Where did Baptism Begin?

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Where did baptism begin? Most people immediately think of John the Baptist. Did he invent the ceremony, or adapt it from customs of the time? Or did it begin somewhere in the Old Testament?
 
John the Baptist is credited for baptism. But as you can see, the Jewish tradition was to bring a baby to the temple for the Presentation, which leads us to infant baptism.
 
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dhgray:
Where did baptism begin? Most people immediately think of John the Baptist. Did he invent the ceremony, or adapt it from customs of the time? Or did it begin somewhere in the Old Testament?
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The other poster is correct that Infant Baptism is related to the Jewish requirement of presenting the child in the Temple on the “eighth day.” The ritual of Baptism in general is a Jewish custom. The Jews Baptized but not for remission of sin.
 
My recollection is that there is evidence that others in the Jewish community were involved in a baptismal type of ritual, and that it had started some (short) time before Christ.
 
Baptism as a sacrament began with Jesus. However, there were “washing ceremonies” in virtually all of the ancient religions. The Jews, held captive in Babylon, adapted some of the washing ceremonies of Zoroastrianism. These included the washing ceremony after the delivery of a baby which became a significant part of the Jewish ceremony, and the ritual washing of the baby which became a part of the circumcision ceremony for males and a part of the dedication ceremony for females.

Women following menstruation and any one touching a dead body were considered to be ritually impure until they had gone through a ritual cleansing ceremony.

The Mesopotamians and Egyptians also had rituals cleansing ceremonies.

As you can see, this is a very ancient practice which the Christians embraced and used following the teaching of Jesus.

Deacon Ed
 
I have also heard anti-christians claim that many ancient pagan religions practiced types of baptism long before Christ’s time, and that the Christian religion assimilated the practice. Granted, that info is normally pulled off the internet and not from a reliable source.

Peace
 
If by “baptism” you mean the sacrament, its beginning has to be Jesus’ baptism by John in the Jordan. According to the Catholic Catechism article 1114, which quotes a council of Trent document:
sacraments of the new law were…all instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord
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davidv:
If by “baptism” you mean the sacrament, its beginning has to be Jesus’ baptism by John in the Jordan. According to the Catholic Catechism article 1114, which quotes a council of Trent document:
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I guess my question really is “WHY did John the Baptist baptize?”

What Jewish ritual was he following or was he making it up as he went along.
 
Maybe Deacon Ed has more information; my recollection is that there existed at the time of Christ a ritual, associated with repentence and forgiveness of sin, in the Jewish faith.

Deacon?
 
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dhgray:
I guess my question really is “WHY did John the Baptist baptize?”

What Jewish ritual was he following or was he making it up as he went along.
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I have begun a Bible Study of the book of Matthew with Jeff Cavins. Matthew’s immediate audience is believed to have been Jewish Christian. His thesis, which he supports from beginning to end, is that Jesus is the fulfillment of the old covenant. He is the new Moses, who takes his people out of slavery - through the water of the Red. He is the new Joshua (the Hebrew root of “Jesus”), who take his people across the Jordon to the promised land - through the waters of the Jordan. Baptism is a sign of newness. John was using the water to signify the newness resulting from repentence. This was in preparation for the new creation that Jesus brings about by His saving and redemptive actions.
 
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davidv:
I have begun a Bible Study of the book of Matthew with Jeff Cavins. Matthew’s immediate audience is believed to have been Jewish Christian. His thesis, which he supports from beginning to end, is that Jesus is the fulfillment of the old covenant. He is the new Moses, who takes his people out of slavery - through the water of the Red. He is the new Joshua (the Hebrew root of “Jesus”), who take his people across the Jordon to the promised land - through the waters of the Jordan. Baptism is a sign of newness. John was using the water to signify the newness resulting from repentence. This was in preparation for the new creation that Jesus brings about by His saving and redemptive actions.
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Other prefigurements of baptism are also found in the flood and, in my opinion, in the cleansing of Namaan (sp?).
 
I have also heard anti-christians claim that many ancient pagan religions practiced types of baptism long before Christ’s time, and that the Christian religion assimilated the practice. Granted, that info is normally pulled off the internet and not from a reliable source.
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Peace
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This, in my opinion, is the work of the devil for he knows that real baptism in Christ is to come about. The devil mocks it beforehand, as you can see also with all other Catholic observances as being tied to paganism.

Pio
 
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