What is the best way to baptise someone?

Question

Where in the Bible does it say to baptise babies?

Answer 1

To immerse the entire body. For some people, a bathtub will do.

Nowhere.

Answer 2

The only way to baptise is with the Holy Spirit, and only He can do that. Water baptism has no meaning, because many are baptised who have no genuine faith, or none at all; that situation goes back to the early years of the cult of Rome, though the other demon nations (sorry, denominations) have continued the practice.

Any 'responsible' adult who presses you to be water baptised is of the devil.
.

Answer 3

Water is the essential medium. The method is not specific. Ideally, since baptism represents a death and burial of the old self and the rise of a new person, immersion would be the fullest symbol. But it IS a symbol, not an absolute requirement.

The baptism of infants is not shown in the Bible. The practice is a result of the early Christian experience. People were disappointed by the delay of Christ's return and found themselves having to deal with some unanticipated, non-parousial issues such as deaths and births in the community. (The world wasn't expected to last so long.) Christians regarded their close-knit communities as enclaves of holiness in an unhly world. They referred to themselves as "the saints". When members died, they were still considered members, and veneration of martyrs became an important part of Christian practice.

As for infants, it was difficult to raise children in a community that espoused values and practices different from the predominant culture without making them part of it. How could one be living as a Christian without being formally initiated into the community? There were enough people putting off baptism till the last possible moment, for fear of later apostasy or moral lapse and the loss of salvation. (How they managed the time and circumstances of their deaths was always a challenge.) Why not create the "new" person from the start, before any awareness of the old, worldly life. Remember, Christianity was illegal, persecution was very real, and life was uncertain.

After centuries of legal status, we might ask if such a practice is still warranted. Of course we would have to explain exactly why what's good under persecution is bad otherwise. And there are still those who worry about "original sin" and the fate of those who die unbaptized.

John baptized with water, for the purpose of demonstarting repentance and metanoia. He did not presume to state the reasons for Christian baptism, other than to say it was of the Holy Spirit, a qualitative difference. Some see Christian baptism as a metaphysical act that removes the abiding effects of sin. Others consider it more as an acknowledgement of full membership in the Christian community. Does one wait to evangelize a child and let him make up his own mind or does one simply raise him as a member of a Christian family from the start? Either way, the child will eventually have opportunities to accept or reject the faith (possibly embarrassing his parents in any case).

The practice of applying Bible quotes literally to unanticipated situations does a disservice to the purpose of scripture. Sometimes the situation just isn't covered. Finding a word or a phrase that matches something about a new circumstance, shoehorning a verse around it often distorts the original meaning of scripture. Rather than such a band-aid approach, one should extract the consistent meanings of all scripture and reweave it to inform our response to new developments. Jesus himself warned that the letter of the Law could be deadly, and that the spirit of the Law was what made it alive. The purpose of the Bible is to show us, in aggregate, whether we are still spiritually on course, not to serve as an infinitely parsable "go-no go" gauge for the trivial details of human activity. Humans judge by appearances, but God looks into the heart, and many "virtuous -looking" acts have done far more harm than good, while some violators of Christian propriety have done much good.

Evangelicals condemn infant baptism because it isn't "biblical", forgetting that it was common BEFORE the books of the New Testament were even "scripture". Do we really think God cares WHEN the water gets poured (or even IF)? After all, it is merely a symbol.

Answer 4

Luke 2:22 "Then it was time for their purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord." Jesus was brought in the temple to dedicate Him to God. We need to be careful about this, remember it says "required by the Law of Moses" it means they are operating in Old Testament. Christians follow this concept and there is nothing wrong doing that. We just don't believe that baptizing an infant is necessary. Water baptism is NOT necessary to get save. Water baptism is symbolizing the death buried and ressurection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is recomended but not necessary. Baptizing in the water basically declaring that I will follow Jesus Christ and anouncing to the public that I'm His follower. So it is your own decision to make if you want to get baptize or not. There is some Scripture said " Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned." Mark 16:16. Many mis-interpret this passage. They thought is baptism in the water but it talking about the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Answer 5

Where in the bible does it describe the demographics of a baptizee at all? No age requirements, no race or gender requirements... why are Protestants so hell bent on "keeping the little children from" Jesus?

"And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household." (Acts 16:33)

No first century household was without children - not one.

We are given one - and ONLY one instruction - on how to conduct a baptism:

"Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19)

Don't know about your nation, but mine has plenty of kids.

Answer 6

Matthew 28:19 -- Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Actually, the Bible doesn't give any age requirements.

But when John objected to baptizing Jesus, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?

Matthew 3:15 ... Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.

I do think the person should be at a responsible age in order to "fulfil righteousness".

Answer 7

There is only one baptism.

"One Lord, one faith, one baptism," Ephesians 4:5

Baptism is a BURIAL. Notice the Apostle Paul's statement in Romans 6:3,4. "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." Paul states clearly that baptism is a burial. To bury something is to cover it completely. Sprinkling or pouring will not substitute for the burial which baptism demands. In fact, the word "baptism" itself means “to immerse, dip, plunge." Bible baptism is a burial.

Every example in the New Testament is a baptism by immersion of believing adults.

“He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16)

There are NO examples of infant baptism to be found anywhere in the Bible.

Answer 8

Jesus said:
first a disciple must be prepared by other disciples (Matthew 28:19),
second a disciple must believe in God to save his soul (Mark16:16),
third a disciple must show his faith in action.

Answer 9

With water...

...and...

...AFTER they have entered into (accepted) the covenant of the New Testament for forgiveness of sin and salvation of the eternal soul thru Jesus, Son of the one true God.


.

Answer 10

Today when there is so much of affluence and self indulgence........I wish they would be baptized through the cleansing fire of suffering