Baptism is the process whereby someone enters the Christian Church.

GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)

Introduction

Baptism is the process whereby someone enters the Christian Church. It usually involves the person being completely or partially immersed in water, or perhaps having some water placed on the head. The priest may make the sign of the cross on the head with water, and also involves the pronouncement of a form of words involving the Holy Trinity- God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches, baptism usually takes place when the individual is a baby, but some traditions such as that of the Baptists, argue that only adult baptism is appropriate. This may be because they feel that only when people have reached a certain degree of maturity are they able to understand the significance of joining the Christian Church.
The concept of baptism originally involved the person being completely immersed in water, but rapidly in the churches history, the process of pouring water three times over the head was seen as acceptable. Water is used because it is symbolic of a process of spiritual cleansing. A stone font filled with water is normally used,and the parents and godparents are present as the priest sprinkles water over the baby's head.

Baptism is celebrated in many different ways in many different denominations of chrisitianity.

In the roman catholic church there is infant baptism, the child is a few weeks, to a few years old.

In the roman catholic church baptism is the first sacrement they recieve, it is used to remove that persons original sin, which has been there since adam and eve, they go into church, full of their original sin, but come out a new person, forgiven just like jesus’s dying and resurection.

In the service the parents and god parents must say ...

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Baptism is celebrated in many different ways in many different denominations of chrisitianity.

In the roman catholic church there is infant baptism, the child is a few weeks, to a few years old.

In the service the parents and god parents must say the promises for the child because it is too young to make them itself, and the parents and god parents must promise to help the child grow up with god.

When the water is poured over the childs head, the priest says these words, ‘ I baptise you, in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit, amen.’

Symbolism-

Water- used to baptise the child, and the word baptise means to immerse in water . Wtaer symbolises life, all living things need it to survive.

Candle- this is use to symbolise Christ as the light in our life.

Chrism Oil- used to anoint the person and showing that they are now a member of Christs body the church

White Garment- this is used to symbolise the holy spirit entering our life.

Orthodox church

In the orthodox church Baptism is called Chrismation. The child recievesits Baptism and confirmation at the same time. This is done when the child is very young, usually around eight days old.

The main elements of this service are

Evil spirits are driven out.

The godparent makes statements of turning from satan and union with Christ.

The oil and water are blessed.

The sign of the cross is made with oil on the childs forehead and between the shoulder blades.

The child is baptized by being completely immersed in water three times.

The child is dressed in a white robe.

Belivers baptism.

A lot of Christians wish to follow the Life of Jesus very closely. The Baptis church do this through adult baptism. This is because in the bible Jesus was at least 30 years old before he was baptised.

Baptist receive the sacrament at around the same age, but only those who have dedicated their life to Christ can be baptised. The person enters the baptismal pool with their origonal sin. This is like when Jesus died on the crucifix. When the person is entering the pool they are symbolising Christs death on the cross and when they emerge they are symbolising thay they are replenished as Jesus was when he was ressurected.

Catholic Baptism

When a person is baptised in the catholic faith they are entering into a family. This is the family of God. It is hoped by the parents that thay will be able to bring the child to grow in faith not only by themselves but with the help of the godparents and the church community. This will hopefully enable the child to grow within a secure and loving environment. They will become familiar with the bible readings, Jesus teaching and the churches practices.

The child will be encouraged to practice their faith and receive further sacraments as they grow older . This type of input should instill in the child a good moral grounding and a respect for others. They will be given the opportunity to love God and let God love them.