The Process of Baptism
Baptism is a sacred action in which the Christian community comes
together to celebrate. This sacrament is a symbol of God's care for
us, and by carrying it out we bring ourselves together closer to the
Lord. During Baptism, we are received into the church.
The first thing that happens during a Baptismal celebration is the
welcome into the Christian community by the priest at the entrance to
the church.
The Priest, or Celebrant asks the parents the name they wish to give
their child followed by what they ask from the church for that child.
When the parents reply that they wish for their child to be baptised
the celebrant explains to them their responsibilities and asks the
godparents if they are willing to help the parents bring the child up
in the church.
The role of godparents is to help the child lead a catholic life.
Traditionally, the godparents are the ones who insure that the child
is given a Christian upbringing if the parents are no longer able to
do it. But they also help the parents in every day life.
The Priest claims the child for Christ by signing the child's forehead
and he encourages the parents and godparents to do the same.
Everyone moves on to celebrate God's word. A Gospel passage or two are
read, usually describing the baptism of Jesus; during which the
parents and godparents sit. After a short Sermon in which the priest
explains the reading, the prayers of the Faithful or Bidding prayers
are read to help the parents, godparents and the child followed by the
Litany of saints, where all those present ask the saints to help the
child: "St. Anthony pray for us…. etc."
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...unity is involved to
help the parents and godparents bring the child up in the Christian
faith although I find adult baptism very symbolic and meaningful, as
it is more demanding faith wise. I do not think it is correct or
incorrect to baptise either infants or adults, but rather that they
will be baptised when they are ready; and parents will decide this for
their children, who later on in life will have the freedom to choose
what beliefs to follow. They will have this chance at their
confirmation where they will be able to confirm what had been said for
them at baptism, and make those early promises to live as Jesus did
their own. For me adult baptism gives those people who have seen and
heard God's message and were not able to be baptised as children for
whatever reason chance to become part of his Christian family.
Analysis of a Major Sacramental Prayer - Option 1: Blessing and Invocation of God over Baptismal Water (Rite of Baptism for One Child)
Here one can see the significance of baptism extending far beyond the momentary act that is the baptismal rite. Baptism is an act of birth; it gives an immediate and direct connection with Christ’s resurrection, and it lays the foundation for fellowship, which
Religions are broad in their scope of history, beliefs, and rituals, using many systems to support their individual ideologies. Rituals, such as baptism within Christianity and Judaism, are markers for the distinct values and meanings that are associated with specific doctrines, and can be viewed and interpreted in several different ways. Theorists often view religion with different outlooks, classifying the institution as having a social background or a cultural emphasis, such as what Clifford Geertz defined. Geertz focused on the importance of symbols in religion, their cultural perceptions, the meanings that are attributed to the act, and how it relates to the the society’s value systems. By applying his theory about religion as a culture to the baptismal ceremonies in Judaic and Christian religions, the ritual can be viewed as an important cultural symbol, signs of various cultural views, and as a reinforcement of an ethos.
We are born, and life engulfs us into itself whether we like it or not, we live day to day wishing things could happen, wishing we could do things, imaging a perfect world in which there was no conflict, we wish children didn’t have to die so young, but soon enough it’ll happen to us; we die, and there isn’t an awful lot that we as humans can do about it. It is simply the cycle of life.
It seems apparent that Orthodox Judaism and Southern Baptist would have multiple differences that could easily be picked out at first glance. But when looked at closely these religions have many characteristics in common. Some characteristics these religions have in common are that they are monotheistic and they believe in the same God. Some differences are that they celebrate different holidays and people that follow Orthodox Judaism have limitations on what they can eat. Orthodox Judaism and Southern Baptist will be summarized, then compared and contrasted.
Within the Christian faith, among the different denominations, there are a variety of issues that are interpreted differently. The interpretations depend upon the denomination. Most issues stem from the differencing opinions based upon the meaning of specific verses in the Bible. One particular issue that causes great debate is whether or not baptism is necessary for salvation. The issue indeed stems from different opinions; however, some of these opinions do not take into account the context and other details of the verses they use to support their opinion. There are many verses in the New Testament that clearly states that baptism is an event that follows salvation. Hence in the Christian faith, we are saved by faith alone in Jesus Christ, because of this, baptism is not necessary for salvation.
