Probably the most central and important feature of infant baptism is ‘The Celebration of the Sacrament’.
The third resumes around the baptismal font. The priest blesses the water in which the baby will be baptised. The profession of faith is when the child parents states their faith in god and his church. Obviously the child is unable to state whether he wants to lead a Christian life but by the parents taking charge and deciding, they are putting their faith and trust in God. This shows that the child’s parents are committed and agree with God and the church’s teachings and beliefs.
The baby is baptised. The priest pours water over the babies head three times, while saying ‘Name, I baptise you in the name of the father, and of the son and of the Holy Spirit’. Water is an important feature as it was used many years ago. The pouring of the water, along with the words of the baptism expresses what is happening to the new member. It is widely used for cleaning, but it also brings life, and we would not be able to live without it. In today’s ceremony the full significance of water can be seen most clearly in full immersion, where a person dies to sin and rises again to share a new life with Christ.
Chrism is oil in which sweet smelling fragrances are added. The child is anointed on the head, which is done in silence. In the Old Testament, oil is used on the priest, prophet and the king, which was the sign of what Jesus now is and we share this by baptism. During Baptism there are two times when the child is anointed. One is before baptism, which accompanies the prayer of exorcism. This is the oil of Catechumens, which is a sign of strength to resist temptation, sin and evil. The other one is the Oil of Chrism, which also is a sign of strength against temptation but is also a symbol of consecration for special serviced in the Family of God. It reminds us that we have taken the name Christian and that we are followers of the ‘anointed one’. The Child is then dressed in a white garment, which is a sign of new life and faith.
The white garment also shows that the child has become a new creation. The garment is placed on the child as an outward sign of her Christian dignity.
The child’s godparents now receive a candle on behalf of the child, representing the child’s faith. God is the light of the world. In taking the candle the parents are asked to take responsibility for the religious upbringing of their child. The role of godparents is to help their godchild lead a Christian life. Traditionally, the godparents are the ones who insure that their godchild is given a Christian upbringing if the parents are no longer able to fulfil that responsibility. But they also help the parents in the ordinary circumstances of daily life – by their special concern for their godchild, by their example, and by whatever assistance they can provide in raising the child.
The ‘Our Father’ is now read. The prayer welcomes the child into gods’ family. The ‘Our Father’ is gods’ prayer, which he taught us.
The infant baptism ceremony concludes with the final blessing with 3 beautiful prayers, one for the mother, one for the father and one for all who attended on the day.
However, some groups of Christians believe it is not appropriate to baptise babies. They consider the church of fellowship of people who believe that Jesus is risen from the dead and is their saviour. They take the New Testament baptisms very seriously and only baptise those who really want to become part of gods’ family and show commitment.
Believers baptism takes place in a river on somewhere were the candidate can be fully immersed. In a Baptist church, there is usually a tank sunk into the floor, which is sometimes covered and the communion table is placed over it.
The essential points of believer’s baptism are:
- Candidates must be sorry for their sins and have faith in Jesus Christ. They often give a public testimony to the congregation about this.
- Candidates must wear a baptismal robe.
- Each candidate is completely immersed ‘in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit’.
- Baptism is the symbol of the faith in Jesus Christ and forgiveness of sins.
- A certificate of the new baptism is given.
‘Baptising babies is pointless?’
I partly agree. Why baptise babies and bring them into a community with responsibilities before they are able to choose for themselves? Why not let them grow, and then as adults, they can make up their own mind? This could have a positive affect because this person will be more mature, therefore they will now what they are letting themselves in for. They will fully understand the responsibility and task ahead. By accepting to become part of Gods family, its shows commitment and that they have faith. It would mean that they had become baptised because they agree with the church’s teaching and beliefs and that they want to, not because they were influenced or forced into it by their parents.
Also, children who have been baptised do not necessarily lead a very Christian life. Wouldn’t it better if the child was old enough to make a personal decision? The baby is not baptised because it believes, but because it’s a wish of the parents to have their child received into the family of god and to pass on the faith. It’s my opinion that by carrying out infant baptisms we may be losing the true meaning of baptism in the sense of commitment etc. but infant baptism actually suits most people.
However, I also believe if you are baptised as a child you grow up into a Christian family and are influenced by it. Later on you can make your won personal decision about whether or not you truly committed and want to carry on being a Christian.
We are born into a sinful environment and baptism takes away sin. The grace god gives us at baptism takes away our won tendency to be selfish or to commit sin. I personally think we need Gods influence in our lives from the beginning.
During baptism, the Holy Spirit enters a person and gives new life, claiming that the person now belongs to God. By receiving the holy spirit in baptism, it’s the same as saying the person is now ‘ in Christ’, therefore a person ‘in Christ’ grows more like him.
