In Marks gospel Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist in the river Jordan. ‘As soon as Jesus came out of the water, he saw heaven opening and the spirit coming down on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “you are my own dear Son. I am pleased with you”. (Mark1: 10-11). John the Baptist baptised Jesus with water, but Jesus will baptize us with the Holy Spirit. This shows us that When Jesus got baptised, heaven opened and the spirit came down on him like a dove; a voice from heaven said, “You’re my own dear son. I am pleased with you”. This marked a significant period in his life. This shows us that through word of mouth, there was not much known about Jesus’ life. John the Baptist knew that Jesus was so great that he was not good enough even to bend down and untie Jesus’ sandals; This is sceptical as how did John the Baptist know this? It could either be that John the Baptist has heard of Jesus before, and believes that he is the son of God or John the Baptist is the prophet Isaiah and was sent down by God to help Jesus become aware that he is the Messiah. This period followed 40 days and 40 nights in the desert as Jesus was tempted by the Devil. This baptism is unique in the sense that it had certain characteristics that had not been part of the normal ritual of cleansing in 30AD. When Jesus was submerged into the water the entire trinity was present and Gods voice marked not only the approval of what Jesus was doing at the time but also of what is meant for his future, a new understanding and teaching of God’s unconditional love. Jesus baptism was the beginning of his mission on earth carried on by millions daily of God’s work.
Jesus’ baptism marked a significant moment in his life. He showed he approved of John’s baptism, when he allowed John to baptise him in the Jordan. However his baptism was unique, it had certain characteristics that had not been part of the ritual of cleansing. When Jesus was submerged in the water, the entire trinity was present and God’s voice marked not only the approval of what Jesus was doing at the time but also of what it meant for his future, a new life of teaching God’s love. Jesus in his own way was making a personal commitment to God and anticipated that the community gathered at the Jordan and further a field would “Listen to Him”.
AO2: Explain the meaning and significance of baptism for Christians today with particular reference to how being baptised might affect the behaviour, lifestyles and decision making of Christian believers today. (14 Marks)
“Surely you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you! So if anyone destroys God’ temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you yourselves are his temple”.
This text, wrote by St. Paul to one of the first groups of Christians, explains that all people should get baptised as we are a body which can hold the Holy Spirit. It is our holy spirit which is a powerful force, inside us when we get baptised from God which is our strength, our character and courage. It is given to us in two occasions, baptism and confirmation. We then become a full member of the kingdom of God.
Baptism is the beginning of a new life and a washing of original sins. In the time of Jesus baptism was a sacrament, which took place in large areas of water like rivers, lakes and seas where Adults where baptised, fully submerged into the water, this is called total submersion, which was only done to adults, because children where known to be too young, but afterwards, century’s ahead infant baptism was introduced as their was a high fatality rate and parents where sacred that their child wouldn’t join them in heaven.
Baptism is a new birth into a new birth into greater life, the life of God himself. In baptism we become brothers and sisters of Jesus and with him children of God, sharing the life of the blessed trinity. The sacrament of baptism is a celebration of Gods gifts of new life, through which we become members of the family of God. Being ‘christened’ at baptism involves a call to spend our lives trying to become like Christ; a true follower of his. The sacrament is an assurance that God, who saves us, also gives us his spirit to dwell within us and to teach us how to live. The sacrament itself signifies the bringing of the child/member into the light of faith of the church, they become receivers of grace. Christians ‘belong’ to each other, as a faith community and belong to God. Baptism signifies our discipleship; becoming like Christ, following in his footsteps. Christian membership of the church means Christians are gods stewards in the world, and have to act on his behalf. Every Christian is called by God. Every Christian is given a vocation to use their life and talents as a member of God’s family. When Jesus told the parable of the talents, he explained that all our actions and how we use our talents will be judged upon in judgement day. This shows us that Christians who belong to the Roman Catholic Church have a choice of three ways in which to carry out the vocation they have received in baptism and confirmation. They can carry out their responsibilities as a single or married lay person; they can choose to join a religious order or congregation, even some men may be called to be a deacon, priest or bishop.
Baptism affects our life in many ways, these can be from our behaviour in life to our lifestyles, even the decisions we believe is our own. Baptism is a kind of assurance that God, who saves us, also gives us his spirit to dwell in us, teach us and guide us how to live. Believers in Christ, as full members after adult baptism or after receiving the three sacraments of initiation into the Roman Catholic Church, face decisions about life, behaviour, beliefs, values, morals and face choices on their vocation. Christians who belong into the Roman Catholic tradition have a choice of three ways in which to carry out the vocation they received in both baptism and confirmation; as a single or married lay person, a part of a religious order or to be called as a deacon, priest or bishop. Christians, who belong to the Baptist church, can alternatively become ministers, preachers or lay people. Christians can fulfil their chosen vocation by dedicating their life for God, in teaching and preaching the gospel, being leaders in the church, guiding and supporting people. Lay people apply Christ's teachings to the problems of the world. They promote world equality and world peace. This is done mostly through charities like Trocaire, Christian aid and St. Vincent de Paul. These are charities in which everyone can help. These charities are usually set up by someone who feels the need to help the world’s poverty, chastity and obedience. Examples of such people are Martin Luther King, Bob Geldof and Mother Teresa. Mother Teresa, also known as St. Thérèse of Lisieux; is an example of a contemplative nun who prayed specially for the needs of the church and is now the patron saint of the missions. She was concentrated to God at her profession. At firs, the vows are made for a limited time, like one year; then the final profession is made, to be used forever.
