Describe and explain the central features of infant and believers baptism.

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Kimberley Gajraj                7th November 2003

Religious Studies Coursework- Mark’s Gospel

Baptism

ao1- Describe and explain the central features of infant and believer’s baptism.

An infant baptism service

Before the actual baptism takes place, the priest will as the parents and god parents of the baby a few questions:

        ‘Do you turn to Christ?’

        ‘Do you repent of your sins?’

        ‘Do you renounce evil?’

The answers are given not only on behalf of the people themselves, but on behalf of the baby also who cannot yet speak.

In an infant baptism, the priest blesses the water in a structure called a font, which can be seen in the picture opposite. The priest pours this water over the baby’s head three times, addressing the baby by its name and the saying ‘I baptise you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.’

The baby can now be anointed with blessed oil by rubbing into its forehead to show that the Holy Spirit has come into the child’s life. This is practised by Roman Catholics and some Anglicans.

The priest may follow this by taking a candle lit from the large Paschal Candle and giving it to the parents saying ‘ Receive this light. his is to show tat you have passed from darkness into light’. The congregation will now answer ‘ Shine as a light in the world in the glory of God the father.’ To this the priest replies ‘God has received you by baptism into his church.’

In an Anglican service, the congregation will now say ‘We welcome you into the Lord’s family. We are members together of the body of Christ; we are children of the same heavenly Father; we are inheritors together of the Kingdom of God. We welcome you.’ Other churches will also have some way of greeting the newly baptised baby.

The parents are now expected to ring up the child in the Christian faith, and if the child later wants to accept the Christian faith later on, it can be confirmed to extend its faith.

Confirmation

        This is a ceremony that follows infant baptism and is a chance for the person who has been baptised to make a conscious decision to belong to the Christian Faith. It again calls God’s spirit into the person’s life to bless them and help them follow God’s word. It is a way for the person t confirm that the faith that they were baptised into when the could not make the decision is the faith they still want to follow.

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The believer’s baptism service

        

This endorses the full immersion of the person in a special pool called a baptistery as shown in the picture. They can be baptised in running water as was the custom in the early years of Christianity, but the former is far more common. The tradition is to wear white, and this is usually followed with women wearing a white dress and men wearing a white shirt and grey trousers.

The service is carried out in front of the whole church, and the believer has to make a statement about his/her faith before the ...

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