Examining the Argument for Baptism by Immersion

DAY 267 CHALLENGE “People should be baptized only by immersion: (1) In Greek the word for “baptize” (baptizein) means ‘to dip’; (2) immersion better fits the symbolism of Jesus’ burial (Rom. 6:1–4; Col. 2:12); and (3) when Jesus was baptized, he ‘came up out of the water’ (Mark 1:10) and the Ethiopian eunuch ‘went down into the water’ (Acts 8:38).” DEFENSE These arguments do not show immersion is the only means of baptizing. First, baptizein doesn’t simply mean dip: “The word that invariably means ‘to dip’ is not baptizein but baptein; baptizein has a wider signification; and its use...