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BennyD
Guest
What do Catholics and Protestants believe about baptism? I want both opinions!!
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deb1
Guest
Catholics believe that baptism washes away original sin.
Different Protestant denomination believe different things. I can only speak for Baptist. Baptist believe that it is only a symbol but an important one. My former pastor used to compare baptism to a wedding ring. You are still married if you loose your ring, but the ring itself is an important symbol of marriage. The complete immersion is supposed to represent death and being spiritually born again.(can you tell that I spent several years as a baptist?)
The strange thing is that although Baptists believe that baptism is symbolic, they will not hesitate to rebaptize a person from another faith whereas Catholics don’t. Catholics believe that any baptism performed in the name of The Father, Son and Holy Spirit is valid.
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Pax
Guest
Protestant understandings on baptism vary greatly. Some denominations such as the Anglican Communities believe virtually the same things Catholics believe. Be prepared to get diverse opinions from Protestants.
For Catholics baptism is one of the sacraments of initiation into Christianity. Through baptism our sins are forgiven, we receive the Holy Spirit, and we become adopted sons and daughters of God. In short we become justified and are in friendship with God. The following scriptures help to understand the Catholic view of baptism:
OT-- Baptism prefigured
Ezk 36:25-28
I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances. Then you shall live in the land that I gave to your ancestors; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
Compare this to ACTS 2:37-38
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Going statement for statement we see an unmistakable pattern and prefiguring in Ezekiel and it is clear that God will use water to cleanse us (forgive our sins), that he will change our hearts (and they were cut to the heart), and that he will put a new spirit within us(we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.) Beyond this we read the following NT scriptures:
ACTS 10:48
And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.
ACTS 19:1-7
While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.” And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve of them in all.
ACTS 22:16
And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’
MATTHEW 28:19
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
JOHN 3:5
Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
MARK 16:16
He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
ROMANS 6: 3-4
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
GALATIANS 3:27
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
COLOSSIANS 2:11-12
In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ; and you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead
EPHESIANS 4:5
one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
TITUS 3:4-8
but when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit,
1 PETER 3:21
Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
For Catholics baptism is one of the sacraments of initiation into Christianity. Through baptism our sins are forgiven, we receive the Holy Spirit, and we become adopted sons and daughters of God. In short we become justified and are in friendship with God. The following scriptures help to understand the Catholic view of baptism:
OT-- Baptism prefigured
Ezk 36:25-28
I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances. Then you shall live in the land that I gave to your ancestors; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
Compare this to ACTS 2:37-38
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Going statement for statement we see an unmistakable pattern and prefiguring in Ezekiel and it is clear that God will use water to cleanse us (forgive our sins), that he will change our hearts (and they were cut to the heart), and that he will put a new spirit within us(we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.) Beyond this we read the following NT scriptures:
ACTS 10:48
And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.
ACTS 19:1-7
While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.” And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve of them in all.
ACTS 22:16
And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’
MATTHEW 28:19
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
JOHN 3:5
Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
MARK 16:16
He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
ROMANS 6: 3-4
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
GALATIANS 3:27
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
COLOSSIANS 2:11-12
In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ; and you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead
EPHESIANS 4:5
one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
TITUS 3:4-8
but when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit,
1 PETER 3:21
Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
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Roman_Catholic_1
Guest
Which protestant denomination are you wanting to know about? Protestant beliefs on baptism depends on what denomination they are.
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Bishopite
Guest
Actually, Catholicism teaches that baptism washes away all sin, not just original sin and it is regenerative; it regenerates us, and infuses sanctifying grace into our soul. Baptism gives us grace since we are receiving the Holy Spirit by virtue of its action (John 3:5) and it makes us a new creation, Acts 2:38, 16:26, Mark 16:16.
Baptism washes away all sin, even actual sin (sins we commit by our actions), however, those actual sins we commit after baptism cannot be washed away by another baptism, only through repentance and confession. A person can only be validly baptized once Ephesians 4:4-6 says:
“one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
Protestants vary as to what they believe and there is no “one” belief within Protestantism since they are so divided in so many denominations. Some Presbyterians, Episcopalians, some Methodists and Lutherans and most all Reformed Protestants baptize infants (padeobaptism) and some Protestants consider baptism a sacrament. I just recently spoke to a friend who is Presbyterian and she affirmed her church’s teaching and belief that baptism is a Sacrament.
I am a former Baptist myself and we didn’t believe baptism was anything other than a symbolic gesture showing others that we were being baptized as an act of obedience because we had accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior and we didn’t believe it was neccessary for our salvation as do most Christians, and some Protestants. Hope that helps.
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puzzleannie
Guest
there are not both opinions, there are as many opinions among non-Catholics as there are denominations. For the Catholic opinion you might try doing your homework in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and on the CA homepage.
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Montie_Claunch
Guest
scripturecatholic.com/baptism.html This gives you what the Catholic Church beleives and why. As for prostesant to depends. If I am not mistaken Seventh-day adventist, baptist, and methodist (and I could be wrong, I’m not any of these so) beleive pretty close to the same (They don’t do infant baptisms) and I know some sects of fundamentalism say it is symbolic and has no meaning other than an outward exclamation of faith but, still has little if any bearing on your salvation.
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BennyD
Guest
I see, as long as their hearts were right at the time they were baptized i don’t think they need to be baptized again.
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BennyD
Guest
Just any protestant opinion.
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deb1
Guest
Here is a strange story that I have posted before. In my SIL’s Baptist church there was a young girl from a troubled, abusive home. She kept getting saved but afterwards she kept committing the same sins. The church members didn’t think that she was really saved, so they kept convincing her to regive her life to Christ and each time they would re-baptize the girl. Considering that most Baptists believe that Baptism is symbolic, it always seemed strange to me that they would keep rebaptizing her. Why not put more emphasis in teaching her how to live a Christian life and assisting her with her problems?
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Zooey
Guest
Deb, I have to say that I share your puzzlement!! It seems to me that Baptists’ position on baptism is the least understandable…They make it so important, yet consider it only a symbol. I can’t figure this out!!
In the Methodist tradition, orthodox opinion is that baptism is a sacrament which cleanses from sin, and which bestows grace on the person. This is why we practice infant baptism.
John Wesley taught very clearly that the grace bestowed in baptism is very real; it is not a symbol, it is a gift of God. He also wrote, that–sadly–many people “sin away” much of the benefits of their baptism, & that is why he emphasized holy living. (It is also why he rejected OSAS!).
I have to admit that there are many members of Methodism today, who have lost sight of these things! This is a great tragedy!!
In the Methodist tradition, orthodox opinion is that baptism is a sacrament which cleanses from sin, and which bestows grace on the person. This is why we practice infant baptism.
John Wesley taught very clearly that the grace bestowed in baptism is very real; it is not a symbol, it is a gift of God. He also wrote, that–sadly–many people “sin away” much of the benefits of their baptism, & that is why he emphasized holy living. (It is also why he rejected OSAS!).
I have to admit that there are many members of Methodism today, who have lost sight of these things! This is a great tragedy!!
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