Why Is Baptism Important?
New book aims to settle old disputes among Christians about the meaning of baptism.
SAN DIEGO: It’s right there in the Bible: Jesus commanded us to do it, and the earliest Christians listened to him. So how did the foundational Christian practice of baptism become such a topic of debate and controversy? Despite the seemingly clear instructions that we all read in the same holy book, Jesus’ followers today can’t seem to agree on what baptism is, what it accomplishes, or how to do it.
In Baptism Now Saves You, a new book from Catholic Answers Press, veteran apologist and author Karlo Broussard (Purgatory Is for Real) plunges into the debate and emerges with a compelling picture of baptism’s power and place in Christian life.
Is baptism a sacrament that truly effects the spiritual cleansing that the water symbolizes? Or is it just a ritual that merely points to salvation by interior faith? Must it be preceded by the express, adult decision of the one receiving it, or can it be given even to newborn babies? Broussard deftly mixes solid biblical evidence, the practical witness of the early Church, and popular sacramental theology to answer these questions and others—offering a cohesive vision of baptism that all Bible-believing Christians can get behind.
“It is tragic that baptism—the sacrament that unites all Christians in one spiritual family—should at the same time be such a subject of division,” says Todd Aglialoro, director of publishing for Catholic Answers Press. “Baptism Now Saves You is thus more than another resource for Catholics who want to understand, explain, and defend their Faith; it can be a tool for restoring the unity and accord that Christ desires for all who love him.”
About the Author:
Karlo Broussard, DPhil, is a staff apologist for Catholic Answers and a member of the chancery evangelization team at the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma.