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

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Describe and explain the central features of infant and believers baptism

Baptism is based on the baptism of Jesus. In Baptism we are immersed in water. In the bible water symbolises few ideas. 1) Water is life; 2) Water is suffering and death. Christians believe that the themes of life and death are present in the sacrament of Baptism. Water also symbolises the cleansing of sins and the beginning of a new life. In Baptism we receive the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ baptism (Mark:9-11) when his head was lifted out of the water, heaven opened and the Holy Spirit came down on Jesus like a dove. This happens to all of us in Baptism. In the early Christian church Baptism was reserved for adults and it was only in the 3rd century that children were baptised. Baptism is once only ceremony as the effects of it are permanent.

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Baptism today occurs when you are an infant or an adult. A Christening is the name given to the ceremony for infant baptism. The name for adult baptism is Believers Baptism. The Baptists, Christian Brethren and the Pentecostal Church all favour Believers Baptism, as theyelieve people should wait until they are old enough to make their own decision whether to profess their faith in Jesus. The Churches, which favour Infant Baptism, are the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of England, the Greek Orthodox Church and the Methodists. The argument these churches put forward is that children will be brought ...

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