In this paper, I will be using Victor Turner’s concept of liminality to analyze the Christian rite of passage of baptism. Turner built upon Arnold van Gennep’s three-stage model of rites of passage, focusing on liminality rather than reaggregation and introducing the concept of communitas as the unstructured community during the liminal stage in which all members are equal. By using the anthropological lens of Turner to analyze baptism, specifically Jesus’ water baptism in the book of Mark, I hope to apply his concepts of liminality and communitas to the text to gain a deeper understanding of the model for modern Christian baptism rituals and interpretations, including Spirit baptism.
In the United States Christianity is the largest religious group followed by Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism (Kohut and Rogers). According to the Pew Research Council Christianity was comprised of over 82 percent of the population in America as of March 2002 (Kohut and Rogers). Most of the world’s Christians live in the America’s and Europe (Pew Research Center). However, the population of Christians that currently live in the America’s and Europe is significantly lower than in the early 1900’s (Pew Research Center). Christianity is divided into three main branches: Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestants. The Protestants make up the largest branch of the Christian religion in the United States and totaled fifty-two percent of the American population in 2002 (Kohut and Rogers). Catholics come in a close second comprising twenty-four percent of the American Population in March of 2002 (Kohut and Rogers). The majorities of the Christian denominations popular today developed during the five hundred years after the protestant reformation and are part of the protestant denomination (Pew Research Center). Many of the Christian denominations share a lot of the same beliefs; however, there are quite a few topics they disagree on such as the sacrament of baptism.
Like discussed earlier Catholics and Christians believe that the Conformation, and Baptism matures the soul and helps people reach adulthood. Baptism usually occurs at a very young age but is not bound by a person’s age. In Baptism, water is used to purify and symbolizes the washing away of sins. It is also described a person being born again because the cleansing of a person with water symbolizes the death and rebirth of that person. Also, when a person becomes baptized they accept God and have faith in God and all his teachings. Confirmation is like a continuation of Baptism because the faith in God of that person is confirmed. Along with confirming one’s faith confirmation gives a person more responsibilities. A large part of bei...
...le, the scripture passage Luke 24:30-32 in the bible explores the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is recognised after “he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them” This is important to Christian followers, as it is the foundation of Christian beliefs. This has also impacted the way Christians practise traditional rituals and ceremonies, such as the Eucharist and Baptism. Also the scripture reference provides adherents with the knowledge of Jesus’ resurrection and how he will be “with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28), even after his death and resurrection. Thus, the ritual of Eucharist and Baptism supports adherents in seeking where Christ is in their everyday lives. Hence, the rituals and ceremonies, such as the Eucharist and Baptism are significant to Christianity, through it shaping it as a living and dynamic tradition
One of the most controversial topics in Christianity is sacraments. Scholars define the word “sacrament” many ways. A common definition is that a sacrament is an outward, visible sign of an inward, spiritual reality. It would be inaccurate to say that a sacrament is just a sign. It should be viewed as an encounter or something that brings something else about. In other words, a sacrament is something that points beyond itself and has meaning in a spiritual sense. Sacraments compile a range of imagery which all have deeper meanings than meet the eye. It is not just a ritual enactment of something else going on; it has objective order.
The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church recognizes two sacraments only. They are the Sacrament of Baptism and The Lord’s Supper. “Sacraments, ordained of Christ, are not only badges or tokens of Christian men’s profession, but rather they are certain signs of grace and God’s good will toward us, by . . . invisibly in us, and . . . quicken, but also . . . confirm, our faith in, Him.” Baptism is not only a flag of declaration and stamp of separation by which Christians
The seven formal sacraments play a major role in religion, each have their own divine meaning that was set forth by the Lord. Confirmation is the sacrament in which one seals Baptism, where one is given the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. This is when you make a choice as a follower of God to live your life as a Christian, and to wholeheartedly accept Jesus Christ into your heart.
The sacrament of Baptism is a rite of passage undertaken by believers in celebrating, symbolising and making present the central beliefs of the religious tradition of Christianity. It is an experiential religious act involving the transformation of the individual.