The practice of baptism is of long standing within Christianity. At its most basic, baptism consists of either immersion in water or sprinkling with water as a form of replicating the actions of Jesus Christ when he allowed himself to be baptized by his cousin, known as John the Baptist. Within the context of the early Christian faith, J. Dwight Pentecost (92-93) characterized the practice of baptism as a means of cleansing the spirit and the soul of any sinfulness and preparing the individual to receive grace and to fulfill all righteousness. Just as priests or rabbis within Judaism were consecrated to office with the washing of water, Pentecost (94) says that Christ himself underwent baptism to signify His own identification with sinners and the necessity of an outward and visible sign of the renunciation of sin.
Over time, different sects within the Christian faith have redefined baptism while retaining many of these original characteristics. This essay will consider how selected denominations (i.e., the Methodists, the Word churches, the Apostolics, and the New Age Movements) understand baptism and its meaning.
The United Methodist Book of Worship tells the biblical story of water, tracing water to the Creation and noting that God the Father saved Noah and his family on the ark through water, later leading the Israelites from bondage in Egypt to freedom through the sea. From the first instant of creation, Methodists believe that water has played an important role in the development of man's relationship with God (Sholis, 19). The General Board of Discipleship (1) in its publication on baptism pointed out that baptism in this sect can occur either after the birth of a child as a means of cleansing the child of the guilt of original sin and initiating the child into a covenant with God or in adulthood as a sacrament undertaken to demonstrate that the individual has chosen to accept God's saving grace. In other ...