May 25, 2011 15:11
13 yrs ago
English term

exclusive of 'baptizo'

English Art/Literary Religion baptism by immersion vs. sprinkling
How came it to pass, that the early Christian writers expressed the rite of baptism by such Greek and Latin words and phrases, ***exclusive of baptizo***, as signify, to be plunged; to be buried; to be dipped; to be immersed; to be let down in the water; and to be encompassed by the water on every side?

Does it mean "except the word 'baptizo'"? Or does it mean anything else? The thing is that before in the book the author said that baptizo means to plunge.

Responses

33 mins
Selected

apart from 'baptizo'

The point here is one of terminology. The writer is saying that early Christian writers use various Greek and Latin expressions to refer to baptism, and all these expressions imply immersion. He is arguing that baptism was originally conceived as immersion, and that sprinkling came later. "Baptizo" ("I baptize" in both Latin and New Testament Greek) also means to plunge or immerse, as the writer has already said. So "exclusive of" does not mean that all the expressions they use mean plunge or immerse except "baptizo", which means something else. Nor does it mean (though this is not clear from this context) that early Christian writers do not use the term "baptizo", because they do (the writer has already quoted examples). So "exclusive of" means "apart from", in the sense of "leaving aside": if we consider the expressions used, without including "baptizo" in our considerations, we find that they all mean the same.

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Note added at 39 mins (2011-05-25 15:50:22 GMT)
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On consideration, a better way to express the sense of this in English would be "quite apart from" or perhaps "leaving aside".
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks, that's what I needed"
7 mins

exclusive of actual "baptizo"

In some cultures and branches of religion, baptism involves total immersion, whereas for example in the Church of England, the vicar holds the baby over a font of holy water and splashes some on the baby's head. Adult baptisms can involve this or (I've seen in an Evangelical but Church of England church) a total immersion - head bobbed under and all - in a special tank. So I think this might mean that some ceremonies describe the process of baptism - being included into the church, given a name, etc, but do not include total immersion/plunging.
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5 mins

excluding / not including baptism

Hi Ana,

'exclusive of' = 'excluding' or 'not including'
baptizo = baptism

Had a discussion on this very topic recently.

Cheers,
R.

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Note added at 9 mins (2011-05-25 15:20:40 GMT)
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addendum: baptizo = plunging (literally into the waters of baptism), i.e. by immersion, as in what happened with Philip and the Ethiopian:

'As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.' (Acts 8: 36-39)
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