What are the differences between baptism today and baptism in the early church?

Question

What are the differences between baptism today and baptism in the early church?

Answer 1

level 2

Answer 2

One thing I noticed about one of the mega churches is that instead of becoming baptized when they are doing it (they have a baptismal pool, heated, tiled, and very nice looking outside of the main sanctuary) , they ask you "Why do you want to be baptized?"

If your answer isn't sufficient enough for the guy who does it, he wants to send you to Baptism 101. I saw this happen to a little kid, and it made me feel very bad for him.

As I understand it, the kingdom of God was preached and any who wanted to come to be baptized could come and be baptized. But this church set a block in their path, and didn't allow someone with a very simple understanding a baptism.

I think that this is wrong and not according to how it was done in the days of Christ on Earth.

To me, that church was saying that they were okay with having a person who was not proficient in preaching the kingdom of God doing the baptisms. Yet they took it out on those who actually wanted to be baptized.

Answer 3

Ephesians 4:4-6 (King James Version)

4There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

5One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

6One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Answer 4

Location..

Answer 5

When they began missionaries in the Amazon, they realized that full immersion wasn't a very good idea...XD

Answer 6

Original church:

rivers and other bodies of water

Today:

Many modern churches do the baptisms in their buildings.(some in rivers and bodies of water)

some only sprinkle

some baptize babies

Answer 7

I would think that there would be a difference in the lack of sprinkling/pouring as a valid method of baptism.  Kids aren't forbidden from it, and I would think there would definitely some mention of it if they were supposed to be kept from the rite.  You have to really dig to find justification for saying "no" to the baptism of babies, and "saved by default" doesn't cut it for me.

Some churches have also gone right back to Pharisaical law in how it's done.  Bowing forward instead of laying back, natural waters outside instead of a pool or font inside, Jesus' name alone vs. name of Father, Son, Holy Spirit.  Ridiculous facades of legalism justified by verse wars.  Pathetic.

Answer 8

Some religions today do not do the full immersion of the person in water.  

Answer 9

Jesus.

Answer 10

1700 years

Answer 11

  Baptism is totally unnecessary but not harmful if you dont swallow too much water..It would be a good thing if the time wasted on this practice was spent learning about God(like reading the Conversations with God books by Neale Donald Walsch..  God bless

Answer 12

in the early church both kinds were available, immersion and the sprinkling over the head, when water was in short supply this was deemed ok ,  if you look up the contents of the didache book you will see all the apostles early rules for living

Answer 13

In the early church there was two baptisms, one of the Holy Spirit and the other of water. Holy Spirit baptism only happened two times, First time, Acts chapter 2, He fell upon the Apostles. The second time, Acts chapter 10 when He fell upon the house of Cornelius. After this the book of Eph. teaches that there is only one baptism now: Eph 4:5  One Lord, one faith, one baptism. The baptism that saves is water baptism:

Act 2:38  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

1Pe 3:21  The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

This is how it is done:  Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Rom 6:5  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

I hope this helped.

Answer 14

Today, baptism is used as a means to "join the church".  In the early church people could not "join the church" but could be baptized to have their sins washed away and God/Christ added them to His church and there was no way to join the church.  When you were baptized into Jesus, Romans 6, your sins were washed and you were added by God to the church.  People really believed Acts 2:38 and 1 Peter 3:21 in the early church.  Today, with people in the pick and choose what you want in the Bible, they no longer believe this teaching.  They have left the Bible for their own teaching.