@DrGero15

3 months ago

Literally every branch of the church and secular history records immersion as the historic method with pouring being a secondary method allowed in special cases. Although I could give you over 100 examples here are but some; Didache 7:1-7 "But concerning baptism, thus shall ye baptize. Having first recited all these things, baptize {in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit} in living (running) water. But if thou hast not living water, then baptize in other water; and if thou art not able in cold, then in warm. But if thou hast neither, then pour water on the head thrice in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. But before the baptism let him that baptizeth and him that is baptized fast, and any others also who are able; and thou shalt order him that is baptized to fast a day or two before." 1st century. "Baptism itself is a bodily act, because we are immersed in water" Tertullian On Baptism, 7 "I shall begin with baptism. When we are going to enter the water, but a little before, in the presence of the congregation and under the hand of the president, we solemnly profess that we disown the devil, and his pomp, and his angels. Hereupon we are thrice immersed, making a somewhat ampler pledge than the Lord has appointed in the Gospel." Tertullian The Chaplet, or De Corona. " Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, of whom it is less correct to say that He was cleansed by washing than that by the washing of Himself He cleansed all waters, no sooner raised His head from the stream than He received the Holy Ghost." Jerome - The Dialogue Against the Luciferians "The evil spirits seek to overtake you, but you descend into the water and you escape safely" Origen commenting upon the crossing of the Red Sea mentioning New Testament baptism: Homilies on Exodus, V:5 "We imitate the burial of Christ through baptism. For the bodies of those being baptized are as it were buried in water" Basil of Caesarea -On the Holy Spirit, XV:35 "For as he who plunges into the waters and is baptized is surrounded on all sides by the waters, so were they also baptized completely " Cyril of Jerusalem -Catechetical Lectures, XVII:14 “In Baptism are fulfilled the pledges of our covenant with God; burial and death, resurrection and life; and these take place all at once. For when we immerse our heads in the water, the old man is buried as in a tomb below, and wholly sunk forever; then as we raise them again, the new man rises in its stead. As it is easy for us to dip and to lift our heads again, so it is easy for God to bury the old man, and to show forth the new. And this is done thrice, that you may learn that the power of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost fulfills all this. To show that what we say is no conjecture, hear Paul saying, We are buried with Him by Baptism into death: and again, Our old man is crucified with Him: and again, We have been planted together in the likeness of His death." John Chrysostom's Homilies on John 25:2 4th century. "You have asked also, dearest son, what I thought of those who obtain God's grace in sickness and weakness, whether they are to be accounted legitimate Christians, for that they are not to be washed, but sprinkled, with the saving water." Epistles of Cyprian 75:12 "It is safer to baptize by immersion, because this is the more ordinary fashion" The Summa Theologica by St. Thomas Aquinas 13th century. "The priest … naming the child, shall dip it in the water thrice. First dipping the right side: Second the left side: The third time dipping the face towards the font. … If the childe be weak, it shall suffice to pour water upon it." The Book of Common Prayer 15th century. "We are buried with him - alluding to the ancient manner of baptizing by immersion" Wesley's notes on Romans 6:4. 18th Century. Even Calvin agrees "They went down into the water. Here we see the rite used among the men of old time in baptism; for they put all the body into the water." John Calvin's commentary on Acts 8:38 “The very word baptize signifies to immerse, and it is certain that immersion was the practice of the primitive church” John Calvin's Institutes, Vol. XI., ch. 15, sec, 49 "After these things came Jesus. It is probable that Christ, when the feast was past, came into that part of Judea which was in the vicinity of the town Enon, which was situated in the tribe of Manasseh. The Evangelist says that there were many waters there, and these were not so abundant in Judea. Now geographers tell us, that these two towns, Enon and Salim, were not far from the confluence of the river Jordan and the brook Jabbok; and they add that Scythopolis was near them. From these words, we may infer that John and Christ administered baptism by plunging the whole body beneath the water" from John Calvin’s commentary on the Gospel of John John 3:22 And Luther too. “On this account I could wish that such as are baptized should be completely immersed into water according to the meaning of the word and the signification of the ordinance . . . as also without doubt it was instituted by Christ” Martin Luther's Works, Vol. II. p. 75, ed. 1551 John 3:23 And John also was baptizing in Ænon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized. (Why would it matter if there was much water if they were pouring?) Acts 8:38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. (Why would they have to go anywhere? He could have poured from a waterskin.) The Levitical purifications were washings of the whole body (Num 19:19; see also v. 18; Lev 11:24–28 and following; 17:15; 14:2–8; 15:16–18, 19–24, 25–29, 2–15). That in all these purifications the whole body had to be washed. Leviticus 11:32 & 36 Anything on which any of them falls, when they are dead shall be unclean, whether it is any item of wood or clothing or skin or sack, whatever item it is, in which any work is done, it must be put in water. And it shall be unclean until evening; then it shall be clean... 36 Nevertheless a spring or a cistern, in which there is plenty of water, shall be clean, but whatever touches any such carcass becomes unclean. They would have had to have baths available for this purpose and Jews today still practice Mikveh and the existence of a mikveh is considered so important that a Jewish community is required to construct a mikveh even before building a synagogue, and must go to the extreme of selling Torah scrolls, or even a synagogue if necessary, to provide funding for its construction. Finally I would agree baptize can mean wash, but I must ask you, how much of you is sinful? Only your forehead? I would think as you affirm Total Depravity you would say all of you, then I would say all of you must be washed. When they washed (baptized) the tables and couches they only washed the part that was dirty. Jesus criticized the pharisees for only washing part of the cups and not all of them in Matthew 23:25-26 "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also." May God bless you brother.

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