I don't want to start a doctrinal war among frens but...
It's just hilarious to me how the first-century Christian practice of full-body immersion (baptism, from the Greek βαπτίζω (baptízō) meaning "dip, plunge, or immerse") gradually devolved into the expedient and convenient practice of sprinkling ...and now has further devolved into the farcical and utterly absurd practice of shooting a poor baby in the face with a water gun.
What's next? Posting 💦💦💦 emoji over a picture of the baby on Facebook?
Sheesh.
Don't forget the purpose of baptism is to show a voluntary decision to join the Church, to the point that some totalitarian regimes won't start persecuting someone until they have been baptized.
Yes, good point. It has also devolved from voluntary decision ("See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?") to an automatic assignment at birth in order to help swell the rolls of your religious order. If you grow up thinking you're already part of a particular church, there's probably less incentive to feel the need to change that.
I don't want to start a doctrinal war among frens but...
It's just hilarious to me how the first-century Christian practice of full-body immersion (baptism, from the Greek βαπτίζω (baptízō) meaning "dip, plunge, or immerse") gradually devolved into the expedient and convenient practice of sprinkling ...and now has further devolved into the farcical and utterly absurd practice of shooting a poor baby in the face with a water gun.
What's next? Posting 💦💦💦 emoji over a picture of the baby on Facebook? Sheesh.
Don't forget the purpose of baptism is to show a voluntary decision to join the Church, to the point that some totalitarian regimes won't start persecuting someone until they have been baptized.
Yes, good point. It has also devolved from voluntary decision ("See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?") to an automatic assignment at birth in order to help swell the rolls of your religious order. If you grow up thinking you're already part of a particular church, there's probably less incentive to feel the need to change that.