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

I've read over some of his previous debates and it appears he is a very strong debater, I hope I can measure up to the task. The biblical quotes I will reference come from the New American translation. Opener: Baptism, among many others, is an important topic within Christianity. I pray that both my opponent and I will understand God’s will with more clarity in the end. In my opening statement here, I will show that: A) The Christian Church at its earliest roots, with both its followers and its leaders living in a time close to when Christ walked the earth, did not believe Baptism to be by immersion only. B) The Bible does not state, anywhere, that Baptism can be done only by immersion. C) The Bible gives clear reference to the permissibility of Baptism by sprinkling or pouring. Let’s jump right in to argument A. The Early Church: The early church fathers, whom lived at a time close to Christ and who may have actually known some of the Apostles, believed Baptism to be done by both immersion, and pouring or sprinkling. A very early document is known as the Didache (or Teaching of the Twelve Apostles). This has been estimated to have been written as early as 65-80 A. D. Though less generous estimates have said it was written before 150 A. D. This document was written to describe the teachings of the Apostles concerning life and death, church order, fasting, prayer, and, most importantly in regards to this debate, Baptism. One quote from the Didache concerning baptism reads,“If you have no living water, then baptize in other water, and if you are not able in cold, then in warm. If you have neither, pour water three times on the head, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. ” [VII]Another early church writer, St. Cornelius, wrote from 251-253 A. D, “As [Novatian] seemed about to die, he received Baptism in the bed where he lay, by pouring. ”Another by St. Cyprian in 255 A. D,“In the saving sacraments, when necessity compels and when God bestows His pardon, divine benefits are bestowed fully upon believers; nor ought anyone be disturbed because the sick are poured upon or sprinkled when they receive the Lord’s grace. ”When reading the Didache and other early church documents, it becomes evident that the early church supported baptism by both immersion and sprinkling or pouring. Considering the fact that those who wrote these writings were in close connection with the very men who lived alongside Christ and heard his teachings on Baptism, isn’t it rather odd that they supported this view of Baptism? Did Christ fail to communicate clearly to his apostles? Or is it rather that the view of Baptism strictly by immersion is false? On to argument B! The Bible’s Reference to Baptism by Immersion Only: There is no biblical quote, verse, paragraph, nor page that can be given that states Baptism must be done specifically by immersion only. The only instructions which are directly touched upon pertaining to Baptism by the Bible are that it must be done by water, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19 and John 3:5)It’s important to note here that neither argument A nor B prove that biblical Baptism includes sprinkling or pouring. They are rather being used to discount the position that Baptism is to be done by immersion only. Argument C, however, addresses this. Biblical Reference to Baptism by Sprinkling or Pouring: Now down to the meat of my argument. Let’s start off with some common ground between con and I. I believe we both would agree that the Old Testament references things in the new. For instance, in Exodus 12:3-14 where God instructs the Israelites to sacrifice a lamb (the Passover Lamb) we likewise consider Jesus our own Passover Lamb. The Old Testament also makes parallels with the new in terms of Baptism. Let’s take a look. Ezekiel 36:24-27“For I will take you away from among the nations, gather you from all the foreign lands, and bring you back to your own land. I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts. I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees. ”My opponent and I both understand Ezekiel to be a prophet, so what was he referring to? What does Baptism do? Acts 2:38“Peter [said] to them, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ’”So in the O. T. we are told of a future process by which clean water is sprinkled on people and those people are forgiven of their sins and receive God’s spirit (Holy Spirit). And by the New Testament we see that, through the water of Baptism, we have our sins forgiven and receive the Holy Spirit. I ask my opponent, is there some other process, other than Baptism, by which clean water is sprinkled upon people for the forgiveness of their sins and the reception of the Holy Spirit? Furthermore, Baptism is a sanctification, a removal of one’s sins. How did they sanctify things in the Old Testament? 2 Chronicles 30:15-17“They slaughtered the Passover on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and Levites, touched with shame, sanctified themselves and brought holocausts into the house of the Lord. They stood in the places prescribed for them according to the law of Moses, the man of God. The priests sprinkled the blood given them by the Levites. For many in the assembly had not sanctified themselves…” Also Hebrews 9:13-14“For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer’s ashes can sanctify those who are defiled so that their flesh is cleansed, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God. ”And 1 Peter 1:2“…in the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification by the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ: may grace and peace be yours in abundance. ”How is it that the blood of Jesus Christ was sprinkled upon Peter? And what do you call the process of sanctification through this sprinkling of Jesus’ blood? Would not Baptism, the sanctification process, and more specifically Baptism through sprinkling, fit this description perfectly? Now onto pouring. Acts 2:17 and 18 both refer to the Holy Spirit being “poured out” by God. Not dunked, not immersed, but poured out. How is it that men can receive God’s Holy Spirit? Again, through Baptism. John 3:5“Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. ” Conclusion: There are no Bible verses which state that one must be baptized by immersion only. Rather, the Bible only directly states that we must baptize by water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And there are plenty of reasons to believe biblical Baptism included sprinkling and pouring. Furthermore, the Church directly after the death and resurrection of Christ did not believe Baptism to be only be immersion either. Therefore, I contend that the idea of immersion only is a fabricated idea, made by men, and is not supported by any biblical authority. Over to you con! References: The Didache: . http://thedidache.com... St. Cornelius: . http://earlychristianwritings.com... (range of dating) . http://www.seanmultimedia.com... (actual text) St. Cyprian of Carthage: . http://www.newadvent.org... Christ as our Passover Lamb: . http://www.gotquestions.org...