differences - age of participant and choice of participation seem to be the biggest in my opinion.
2007-05-05 23:38:30 · answer #4 · answered by Spryte 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The whole thing centers around whether you believe in children or babies being baptized. Some churches do and some don't. If you believe babies should be baptized you certainly aren't going to dunk them completely under water, so christening was developed. Personally there is not one mention in the Bible of a baby ever being baptized, so I believe baptism is for those who are grown enough to believe, as the Bible teaches. Acts says, "if you believe with all you heart you may." (be baptized)
2007-05-05 23:45:37 · answer #5 · answered by oldguy63 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