Baptism

In contrast, baptism for Catholic Christians is a sacrament that accomplishes the remission of sin (only original sin for infants; original and actual for adults), and the infusion of grace making the soul spiritually alive and capable of entering heaven.

Let's closely examine what the Bible says about baptism. It is the book of Acts where we find accounts of baptism in the early Church described. Some cases are mentioned strictly in passing, yet others are outlined in more detail. Even so, it is difficult to identify any norms of baptism in the New Testament because conditions vary from case to case as written.

There are ten distinct cases of Christian baptism discussed in Acts. They are:

1. The three-thousand baptized on the first Pentecost (Acts 2:38-41).

2. The baptisms that Philip performed in Samaria (Acts 8:12)

3. The baptism of Simon Magus (Acts 8:13)

4. The baptism of the Eunuch (Acts 8:36-38)

5. The baptism of the household of Cornelius (Acts 10:47-48; recounted in Acts 11:14-18)

6. The baptism of Saul (Acts 9:18; recounted in Acts 22:16)

7. The baptism of Lydia and her household (Acts 16:13-15)

8. The baptism of the Philippian Jailer and his household (Acts 16:33)

9. The baptism of Crispus, his household, and many Corinthians (Acts 18:8; cf. 1 Cor. 1:14)

10. The baptism of twelve men at Ephesus (Acts 19:3-5)

The first baptism described in Acts involved some 3,000 people (Acts 2:41). As usual, Luke makes no explicit mention of the mode of baptism in this case. However, this event was apparently unplanned by the apostles, and occurred solely as a result of the workings of the Holy Spirit. The sheer number of individuals involved here makes it difficult to think that all were baptized by immersion due to inadequate sources for water. I suppose it is possible that all were immersed but it seems more logical that the ritual washing away of sins (Acts 2:38) was accomplished by means of a rite of pouring a small amount of water over the subject.

The accounts of the baptisms performed by Philip in Samaria, to include the baptism of Simon Magus, say nothing whatsoever about the mode of baptism. The baptism of the Eunuch by Philip does, however, shed some light on the question of whether or not immersion baptism was the exclusive means of Christian baptism in the New Testament. The Eunuch was travelling the high desert road between Jerusalem and Gaza (Acts 8:26), so it is reasonable to think that the water he encountered with Philip was insufficient for a full immersion. Moreover, since the use of the verb 'katabaino', or "descend, go down", is connected with the action of stopping the chariot (Acts 8:38), it does not necessarily suggest immersion in the water but rather stepping down off of the chariot and into the water. Therefore, while baptism by full-immersion is possible in this narrative, baptism by infusion while standing or sitting in a shallow pool of water is far more likely.

Cornelius and his household were baptized in a private dwelling (Acts 10:47-48). From this account we know that running water was unavailable. In addition, in Graeco-Roman cities such as Caesarea bathing facilities such as we know them were found in public baths as opposed to private homes. So there was neither a baptistry nor a bathtub in the home of Cornelius. Peter himself hinted at the problem that water had to be brought in for this series of baptisms when he asked "Can any man hold back ('kolusai') the water, that these should not be baptized?" (Acts 10:47). The verb 'koluo' means to "hinder, prevent, or physically restrain", such as when Paul mentioned that he had been prevented from visiting the Romans (Ro. 1:13), or when Jesus instructed the disciples not to restrain the children from coming to Him (Mat. 19:14). Conversely, when the Eunuch discerned a water source, he asked Philip what hindered him from being baptized (Acts 8:36). Thus, the meaning of Peter's declaration in Acts 10:47 is that no one should seek to prevent the baptism of this gentile household by restraining the provision of water, with the implication that the water thus had to be brought in from some other source. Under these circumstances, baptism by immersion would have been impossible.

The baptism of Paul is described in two separate narratives in Acts (9:18; 22:16). Luke strongly implies that he was baptized in a private house, that of Judas. Once again, the text thus renders baptism by immersion impossible given the likely insufficient facilities.

We can conclude, though, that Lydia and her household may have been baptized by full immersion. Luke makes a point of mentioning that Paul converted Lydia near a river outside of the city (Acts 16:13). Nonetheless, the text once again does not explicitly mention the mode of baptism, so we can go no further than to remark that immersion baptism is not ruled out by extenuating circumstances in this case.

However, the circumstances of the baptism of the Philippian Jailer and his household point toward baptism by infusion. We read that the Jailer "washed ('elousen') their stripes, and was baptized, he and all of his, straightway" (Acts 16:33). Given that Luke stresses that the baptisms followed immediately after the cleansing of the wounds, we must assume that these same washing facilities were subsequently put to use for the baptisms.

Needless to say, the washing of stripes inflicted by a flogging suggests the use of a large pan of water and a sponge. Luke also uses the same verb, 'louo' ("wash"), in Acts 9:37 to describe the ritual washing of the corpse of Dorcas, a custom which also more closely resembled a sponge bath than an immersion. To follow the text, just after the Philippian jailer tenderly cleansed the wounded backs of the Apostle and his companions, Paul then tenderly cleansed this good man of his sins with the same pan of water. Indeed, it is perhaps no accident that the Bible uses the verb 'louo' and its derivatives as a metonym for our baptismal cleansing (Hebrews 10:22; see also Eph. 5:26; Tit. 3:5).

Finally, the last two baptisms mentioned in Acts provide no contextual evidence as to the mode by which they were performed. These are the baptism of Crispus, his household, and a number of Corinthians, and the baptism of the twelve followers of John the Baptist at Ephesus.

Thus, of the ten baptisms described in Acts, we can safely conclude that only one occurred in conditions conducive to baptism by immersion. Five of the baptisms were performed under conditions that most likely indicate baptism by infusion. Of the remaining four baptisms, we can make no positive comment one way or the other.

Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that the book of Acts sets no definite norms for baptism.

Another way of understanding the Catholic position is as follows:

The Catholic Church has always held that Christ's law (for baptism) applies to infants as well as adults. Jesus says in John 3:5, "I solemnly assure you, no one can enter into God's kingdom without being begotten of water and Spirit." So Jesus is saying that a person (no age specified) must be baptized of water and Spirit in order to enter into Heaven. In Matthew 19:14 Jesus also says, "Let the children come to me. Do not hinder them. The kingdom of God belongs to such as these." So one may reasonably conclude that Jesus says that not only adults but children too have a right to the kingdom of God, and in conjunction with His words in John 3:5, children also must be baptized of water and Spirit in order to enter into Heaven.