One Baptism Once: The Origins of the Unrepeatability of Christian Baptism

Mills, Lynn; Moore, Nicholas J.

Abstract

This article questions the assumption that the uniqueness of Christian baptism goes back to the baptism of John. Against the backdrop of Jewish immersion baths, John's baptism was probably repeatable. A two-stage development of Christian baptism, first to a one-time initiation rite and then to a non-repeatable event, is most likely based on the sources.

Citation

Mills, L., & Moore, N. J. (2020). One Baptism Once: The Origins of the Unrepeatability of Christian Baptism. Early Christianity, 11(2), 206-226. https://doi.org/10.1628/ec-2020-0015

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Jul 14, 2020
• Publication Date: 2020
• Deposit Date: Oct 29, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 14, 2022
• Journal: Early Christianity.
• Print ISSN: 1868-7032
• Publisher: Mohr Siebeck
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 11
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 206-226
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1628/ec-2020-0015