The Catholic
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Mode of Baptism
Evangelicals say that baptism should be by immersion only, and they point to the Greek word for baptism–baptizo–saying that it means immersion only. Evangelicals therefore say that Catholics are wrong to baptize by infusion (pouring). What the evangelicals say is partially true. In the usual sense, baptizo means immersion, but it can also mean washing (Luke 11:38 says the Pharisee was amazed that Jesus did not "wash" [baptizo] before dinner), or even spiritual cleansing (Mark 7:4 says Jews baptized [bapto] couches, though they only sprinkled them with water rather than immerse them).
In Acts 1:4-5, Jesus told the disciples "to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, ‘you heard from me, for John baptized with water, but before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'" Soon afterwards, the Holy Spirit was given, and in Acts, the Holy Spirit is referred to as being poured (Acts 2:17, 18, 33, 11:15-17). So the baptism of the Holy Spirit is said to come through pouring. Evangelicals separate water baptism from Spirit baptism, but if the two are one, then the baptism by pouring signifies best what is happening–the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. (It is important to note that the baptism of the Holy Spirit did not accompany water baptism in the case of the Apostles, because they were baptized before the Spirit was given).
Paul was baptized in a house (Acts 9:17-18), while standing up. Ananias, who baptized him, said: "And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized" (Acts 22:16). Peter baptized in the house of Cornelius (Acts 10:47-48), and Paul baptized in the house of the jailer (Acts 16:32-33). These baptisms could not have taken place by immersion, because there would have been nothing within the house to immerse them in. The baptisms had to be done by pouring.
And the logical consequences of immersion-only baptism would be that the bedridden, the dying, and even people living in desert environments or Arctic regions could only be baptized with great difficulty, if they could even be baptized at all. If baptism regenerates, God would have instituted a baptism that all could obtain.
The earliest Christian artwork depicts baptism, but always by pouring, and never by immersion. Baptisteries from the early church prove that the practice of baptism by pouring was the norm. Many early baptisteries still exist, and most of them are too small for immersion.
The Didache "Concerning baptism, baptize in this manner: Having said all these things beforehand, baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit in living water [that is, in running water, as in a river]. If there is no living water, baptize in other water; and, if you are not able to use cold water, use warm. If you have neither, pour water three times upon the head in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." (The Didache 7 [A.D. 70]).
Tertullian (On Baptism 2 [A.D. 203]) "With so great simplicity, without pomp, without any considerable novelty of preparation, and finally, without cost, a man is baptized in water, and amid the utterance of some few words, is sprinkled, and then rises again, not much (or not at all) the cleaner".
Cyprian (Letter to a Certain Magnus, 69:12 [A.D. 255]) "The sick are poured upon or sprinkled when they receive the Lord's grace".
How about the formula for baptism? In order to be baptized validly, one must be baptized "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," just as Jesus commanded in Matthew 28:19. But some Christians baptize only in the name of Jesus. Groups who baptize thus claim that in the passage in Matthew, the command is to baptize in the name (singular). These groups claim that name is Jesus, but that name is really Yahweh, which can apply to all three members of the Trinity (See Acts 2:34-36, where Peter calls the Father Lord, which is a quote from Psalm 110:1, in which the Father is called Yahweh, and John 8:58, where Jesus calls Himself Yahweh–I Am). Since the name is applied to both Father and Son, it is by logical extension applied to the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, as well.
The objection to all this is that four passages in the New Testament mention baptism "in the name of Jesus" (Acts 2:38, 8:16, 10:48, 19:5). But this cannot be giving the formula, since some of the passages say "Lord Jesus" while others say "Jesus Christ." This lack of consistency illustrate that when there is a reference to "baptism in the name of Jesus," it is just a description of the type of baptism, distinguishing it from the baptism of John the Baptist, and the baptisms of ancient cults. Believers are baptized in the name of Jesus, but not only in the name of Jesus, and none of these passages imply this.
The Didache (Didache 7:1 [A.D. 70]) "After the foregoing instructions, baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit".
Tertullian (Against Praxeas 26 [A.D. 216]) "After His resurrection He promises in a pledge to His disciples that He will send them the promise of His Father; and lastly, He commands them to baptize into the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, not into a unipersonal God. And indeed it is not once only, but three times, that we are immersed into the Three Persons, at each several mention of Their names".
Origen (Commentary on Romans 5:8 [A.D. 248]) "Why, when the Lord himself told his disciples that they should baptize all peoples in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, does this apostle employ the name of Christ alone in baptism, saying, `We who have been baptized into Christ'; for indeed, legitimate baptism is had only in the name of the Trinity".
Cyprian of Carthage (Letters 73:18 [A.D. 253]) "He [Jesus] commanded them to baptize the Gentiles in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. How then do some say that though a Gentile be baptized . . . never mind how or of whom, so long as it be done in the name of Jesus Christ, the remission of sins can follow–when Christ himself commands the nations to be baptized in the full and united Trinity?".
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