A Question About Baptism

Q

It somehow bothers me that I agree with you so much. It must be your use of scripture that makes it so. The only time I question what you say is when you agree that your thoughts are pure speculation. Thank you so much for your ministry.

Baptism: I have been led to believe that nearly all, if not all of the translators, transliterate the Greek rather than translate it. If so, what should scripture say if the Greek is translated correctly?

A

The Greek word for baptism in the New Testament is baptisma. It means to immerse or submerge. Its root is baptizo which means to clean by dipping or submerging.

The word transliterate means to represent (letters or words) in the corresponding characters of another alphabet. In the case of baptism, it means that the Greek word was simply re-written using English letters for use in English language Bibles. This was done because no English word could be found that suitably conveyed both the spiritual and physical intent of the Greek. As you can see, the meaning didn’t change in this process.