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Baptism
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Religion Coursework Describe and explain the central features of infant and believers baptism? Origins of baptism Jesus was baptised by John in the river Jordan. When he came up out of water he saw the heavens torn apart, and the Spirit like a dove, descending on him. A voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests from you. Just before Jesus returned back to his father in haven he gave the apostles the command ‘Go, baptize all nations in the name of the father, and of the Son and the Holy Spirit’. Christians believe that at Baptism the Holy Spirit enters a person, gives new life, and claims that person now belongs to God. To receive the Holy Spirit in baptism is the same as saying that the person is now ‘in Christ’. Infant Baptism To understand the practice of infant baptism we have to keep in mind the following. 1. Infant Baptism is an expression of the faith of the people of God. There is no such thing as a neutral environment. In their early years children are subjected to all kinds of influences and so the Christian community wishes to offer children every opportunity of knowing God as Father right from the beginning. 2. Parents bring children into contact with Grandparents, good friend’s etc. If they love God and if he’s important in their lives children will be taught by them and they will lead them to God. 3. The Orthodox churches and most Protestant communities share the same faith and practice with regard to infant baptism as Catholics. 4. Baptism takes away original sin, which is the main reason why young children are baptised. We are born into a sinful atmosphere. We need God and the grace he gives us at baptism to take away our tendency to be selfish and commit sin. We need him in our lives from the beginning. When a child is born into a family there is great happiness and joy and to celebrate the birth they have a party or a family gathering. Christian parents want the baby to be a member of the Family of God. The idea is that the children of Christian parents belong to the membership of the church and therefore be baptised. Many groups of Christians practice the baptism of infants. The Orthodox Church There are special features of the baptism of a child and the most obvious is that the baby is completely dipped in the font. Orthodox baptism occurs on the eighth day after the birth and the baby is held facing the east. He or she is then dipped into the water three times in the name of trinity. The Orthodox service has three parts: the order of holy baptism is the central ceremony of these three and consists of: 1. Blessing the baptismal water with a prayer and breathing on the water in the form of the cross. 2. A pre-baptism anointing with the ‘oil of gladness’. 3. The actual baptism as described above.
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