Bible baptism includes sprinkling or pouring on one's head.

I extend everything I said in the previous round. I also add what is below. The Old TestamentThe Old Testament has been referenced a number of times throughout this debate. While both Pro and I would agree that baptism in Christianity obviously was not practiced during Old Testament times, there is use for it, and it definitely is not a friend of sprinkling or pouring. Is baptisma or baptizó ever used in the Old Testament? Well, the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew. However, the Old Testament has been translated into the Greek used in the New Testament (i.e., Koine Greek). The main translation of this kind is the Septuagint (LXX), which was translated as early as the 3rd century B.C. Interestingly, it was used by the writers of the New Testament when they quoted the Old Testament.[1] Using the Septuagint, we can see the Greek words under dispute in the Old Testament as well. In my first argument, I referenced Numbers 19. Verse 18 reads, “A clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, on the persons who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, the slain, the dead, or a grave.” In the Septuagint, the Hebrew word for “dip” is translated baptó, a close relative of baptizó, in the Greek Septuagint.[2][3] Here we see a contrast between baptó and the word for “sprinkling.” This is just one example of the many appearances seen in the Old Testament.[3] The Living OraclesYou may have wondered, “Why do standard translations use baptize if the Greek word means immerse?” I believe the answer is the fact that we use baptize so often in Christianity that it would be strange to not see it anywhere in the Bible. Another example is with the Greek word ekklésia. It’s translated church in most translations (when context allows), but the Greek word is more interchangeable with assembly or congregation.[4] However, since church is a religious word we use often to refer to a gathered congregation of Christians or to Christians as a whole and since it would seem strange for such a word to be absent in an English Bible, ekklésia is translated “church” when context allows. There’s nothing wrong with this; if a controversy ever arose and we needed to know what the original word went, we can consult the scholars, either directly or through lexicons. I believe it’s the same scenario with the word baptize. It’s kept in because immerse or dip just doesn’t sound right. And if a controversy arises and we need to know the original meaning, like we ekklésia, we can consult the experts. However, there are translations designed to read the words more literally. This, while not as majestic, is much more simple and practical. One of them is the Living Oracles. Romans 16:16b, for example, reads in the New King James version, “The churches of Christ greet you.” In the Living Oracles, it reads, “The congregations of Christ salute you.” Here, the meaning is the same either way. Now what would happen if we were to see how the Living Oracles translates baptizó? Let’s see. In Acts 2:41, the New King James version reads, “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.” The Living Oracles translation reads, “They, therefore, who received his word with readiness, were immersed: and there were added to the disciples that very day, about three thousand souls.” You will never read sprinkling or pouring being used for baptizó. Here is Romans 6:3–7 in the Living Oracles, which helps to bear out its true meaning: Do you not know, that as many as have been immersed into Jesus Christ, have been immersed into his death? We have been buried, then, together with him, by the immersion into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father; so we also shall walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death; we shall then, also, certainly be in the likeness of his resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that we should not any longer serve sin: for he that has died is released from sin. Additional NoteDuring the debate, I said that receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit is not the same as the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. However, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit itself is called a baptism (Acts 1:5; 11:16). Could it be argued that since the pouring of the Holy Spirit and the baptism of the Holy Spirit are the same thing, baptism can refer to pouring? This is not the case, as a third expression that is used to refer to the baptism or pouring of the Holy Spirit is being “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4). They were baptized/immersed with the Holy Spirit (with Him engulfing them), they were filled with the Holy Spirit (with Him filling up within them), and they had the Holy Spirit poured on them (with Him coming down on them in order to engulf/immerse/baptize and fill them). Just because the three words refer to the same event does not mean that they are synonymous. ConclusionIn conclusion, I would like to speak of a person in the Old Testament—Naaman. We read in 2 Kings 5:1 that Naaman was “commander of the army of the king of Syria” and “a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor.” However, he was “a leper.” Elisha told him that he could be cured of his leprosy this way: “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean” (v. 10). “But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, ‘Indeed, I said to myself, “He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.” Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?’ So he turned and went away in a rage” (vv. 11–12). His servants helped him to realize that “if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” (v. 13). “So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean” (v. 14). Today, we may feel about baptism the way Naaman felt about his command to be cured of his leprosy. While we don’t need to “wash in the Jordan seven times” to heal a physical disease, we do need to be immersed (which is meant by the Greek word baptizó) for the remission of sins. In fact, if we use the Septuagint again, it actually uses the word baptizó where the New King James Version uses dip in verse 14.[5] However, I, like Naaman’s servants, am attempting to point out that it’s no big thing to be dipped in the waters of baptism as opposed to someone coming and “wav[ing] his hand over the place” (c.f. v. 11), in this case with drops of water. What’s specified needs to be specified. I hope that we all will accept the truth concerning this matter. If you have any questions regarding God’s plan for salvation, please, please contact me before it is too late. “Reform, and be each of you immersed in the name of Jesus Christ, in order to the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38, LO). References [1] https://en.wikipedia.org... [2] https://www.academic-bible.com... [3] https://www.christiancourier.com... [4] http://biblehub.com... [5] https://www.academic-bible.com...