Anyone who wishes to be baptised are baptised in their local church; it is a widely celebrated sacrament often celebrated by the community, family and friends of the family. The sacrament of baptism is usually taken as soon as possible at 3 months. The sacrament of baptism starts at the front door; the priest welcomes the candidate at the front door, such as God is welcoming the candidate into the kingdom of God. Then the parents and godparents walk up onto to the alter, the priest then gives the baptismal promises to the godparents or the candidate, who then says “I do” to accept the promises. These are taken on behalf of the child, to take the responsibility of teaching the Christian faith until the child is confirmed, a full member of the church. The candidate is then given a name, recognised by Christian church, as Jesus said “No man should be given a mission, without being asked by their name.” The candidate is then given the sign of the cross, a sign that the child belongs to God and Jesus suffered life to save the child, in the oil of Catechumen, a oil used for healing of the body, which helps the candidate to cope with difficult times on their journey of faith; after in which a sign of the cross in applied in the oil of chrism, this oil is used to anoint kings and priests, it is used in baptism to anoint the candidate for a special journey, and that the child is ‘Unique’ in the eyes of God. The candidate is then brought to the font; in the font is water, a sign of life, cleansing and purity. At the font the baby is dressed in a white garment; while the godparents holds the priest then lights a candle from the light of the pastoral candle, which is given to the parents as a light of Christ, and that Christ will now guide the child to Christian life and to be a light to the world and live like Jesus does, to guide others to the light and the kingdom of God. As the priest then sprinkles holy water from the font, onto the Childs forehead three times, a sign of life, cleansing and purity, while saying” I baptise you in the name of the father, the son and the holy spirit”. At the end of the sacrament of baptism, the priest goes to the alter and says the rite of baptism to the candidate. The rite of baptism includes a point towards confirmation and first communion, the other sacraments that complete the annotation into the Christian community and the Kingdom of God.
The sacrament of Baptism brings out the great respect which is due to human life. Christians may agree about the sanctity of human life when they are present at a joyful occasion like a baptism or confirmation. However, once they have accepted that human life is a holy thing, they have to face great practical problems about preventing new life by conception or abortion, a contrasting point. But it is important to remember that we are subjects of God, and should live as gods wants us and how Jesus showed us to.
AO3: “Baptising babies is pointless”. Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer, showing that you have considered more than one point of view. Refer to Christianity in your answer. (10 Marks)
The quote “baptising babies is pointless”, is tying to argument that babies are not intellectual enough to become a full member of the kingdom of God, as they do not possess the knowledge of what religion is or the meaning of their church, but I do not agree that baptising babies is pointless.
When a baby is introduced into the Kingdom of God, it immediately receives the spirit which will help and guide it to live like Jesus, which is an example of how God wants us all to live. This is what Jesus did for the three years when he was in ministry. Jesus strained to us using the means of teaching that was most common of stories or parables. As Jesus said:
“To you, the kingdom of god has been given; … they may look and look, but see nothing; they may here and hear, but not understand anything; otherwise they might turn to God and be forgiven”. (Mark4: 11-12)
This shows us that when you are baptised, when you look for the kingdom of God, you can see it and when you hear the message, you understand, but if you don’t get baptised into the Kingdom of God you won’t see when you look or understand when you hear the kingdom of God; so to be baptised is the key to the Kingdom of God. As infants do not possess the intelligence to understand or to see, the godparents do this for them. The godparents act as the infants’ eyes and ears, showing the child the parables in a way that they understand. These infants then grow up with these understandings and stories, knowing the difference of right and wrong from a very young age.
When adults are baptised they do know what the kingdom of God is, they know what is expected of them and how to spread the word. This is because they where not taught how to live their life as Christians. They are only taught by the gospel and parables, not through understanding of the Kingdom of God. But Jesus was also baptised by John the Baptist, so to live in the footsteps of Jesus almost, expects us to get baptised as adults, but it could also be said that Jesus was baptised at the start of his ministry, this shows that the start of Jesus’ ministry was like the start of his life. Jesus set an example to get baptised, so does that mean we should get baptised at the start of our life, and to make our life our ministry?
I do not believe that “Baptising babies is pointless”, I believe that we should be baptised at the start, of everything; our lives, our ministry and our commitment to God. I understand that we should commit to our life with help from our parents, grand-parents and God-parents. We should get baptised at as soon as we can, and are willing to accept the mission God calls us upon. We should live our lives as long as we can in the Kingdom of God to serve our father; even if we don’t know we are doing at first, but the teaching of Christ will come to us as first nature if we are taught throughout our lives.
