Buddhist Baptism Essays

Buddhist Baptism Essays Buddhist Baptism Essay Buddhist Baptism Essay Baptism For Roman Catholics, a baptism is basically a holy introduction into the church; a welcoming. Baptism is very significant to Christians as they believe that being baptised is essential to being forgiven for sinning and eventually being saved (getting into heaven), and in Roman Catholicism babies who are not baptised (and have died at birth) may go into a place called Limbo, at the edge of Hell. This belief is related to Jesus saying amen I say to thee, unless a man is born of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter the kingdom of God John 3:5. To most Christians, baptism is a demonstration of their commitment to the church and to god. This is a sacrament (a physical ceremony that causes an irreversible spiritual change) for most denominations except for the Salvation Army. Baptism should preferably take place on a Sunday. If the child is over 7, s/he must take special baptism classes. The parents and godparents must be member of the parish church, which generally means consistent attendance two months prior to the event. In the service the Godparents and parents present their child to be baptised. The clergyman leading he service asks the parents What do you ask Gods church for [childs name]? To which the parents reply Baptism, faith, the grace of God or something along those lines. The priest or clergyman then says, youVe asked for your child to be baptised, in doing so, youre accepting responsibility for training him in the practise of faith. It will be your duty to bring them up by Gods commandments as Christ has taught us, by loving God and our neighbour, do you clearly accept what youre undertaking?. Here the priest is stating that undertaking baptism is a commitment to live by God and it is he parents responsibility to raise their child in the manner of God. Psalms and hymns are then sung, such as Psalm 84: 7,8,9ab. The priest welcomes the into the church saying The Christian community welcomes you with great Joy The priest then draws the cross on the forehead of the child with holy water and further hymns are sung. Baptists believe that baptism must be done at a mature age where the candidate can make a personal decision of faith. This is by full immersion, where the candidate is completely submerged in holy water, reflects Jesus baptism in the river Jordan. Some people also celebrate naming days, this is when a child who has the same name as a saint also celebrates the saints birthday as a naming day-almost equivalent to another birthday. Small gifts are often given including money. There is a saints birthday for almost every day of the calendar In Buddhism, although they do not go through a specific baptism ceremony, they do go through a similar form of worship for new member of the Buddhist faith. The person undertaking the ceremony is kneeled in front of an altar, where he pays homage to the Buddha and is teachings. The clergyman then places his hand on the forehead of the individual and makes him aware of his responsibility not to commit one of the five sins: Dont steal, dont rob, dont commit illegal sex, dont take intoxicating substances (those that cloud the mind) and dont commit untruths. young to understand their vows. Confirmation normally takes place in the teens in most Christian churches. For more liberal churches, it is only a physical entry into the church, rather than a sacrament. Buddhist Baptism By samalexanderl 999