Have you ever heard that the ONLY way to baptize is through immersion or dunking? I have… but, is this biblical? Was dunking the only way the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. Christians practiced the Sacrament?
Short answer… NO!
Yes, Romans 6:3&4 does say we are buried with Christ and then resurrected with him however this does not thereby mean we must only be immersed in Baptism. Here’s a quick and dirty reference to sprinkling from Scripture. For a short read (and far better written) check out this article from Catholic Answers on the subject HERE. Also, listen to The Catholic Hack! episode, above, on infant Baptism which will also answer many of the attacks on the Sacraments.
Acts 2:41 : How exactly did St. Peter Baptiste some 3000 in a single day in the city that put our Lord to death just days before? Where would he have immersed them? The Temple? I don’t think so. Its far more likely he sprinkled the water upon them, and Baptized them according to the command of our Lord, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Check out the pic above… that’s from Doura Europos, an ancient town in Syria, that dates back to 250 AD. This was the oldest Christian (house) Church discovered to date. That niche there… that is a Baptism font. Does that look like its big enough to immerse an adult man? Just barely at best! In fact, the early Church did NOT practice immersion only. Check out this statement from the Didichae (“Teaching of the Apostles” written in the 1st Centry):
Chapter 7. Concerning Baptism. And concerning baptism, baptize this way: Having first said all these things, baptize into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in living water. But if you have no living water, baptize into other water; and if you cannot do so in cold water, do so in warm. But if you have neither, pour out water three times upon the head into the name of Father and Son and Holy Spirit. But before the baptism let the baptizer fast, and the baptized, and whoever else can; but you shall order the baptized to fast one or two days before.”
Christ IS the Good Shepherd, which is the image above the Baptism font, and seeks us out in the Sacrament of Baptism! When ask “what must I do to be saved” In Acts Ch. 2 St. Peter replied “repent and be baptized”! Our Lord finds us, lost sheep, in the Sacrament of Baptism and the heavens rejoice!
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