Abstract:Although water rituals were common in other religions of antiquity, water baptism took on a distinctive prominence in early Christianity as the sole or primary entry rite into the faith. According to Ephesians 4:5, “one baptism” is one of the marks of the unity of the church. Yet, ironically, it has come to symbolize the disunity of the church throughout history, owing to disagreements at several points: meaning (sacrament or symbol), mode (submersion, immersion, pouring, and/or sprinkling), and recipients (wh… Show more
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